Miami police arrested another five anti-globalization activists Monday on a variety of charges, then promptly voided two of the arrests.

Two people who identified themselves as Jane and John Doe were charged with obstruction of justice, and obstruction by a disguised person, for not cooperating with a police investigation.

Police said the two were trying to "breach the security fence protecting the FTAA event." They were arrested after refusing to answer a police officer's questions.

Miami Police Lt. William Schwartz said that the two arrests were voided because a supervisor read the arrest reports and did not agree with the charges, a practice he said was not uncommon.

Police also arrested Justin Thrasher, 20, of Oregon, and Tracy Winter, 19, of Connecticut, for urinating in public.

An initial charge of exposure of a sexual organ was later changed to disorderly conduct, Schwartz said.

A police officer arrested a California man, 26, on a charge of battery on a police officer -- a felony -- for allegedly pushing an officer who tried to pat him down after authorities noticed the man staring at a fence along Biscayne Boulevard.

Kris Hermes, a member of Miami Activist Defense, said many activists have been under constant police watch for the past several weeks. He said the demonstrators have complained about being videotaped, photographed and questioned by local and federal agencies. Hermes said activists who have been out peacefully distributing flyers have often had to deal with police harassment. "That's unacceptable behavior," he said. "It's profiling of activists."

With traffic disrupted, stores buttoned tight and police interrogating protesters, Rene Rosa, the owner of Rosa Fabrics in downtown Miami, wondered why Miami is trying to snag the permanent headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

"It's absurd and ridiculous," he groused in an eerily quiet downtown on Monday. "If the attitude of the government is we need to shut down for a meeting, then don't bring them here permanently. Go somewhere else."

The Miami-Dade County School Board building at 1450 Northeast Second Street was boarded up on Monday in anticipation of scheduled protests in the area. The main school board building and an annex will be closed today and Wednesday.

"We'll make a decision later in the week whether that will be extended to Thursday and Friday," said John Schuster, spokesman for Miami-Dade schools.

The School Board's radio and television station, WLRN, will continue to operate but with weekend staffing.

Including WLRN, there are more than 2,000 employees in the school board complex. School board employees have been reassigned to different locations around the county, like region offices and information technology headquarters.

Two school board meetings that were scheduled have been moved to Hialeah City Hall. Five schools in the downtown area have been closed down for the week.

Water patrols spent much of Monday keeping a close eye on Miami's shores looking for protesters. About 30 boat patrols from various agencies collaborated to keep the waters safe, including the Oak, a $29 million, 225-foot-long Coast Guard vessel.

"Quiet is good," said three-year veteran U.S. Coast Guard Seaman Naydolys Alvarez. "Hopefully it will stay that way."

Complied by Staff Writers Diana Marrero, Robert Nolin, Madeline Baró and Edgar Sandoval, and Maya Bell of the Orlando Sentinel.

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