First of all, the presence of TV cameras probably kept security goons a little tame. I can't think of any other reason why they didn't just cart us off from the moment things got hectic, which is the standard practice. They just kept giving us more leeway. Our protest was given even more power since it was broadcast worldwide. Saddam Hussein was watching it all live.
Iraqi TV rebroadcast the coverage throughout the following few days.
This meant that we weren't confined to a basketball arena in Ohio, but that we were able to tell the whole world that there are Americans who oppose the United States' war plans. We left the Town Hall Meeting convinced that our protest had been a success. The immediate effect we had on the national debate was evident in the national nightly news, and in newspapers around the world the following day. We accomplished more than we could have ever imagined, with limited organization and limited resources. The odds were against us that day, from the limited preparation time to the media control of the meeting, to our small numbers.