Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

DRAFT PRESS STATEMENT: TASSC Arrests, White House sidewalk, Sat. June 27, 2009 :: Today, five persons of conscience were arrested on the White House sidewalk, in connection with a 24-hour Vigil to End Torture, sponsored by the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC). The group gathered at Lafayette Park, bringing messages of solidarity from organizations and individuals - all calling for an immediate end to torture and support for survivors of torture. Mid-way through the vigil, at about 1:00 p.m., several hundred vigil participants processed from Lafayette Park to the front of the White House, carrying their mesage of an immediate end to torture. Five persons remained on the White House sidewalk, in violation of federal regulations, and were arrested by US Park Police. The five are: Joy First, of Madison, Wisc.; Malachy Kilbride, Eve Tetaz, Harold Nelson, and David H. Barrows, all of Washington, DC. Nelson and Barrows were released from police custody, after ...

Peace activists Eve Tetaz (DC), Maria Alwine (Maryland), Ellen Barfield (Marlyand), Tim Chadwick (Pennsylvania), Joy First (Wisconsin), Judith Kelly (Virginia), Art Landis (Pennsylvania), Linda LeTendre (New York), Max Obuszewski (Maryland), and Manijeh Saba (New Jersey) went on trial yesterday selecting a jury of their peers. All 10 of them face a maximum sentence of six months in prison for speaking out in the U.S. Senate Gallery on March 12, 2008. All 10 citizens of conscience were calling on their elected representatives to cease funding an illegal war and occupation to the tune of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. Nine of the 10 defendants are pro-se defendants in this trial brought by the U.S. Government. The trial continues today, and likely Wednesday in courtroom 312 of DC Superior Court, Carl Moultrie Building, 500 Indiana Avenue NW. All defendants are affiliated with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (www.iraqpledge.org). For more info: Joy First, 608-23...

By Joy First Written January 14 and 15, 2008 I’m in Washington, DC on a nine-day trip arriving on Wednesday January 9. It is a long time to be away from my family in Wisconsin. I will be participating in an action to shut down Guantanamo on January 11. On January 16, I will be on trial with 33 others for the Rivers of Blood action in the U.S. Capitol on September 20, 2007. There are always many opportunities to get involved in speaking out against our government’s illegal and immoral actions while I am in DC. On Thursday morning, I got up at 5 am and joined my friends Malachy, Eve, Pete and others at the entrance to the CIA in Virginia. We stood outside the gate holding a banner saying “Torture is Terrorism” during the morning commute. Later that day I went to DC Superior Court as the verdict was read for Mike Ferner. For more on that, see the story on “A True American Patriot”. It’s very difficult to describe my experiences between January 11 and 12. I am still feeling traumat...

By Mike Ferner DES MOINES -- A new campaign to place the Iraq war in the center of Iowa's presidential caucus races kicked off in Des Moines yesterday. But as often happens, it wasn't so much the protest that made the story as the reaction to it. "Seasons Of Discontent--A Presidential Occupation Campaign," or SODAPOP as its organizers dubbed it, targeted the campaigns of Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, taking over their offices in the Iowa state capital and disrupting both campaigns for several hours before a total of 19 people were arrested. The "law and order" Giuliani campaign waited only about two hours to call on the suburban Clive, Iowa police to arrest 10 activists. The Clinton campaign appeared more reluctant to remove the protesters, waiting almost eight hours before requesting the Des Moines Police Department remove nine activists. The last two hours of the Clinton occupation generated reactions from young staffers that typically send a candi...

Seven Peace Activists Acquitted by Jury Right to Dissent Inside Senate Office Building Upheld WASHINGTON – Seven peace activists were acquitted Thursday, July 12th, by a jury of their peers in a criminal case stemming from an anti-war protest inside a Senate office building. The group of activists from three different states and the District of Columbia were arrested on March 29, the same hour the U.S. Senate voted to spend $95 billion more on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were charged with unlawful conduct. "Today was a victory for justice and the people of this nation," said Gordon Clark one of the seven defendants pro se, and the coordinator of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance. The jury deliberated for four and a half hours Thursday before returning a unanimous not guilty verdict. The defense successfully argued their group was not any more disruptive than a comparable sized group of tourists, school groups or others. The p...

My dear friend Eve Tetaz was release from police custody Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The judge on duty arraigned her and made it clear that he did not want to hold her any longer. Monday she returns to D.C. Superior Court on a status hearing from an earlier case. Then the following Monday, the 9th, she appears again to begin a jury trial with six other co-defendants. That one stems from a protest in March in the Hart Senate Office Building atrium during the same hour the Senate voted for additional monies for war and occupation. Eve's co-defendants include: Ellen Barfield of Maryland, David Barrows of D.C., Gordon Clark of Maryland, Sam Crook of Maryland, Joy First of Wisconsin and Malachy Kilbride of Virginia. Sunday morning Eve was considering her next action against war and how to best mourn all those lost to violence. One idea is bringing the grief of all those of conscience to the Pentagon.