Taking on Rumsfeld in Court begins

Two of The Supremes, a peace collective, united with two courageous women of Code Pink to form the Rumsfeld 4 today in D.C. Superior Court. Katie, myself, David and Mari went before two different judges for status hearings regarding the D.C. charge of Disorderly Conduct and the Federal charge of Unlawful Entry.

Regarding the Disorderly Conduct charge, David who has a pending trial in regards to the March 20th action at the Pentagon selected to sign an agreement to avoid this judge trial. He will do 40 hours of community service -- two organizations he is considering working for are TASSC and Amnesty International. Katie, myself and Mari will appear in court on this one on September 28th. The judge assigned to us will be Pamela Diaz.

Regarding the Unlawful Entry charge, all four of us need to go before the same judge we saw today for an additional status hearing to discuss the legal necessity of a trial. Unlawful entry, because of its maximum sentence requires a jury trial. This status hearing will be on the morning of July 7th. David and I are pro se with an advisor. Mari and Katie have counsel.

If you want to learn more about what's going on in detail (and already know us personally), talk to either David and I face to face. For privacy and mutual confidentiality concerns, I will not discuss internal reasoning or strategies online or via phone.

The Supremes were founded in February 2005, when three peace-loving anti-torture activists were arrested on the lower steps of the Supreme Court protesting the U.S. Government's use of torture in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Interestingly enough, the Dorthy Day Catholic Worker newsletter slid through Rumsfeld's door slot featured an article on torture at Guantanamo Bay, along with a hand-written note from Katie.

Comments

Guantanamo put on trial -- May 27th

In eight days, Eve Tetaz, a 76-year old retired D.C. public schoolteacher, will enter a courthouse in Washington, D.C. and engage in the legal debate over the fate of America's detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The name of Noor Muhammad has never appeared in an American criminal court. On May 27th, Tetaz will change that. On that day, she will appear at the Washington, D.C. Superior Court as Noor Muhammad. Tetaz was arrested, along with 78 others, at the U.S. Supreme Court on January 11, 2008, protesting the denial of habeas rights to and the torture of inmates at Guantanamo. Like her fellow protestors, Tetaz took the name of an inmate during her arrest. ( See the January 13 Washington Post article "Activists Pose as Guantanamo Prisoners" ) Tetaz says she felt compelled to participate in the protest at the Supreme Court because detainees are being tortured at Guantanamo. "Torture is a terrible crime and sin against humanity," she said. Thirty-four

Sheehan to challenge Pelosi

I was there the day about three weeks ago when Cindy announced she was running against Pelosi. It was outside of Rep. John Conyers'office. I think change is in the air, and all politics is local. The San Fran area is perhaps the most staunchly progressive in the whole country. Tomorrow morning I will be dropping a check for Cindy's campaign in the mail. Peace activist seeks SF-area House seat Associated Press report Citing her son as inspiration, a tearful Cindy Sheehan announced her candidacy Thursday for the U.S. House of Representatives. The anti-war activist, a former resident of Vacaville, said she will run as an independent against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987. "The country is ripe for a change," said Sheehan, who spoke at a news conference in San Francisco, with her slain son's photograph attached to the podium. "It's going to start right here and right now." Sheehan's 24-year-old son

William Thomas Dies

William Thomas, dedicated peace and anti-nuke activist, passed away Friday morning at home. He was co-pilot of the 24-hour seven-day a week vigil at the White House for 27 years. He is survived by his wife Ellen and vigil co-pilot Concepcion. I remember Thomas from my high school years years early in on his vigil. Millions of people from hundred of countries visited Thomas as he kept vigiling, warning them of the dangers of nuclear holocaust and the ravages of war. He will be greatly missed by the peace and justice movement. An excerpt from an article in The Washington Post by David Montgomery, published a couple years ago: WASHINGTON — William Thomas first introduced fanny to brick on the White House sidewalk on June 3, 1981. His sign said, "Wanted: Wisdom and Honesty." He's been there ever since, still squatting, still wanting. A few months after he began, he was joined by Concepcion Picciotto, who has remained similarly steadfast. War is not over, but the peace protest

Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Search This Blog