Protesters pay to enter fundraiser and confront president

It may have been the highest-priced protest in history.

Protesters disrupted an early morning, big-ticket fundraiser for President Obama at a San Francisco hotel Thursday, serenading the president with a song about Pvc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of passing classified information to the website WikiLeaks.

Obama was in the midst of delivering his remarks to the crowd of about 200 supporters when Oakland, Calif. activist Naomi Pitcairn stood up from a table and declared that she and her cohorts at her table had written a song for the president.

Brushing off his suggestion to wait, the 10 people seated at the table burst into a refrain that lamented the Pentagon's detention of Manning, described as abuse by human rights advocates. The song also touched on the cost of a ticket to the president's fundraiser, and on Florida Rev. Terry Jones, who recently burned a copy of the Koran, sparking a deadly reaction in Afghanistan.

"Each of us brought you $5,000/It takes a lot of Benjamins to run a campaign/I paid my dues/Where's our change?" they sang.

The group held up small signs that read "Free Bradley Manning."

Obama appeared somewhat displeased, as did House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), also in attendance. But the president ultimately seemed to take the disruption in stride.

Pitcairn, who told reporters she paid the $76,000 for the group at her table to attend the breakfast event, soon was escorted from the ballroom by the Secret Service. Two other attendees at the table left on their own. The rest of the singers remained.

Tickets for the morning event ranged from $5,000 to $35,800.

"That was a nice song," Obama said when the protest was over. "Now, where was I?"

Aides later said Obama found the interruption "funny" and that it had energized his morning. He did not address Manning's treatment.

Manning, a former Army intelligence specialist in Iraq, has been charged with 34 counts, including aiding the enemy, connected to allegations that he funneled sensitive information about U.S. military operations and diplomatic communiqués to WikiLeaks.

Pentagon officials transferred Manning from the Marine Corps brig at Quantico, Va., to a medium-security facility at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. Wednesday after complaints from his attorneys and human-rights groups about his treatment.

At Quantico, Manning had been confined to his cell for 23 hours a day, was manacled when he was moved, and was forced to stand naked for inspections. At Ft. Leavenworth, he's expected to receive more freedom in his daily activities as he awaits a preliminary hearing that will determine whether he will face a court martial.

James.Oliphant@latimes.com