By Malcolm Balfour. The New York Post. April 13, 2000
MIAMI BEACH - Elian Gonzalez's relatives said they moved him to a nun's house yesterday so he could have some peace and quiet - but the circus simply pulled up stakes and followed him.
A hundred Cuban exiles cheered as Elian and his cousin, Marisleysis Gonzalez, pulled into Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin's luxury Miami Beach home in a white Cadillac.
Later, a slightly larger crowd booed and yelled as Attorney General Janet Reno arrived at the gated residence to talk with Elian's Miami relatives.
"Reno, have mercy," read one large sign held aloft as her car slowly crossed the driveway.
The Miami relatives called O'Laughlin early in the morning and made plans to decamp to her home. They stopped at Mercy Hospital to pick up Marisleysis, who had been hospitalized for exhaustion.
When they arrived, demonstrators were waving signs that read, "Thank you, God. Thank you, Sister Jeanne."
Many wore T-shirts emblazoned with a picture of a jet with a red slash through it.
A convoy of Miami Beach police cars with lights flashing, followed by 10 unmarked cars, arrived early in the day, and two police boats patrolled a nearby salt-water canal.
A continuous, heavy downpour kept the number of demonstrators down, but the volume was high as they chanted: "Elian won't go! Elian won't go!"
There were huge posters of Elian and Our Lady of Charity, the patron saint of Cuba, and a life-sized statue of Jesus Christ in a purple robe.
At times, the protesters formed a circle and prayed for Elian. Later, they chanted in Spanish: "Fidel is a killer. Blood is your wine."
A neighbor, the Rev. Annette Jones, watched the goings-on from a stool under a palm tree across the street.
"This is incredible - all this international brouhaha over a 6-year-old," she marveled.
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