SOA protesters march into Columbus | News

COLUMBUS, GA - The yearly protest of the School of the Americas is almost underway again.

Thousands come to wait at the gates of Fort Benning in protest of the school. Some even march all the way from Atlanta for the event. 

The school actually closed back in 2000, but a new Department of Defense project called WHINSEC, or Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, took its place.

The goal of the current program is to help other democratic nations strengthen their country by training their civilian, military and law enforcement leaders.

The students of WHINSEC graduated today and the protests are planned throughout the weekend.