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9/26 Defendants day in court

It was a remarkable day in federal court. The 9/26 defendants showed great courage and solidarity. Although, I paid my fine I wanted to go and give support.

A friend of mine reported earlier this evening that the defendants were still at the offices of John Norris,
Cindy Sheehan's attorney. NLG attorney Mark Goldstone is serving as attorney advisor for the defendants pro
se. The prosecution tried to screw the defendants by splitting them up their trials, and thus depriving
them of the defense they had already planned for. The judge first seemed to agree to this, but then
flip-flopped. The trial will continue tomorrow morning around 10AM at the Federal Courthouse at 3rd and
Constitution.

Mark Goldstone is our attorney in regards to the 2/8/05 protest I was arrested for at the lower steps of the Supreme Court. We are appealing the initial guilty verdict.

From today, here is the most recent AP story:

Sheehan to Return to Court for Second Day

By ELIZABETH WHITE
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON - War protester Cindy Sheehan and several others return to court Thursday for the second day of trials on misdemeanor charges of demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

The protesters, who are being tried separately in one proceeding, took turns questioning police and arguing their cases Wednesday afternoon in front of U.S. Magistrate Alan Kay.

Charges against at least nine were dismissed, leaving about 30 protesters facing possible fines but no jail time if found guilty by Kay. The maximum fine each faces is $500.

Before the trial began, Sheehan announced plans to return to Texas next week to resume her anti-war protest near President Bush's Texas ranch, despite new county ordinances banning roadside camping.

Sheehan, who is expected to testify before Kay Thursday, was arrested with about 300 other anti-war activists Sept. 26 as they wrapped up a weekend of protests in Washington. It was the city's largest anti-war demonstration since the Vietnam War.


"If we stick together as an American people we can bring down the war criminals that are running our country right now," Sheehan told reporters at the end of the first day of the trial.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey, a soldier, was killed in Iraq last year, and a dozen supporters are prepared to be arrested when they return to their makeshift campsite along the road leading to Bush's ranch, where he is expected to spend the holiday.

In August, Sheehan spent 26 days camped near Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, where he was spending a working vacation.

A month later, McLennan County, Texas, commissioners approved new ordinances prohibiting parking on parts of 14 roads near the ranch - roughly a 5-mile radius - and banning camping in any county ditch. The laws also ban portable toilets in ditches.

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