Woman Breaks Presidential Barricade

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Metro police arrested a woman for driving through a roadblock set up to protect President George W. Bush.

Kristin Ashton, 34, of Reno, Nevada, was charged with reckless endangerment, evading arrest, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, and driving under the influence, according to Metro police.

Police said Ashton maneuvered around a roadblock near Interstate 40 and Briley Parkway by driving on the shoulder.

Police followed Ashton who failed to stop at stop signs and almost hit other drivers. She led police on a 20-minute chase, finally stopping the blue rental car in the Madison area.

She tried to run away but police caught her. She kicked an officer as she was being placed in his police car.

Ashton told police she had no idea Bush was in town. She also told police she smoked marijuana Wednesday night and thought people were after her.

The same night, she made quite a scene on the front lawn of Nashville musician Todd Snider's home. Ashton is a fan of the Americana singer's work.

According to messages on Ashton's MySpace page, she wanted to see Snider in Nashville.

Stacie Huckeba knew exactly why the 34 year old made a trip from Nevada to Nashville.

"Oh, she was very clear," said Snider's publicist Stacie Huckeba. "She was here to see Todd."

Ashton wrote that she desperately needed to talk with the East Nashville singer/songwriter.

"She had a connection with him and that she loved him and he was the only person that could save her," Huckeba said.

But Wednesday night, Huckeba didn't even know the name of the person standing in Snider's front yard so she called the police four times. But when an officer finally arrived, Ashton was gone.

Less than 12 hours after officers filled out a report about the incident at Todd Snider's house, they finally caught up with Ashton at an intersection after they said she ran barricades set up to protect Bush.

"I told them she was out of her mind," Huckeba said. "We kept telling them she needed to be pulled over, that she needed to be detained."

Huckeba said Ashton's run-in Thursday is too coincidental. She said online, Ashton rambles about the Sept. 11 attacks and some of Snider's music deals with his frustration with the president.