Last Wednesday, a 12-year-old girl was arrested in Sen. Tom Harkin’s office.

Ridiculous? Maybe.

Or, maybe it’s not.

Frankie Hughes was charged with trespassing when she allegedly refused to leave Sen. Harkin’s Des Moines office after it had closed for the day.

Hughes was protesting the war.

Her mother, Renee Espeland, was informed that her daughter — her 12-year-old daughter — would be arrested if she refused to comply.

Espeland was originally charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor; however, those charges were dropped.

Espeland said the reason she didn’t encourage Hughes to leave was because she wanted her daughter to demonstrate her First Amendment rights.

The First Amendment clearly prohibits any law “abridging the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” While the framers had the foresight to include this right, they could never foresee the many issues and infringements that have since occurred. Including this.

Unfortunately, the wording is a little opaque. Trespassing, is a crime, but where lies the line dividing it and protest? Did Hughes have legal right to remain in  the building past closing, or was her arrest warranted?

Well, this too, is a little opaque. So opaque that it sparked a debate in the newsroom Wednesday evening that, literally, raged for hours. Make no mistake: We did not, and still do not, completely agree on this issue.

Buildings close. They just do, and they must. We cannot afford to leave buildings open 24/7 to prevent “abridge”-ment of everyone’s right to protest at 3:30 in the morning, and people would. Free speech does that to people; it spokes their passions. It did for Hughes and Espeland.

Whether or not you agree with their tactics or their views, and whether or not you believe they should have been arrested, there’s no doubt that they had a right to petition Harkin. They attempted to make themselves heard. However, it’s difficult to argue that they should not have been arrested.

You can’t protest without consequences. Without ramifications, it’s just noise. A protest is invigorating and energizing because it flies in the face of it’s own consequences. Harkin’s office can not, and shall not, become a temporary home for anyone determined enough to sit and wait. If anyone could protest consequence-free, then there’d be no reason for federal offices in the first place. They’d always be full, and even less would be accomplished.

Sure, slumber parties are fun, but this isn’t Woodstock, it’s a Senator’s office. We need some basic structure, or else everything simply free-falls into chaos.

Protesting should be for the strong-willed and the strong-hearted. Often, arrest is the goal. When Hughes was arrested, her efforts reached fruition: Her name, and her cause have been brought into the national spotlight.

Through the test of time, this has been the major tenet of a successful protest. Become victimized, win the hearts of millions. Hippies in tie-died shirts being crammed into squad cars doesn’t bode well for the police. Just as a 12-year-old girl arrested in a 26-year senator’s office doesn’t bode well for his war stance.

You have the right to protest, but you do not have the right to trespass. Tread carefully.