PORTLAND – A sit-in by peace activists at U.S. Rep. Tom Allen’s office led to 13 arrests, including that of an independent candidate who ran against Allen in the November election.

Police arrested the protesters Wednesday night after they refused to leave the office hours after it was scheduled to close. The group was part of The Occupation Project that aims to pressure Democrats to cut funding for the war in Iraq.

“We need to ratchet things up a bit,” said protester Phil Weyenberg of Old Orchard Beach. He said the campaign reflects a tactical shift for activists frustrated by a Democratic Congress unwilling to cut funding for the Iraq war.

Allen, a sixth-term Democrat, voted against President Bush’s decision to send more troops to Baghdad and he co-sponsored legislation to have the troops home by year’s end. But he told the activists last week that he will not vote to deny funding to the soldiers.

Dexter Kamilewicz, who ran for Allen’s seat on an anti-war platform in November, was among those arrested by Portland police on trespassing charges, according to the Cumberland County Jail.