"I wanted to challenge him on the great speech he made about being against the war while continuing to vote for it. I wanted him to walk his talk," said Bergel, who runs Oregon Peaceworks in Salem.

Instead, Bergel found himself in jail.

PGE subleases office space to Senator Smith at One World Trade Center and provides security for the building. When Bergel and his companions tried to enter, PGE security officers called the police saying the men were blocking the door and trespassing. The men were arrested and handcuffed and all three were released 7 hours later. Glaze pled guilty and already has served 8 hours of community service. Bergel and Projansky fought the charges in court and  were acquitted.

Bergel and Projansky produced video of the incident during the trial.

"It clearly shows people going back and forth through the door while we were standing there," Bergel said. "The Judge found the statements by the head of PGE Security `not credible' and `not reliable.'"

Bergel filed a $200,000 lawsuit against PGE after his acquittal. Circuit Judge Pro Tem Gregory Silver ruled that the security guards violated the men's constitutional right to reach their elected representative. Bergel says that a public office leased in a private building should not prevent access to an elected official.

"It is extremely reprehensible that Senator Smith allowed this to happen," Bergel said. "We don't know if he was behind this, but hopefully that will come out in the lawsuit."

Smith's office did not respond to SM's request for comment.

"Public officials should not isolate themselves from their constituents," Bergel said. "This is so wrong I can't believe it."