Amazon Watch and three other groups want Gore to use his connections to stop Occidental Petroleum from drilling for oil on lands of the U'wa people in Colombia.

"There are eight people inside and they're refusing to leave until they get a meeting with Al Gore (about) his connection with Occidental and the ongoing genocide against the U'wa people," Steve Kretzmann of Amazon Watch said as the first two protesters were taken out by police.

The other six followed shortly. All eight -- four from Vermont, two from New Hampshire and two from Massachusetts -- were charged with criminal trespass. Four were charged with resisting arrest for linking their arms or refusing to get up, police said.

"There was yelling, screaming and hollering," Sgt. Charles Holmes said. "They couldn't answer the phones. They practically shut them down."

Outside the campaign office, a man dressed as the grim reaper stood on a snow bank with a sign that read "Al Gore's Occidental stock funds ecocide."

Gore's father was on the oil company's board. The group says Gore owns Occidental stock, but Gore spokesman Doug Hattaway said that is not true.

"He doesn't own stock in that company, and he doesn't have any connection to that issue in Columbia," he said.

Hattaway said Gore hasn't taken a position on whether the oil drilling should be allowed. He also deplored the protest.

"The New Hampshire primary is supposed to be about New Hampshire voters. It's too bad some groups try to hijack it for their purposes," he said.

The Colombian government has granted Occidental a license to explore for oil next to the U'wa land. The semi-nomadic tribe of 8,000 members threatened mass suicide in 1997 to prevent oil drilling on its lands.

"Gore is the second most powerful man in the world," said Lauren Sullivan, of Rainforest Action Network. "If the U'wa people are willing to die for this, if they do commit suicide, the onus will be on him."

Two weeks ago, some of the same groups demonstrated at a Gore meeting in Concord, but Gore's supporters drowned them out by yelling "We want Al!"

Those arrested Wednesday were: Arthur Hynes, 50, of Burlington, Vt.; Marita Castro, 20, of Winooski, Vt.; Anne Petermann, 32, of Williston, Vt.; Orin Langelle, 48, of Willston Vt; Jeffrey Gagnon, 26, of Holllis, N.H.; Rebecca Smith, 32, of North Hampton, N.H.; Kim Foster, 32, of Malden, Mass.; and Thomas Feagley, 53, of Malden, Mass.