Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 24. maj 2011 / Time Line May 24, 2011
Version 3.005/24/2011
Kvindernes Internationale Freds- og Nedrustningsdag / May
24-International Women´s Day for Peace and
Disarmament.
Grundlagt sommeren 1981 af 40 kvinder fra 11 europæiske
lande.
05/24/2011
Over Two Thousand Six Hundred Activists Arrested in US
Protests
By Bill Quigley
Since President Barack
Obama was inaugurated, there have been over two thousand six
hundred arrests of activists protesting in the US. Research shows
over 670 people have been arrested in protests inside the US
already in 2011, over 1290 were arrested in 2010, and 665 arrested
in 2009. These figures are certainly underestimate the number
actually arrested as arrests in US protests are rarely covered by
the mainstream media outlets which focus so intently on arrests of
protestors in other countries.
Arrests at protest have been increasing each year since 2009. Those
arrested include people protesting US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
Guantanamo, strip mining, home foreclosures, nuclear weapons,
immigration policies, police brutality, mistreatment of hotel
workers, budget cutbacks, Blackwater, the mistreatment of Bradley
Manning, and right wing efforts to cut back collective
bargaining.
These arrests illustrate that resistance to the injustices in and
committed by the US is alive and well. Certainly there could and
should be more, but it is important to recognize that people are
fighting back against injustice.
Information on these arrests has been taken primarily from the
newsletter The Nuclear Resister, which has been publishing reports
of anti-nuclear resistance arrests since 1980, and anti-war actions
since 1990.
Jack Cohen-Joppa, who with his partner Felice, edits The Nuclear
Resister, told me “Over the last three decades, in the course
of chronicling more than 100,000 arrests for nonviolent protest and
resistance to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, torture, and war,
we've noted a quadrennial decline as support for protest and
resistance gets swallowed up by Presidential politicking. It has
taken a couple of years, but the Hopeium addicts of 2008 are
finally getting into recovery. We're again reporting a steady if
slow rise in the numbers willing to risk arrest and imprisonment
for acts of civil resistance. Today, for instance, there are more
Americans serving time in prison for nuclear weapons protest than
at any time in more than a decade.”
In the list below I give the date of the protest arrest and a brief
summary of the reason for the protest. After each date I have
included the name of the organization which sponsored the protest.
Check them out. Remember, they can jail the resisters but they
cannot jail the resistance!
2011
January 1, 2011. Nine women, ages 40 to 91, who brought solar
panels to the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor were arrested for
blocking the driveway at Entergy Corporation. Shut It Down.
January 5, 2011 and February 2, 2011. Five arrests were made of
peace activists protesting at Vandenberg Air Force base, including
a veteran of WWII. Vandenberg Witness.
January 11, 2011. Ten people protesting against the continued human
rights violation of Guantanamo prison trying to deliver a letter to
a federal judge were arrested at the federal building in Chicago,
Illinois.
January 11, 2011. A sixty one year old grandmother protesting
against excessive radiation was arrested for blocking the path of a
utility truck in Sonoma County, California.
January 15, 2011. Twelve people protesting against Trident nuclear
weapons at the Kitsap-Bangor naval base outside of Seattle,
Washington were arrested – six on state charges of blocking
the highway and six others on federal charges of trespass for
crossing onto the base. Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent
Action.
January 17, 2011. Marking the anniversary of Martin Luther King
Jr.’s birthday, people protested outside the Lockheed Martin
Valley Forge Pennsylvania office where eight people were arrested.
Brandywine Peace Community.
January 17, 2011. Three people protesting the US use of armed
drones and depleted uranium were arrested at the Davis-Monthan air
force base near Tucson Arizona.
January 29, 2011. Eight peace activists marking the 60th
anniversary of the testing of the atom bomb were arrested at the
Nevada Nuclear Test Site. Nevada Desert Experience.
February 10, 2011. Twenty three hotel workers were arrested after
protesting management abuses at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
UNITE Here Local 2.
February 15, 2011. A former CIA agent turned whistleblower was
arrested and battered by police for standing silently and turning
his back during a speech on the need for human rights in Egypt
delivered by the US Secretary of State. Veterans for Peace.
February 17, 2011. Nine people protesting against the attack on
collective bargaining in Wisconsin were arrested at the Wisconsin
Capitol in Madison.
February 25, 2011. Eleven people protesting federal budget cuts
against the poor, including one person in a wheelchair were
arrested charged with blocking traffic in Chicago.
March 4, 2011. Three people were arrested in Seattle after a
protest against police abuse.
March 4, 2011. Sixteen people were arrested at a protest against
tuition increases at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
March 10, 2011. Fifty people protesting the removal of collective
bargaining rights were arrested after being carried out of the
Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.
March 16, 2011. Seven union supporters protesting proposals to
strip collective bargaining from teachers were arrested in
Nashville Tennessee.
March 19, 2011. One hundred thirteen people protesting the eighth
anniversary of the war in Iraq, lead by Veterans for Peace, were
arrested at White House. Veterans for Peace.
March 19, 2011. Eleven military family members and veterans were
arrested in Hollywood California after staging a sit protesting the
8th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Veterans for Peace.
March 20, 2011. Thirty five people were arrested protesting outside
the Quantico brig where Bradley Manning was being held. Bradley
Manning Support Network.
March 28, 2011. Seven people defending a family against eviction
and protesting home foreclosures were arrested in Rochester, NY,
including a 70 year old neighbor in her pajamas. Take Back the
Land.
April 4, 2011. Seven people protesting against unjust immigration
legislation barring undocumented immigrants from Georgia colleges
were arrested for blocking traffic in Atlanta Georgia.
April 7, 2011. Seventeen people were arrested protesting budget
cuts in assistance for the poor and elderly and calling for an end
to corporate tax exemptions in Olympia Washington.
April 10, 2011. Twenty seven people calling attention to the
thousands of murders of people in Latin America by graduates of the
US Army School of the Americas/WHINSEC were arrested outside the
White House. School of Americas Watch.
April 11, 2011. Forty one people, including the Mayor and many of
the members of the District of Columbia city council, protesting
Congressional action limiting how the District of Columbia could
spend its own money were arrested in Washington DC.
April 15, 2011. Eight teenage girl students, some as young as
fourteen, were arrested after they refused to leave their public
school Catherine Ferguson Academy, which is specially designated
for pregnant and mothering teens in Detroit. Also with the young
women were children and teachers. The school is targeted for
closure due to budget cutbacks.
April 22, 2011. Thirty seven people were arrested protesting the
use of drones outside the Hancock Air Force base near Syracuse New
York. Syracuse Peace Council. Ithaca Catholic Worker.
April 22, 2011. Eleven women chained and locked the gate at the
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon Vermont before being
arrested.
April 22, 2011. Thirty three people protesting at the Livermore Lab
which designs nuclear weapons at an interfaith peace service were
arrested for trespassing in California.
April 22, 2011. Four people were arrested at the Pentagon after
they held up a banner and read from a leaflet outside of the
designated protest zone. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.
April 24, 2011. Sixteen protestors against nuclear weapons at the
Nevada National Security Site were arrested after a sixty mile
sacred walk from Las Vegas. Nevada Desert Experience. Pace e
Bene.
May 2, 2011. Fifty two protestors against a nuclear weapons plant
in Kansas City Missouri were arrested after blocking a gate to the
construction site. Holy Family Catholic Worker.
May 9, 2011. Five people protesting against draconian immigration
laws were arrested in the governor’s office in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
May 7, 2011. Seven people celebrating Mothers Day and protesting
nuclear weapons were arrested outside the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor
twenty miles from Seattle. Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent
Action.
May 9, 2011. Sixty five people protesting cutbacks in education
funding were arrested in Sacramento California.
2010
January 6, 2010. Over one hundred people protesting for union
recognition of hotel workers at Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.
UNITE Here Local 2.
January 15, 2010. A man who served nearly six months in jail and
who was still on probation for hammering windows at a military
recruiting center in Lancaster Pennsylvania was arrested at the
recruiting center after insisting that recruiters and recruits to
leave the army.
January 18, 2010. Seven people commemorating Martin Luther
King’s birthday wore sandwich board messages saying
“Make War No More,” “It’s about
Justice,” and “its About Peace,” outside of
Lockheed Martin’s main entrance in Merion Pennsylvania until
they were arrested. Brandywine Peace Community.
January 21, 2010. Forty-two people protesting the ongoing human
rights violations of Guantanamo prison were arrested at the US
Capitol building. Twenty-eight were arrested on the steps of the
Capitol and fourteen inside the rotunda. Witness Against
Torture.
January 26, 2010. Thirteen people from Minnesota lobbying to stop
funding for war were arrested after holding a die-in on the
sidewalk in front of the White House. Voices for Creative
Nonviolence.
January 31, 2010. Eight people were arrested trying to protest at
Vandenberg Air Force base in California, one of those arrested, an
octogenarian, was brought to the hospital for injuries suffered in
the arrest. A few days later, seven protestors were arrested at the
same spot. A month later, four more protestors were arrested.
Vandenberg Witness.
February 22, 2010. Five people protesting against the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan were arrested inside US Senators’ offices in
the Des Moines Iowa federal building. Voices for Creative
Nonviolence. Des Moines Catholic Worker.
March 4, 2010. Four students protesting against rape were arrested
after they refused to leave the administration building at Michigan
State University in East Lansing Michigan.
March 20, 2010. Nine peace activists were arrested in Washington DC
for lying down beside mock coffins outside the White House.
March 21, 2010. Two people protesting at the Aerospace and Arizona
Days air show at Monthan Air Force base held a banner declaring
“War is not a Show” in front of a Predator Unmanned Air
Vehicle (drone) were arrested.
March 30, 2010. Eight protestors were arrested during a march
against police brutality in Portland Oregon.
April 2, 2010. Eleven people on a Good Friday walk for peace and
justice were arrested outside the USS Intrepid in New York city
after they began reading the names of 250 Iraqi, American and
Afghan war dead. Pax Christi New York.
April 2, 2010. Nine people carrying a banner “Lockheed Martin
Weapons + War = The Crucifixion Today” in the 34th annual
Good Friday protest at Lockheed Martin were arrested in Valley
Forge Pennsylvania. Brandywine Peace Community.
April 4, 2010. Twenty two people protesting against nuclear weapons
after the Sacred Walk from Las Vegas to the Nevada Nuclear Test
Site were arrested after the Western Shoshone sunrise ceremony and
Easter Mass. Nevada Desert Experience.
April 7, 2010. Three people, including a 12 year old girl, were
arrested inside a US Senators office in Des Moines, Iowa with a
banner “No More $$$ For War.” The mother of the 12 year
old girl was called into the police station and issued a citation
the next day for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Voices
for Creative Nonviolence and Des Moines Catholic Worker.
April 15, 2010. A man protesting nuclear weapons was arrested
inside the security fence of a nuclear missile silo near Parshall,
North Dakota.
April 16, 2010. Twelve people protesting against Sodexho
mistreatment of workers were arrested in Montgomery County
Maryland. Service Employees International Union.
April 20, 2010. A woman was arrested for standing in the path of a
bulldozer to try to prevent mining in Marquette County,
Michigan.
April 26, 2010. Seventeen people protesting war and poverty inside
and outside the federal building in Chicago were arrested. Midwest
Catholic Worker.
April 26, 2010. Boulder Colorado police arrested five people
protesting at Valmont coal power plant.
May 3, 2010. Three people protesting nuclear weapons were arrested
at Bangor Naval Base outside of Seattle Washington. Ground Zero
Center for Nonviolent Action.
May 3, 2010. Twenty two people protesting nuclear weapons were
arrested at Grand Central Station in New York city after unfurling
banners saying “Nuclear Weapons = Terrorism,” and
“Talk Less, Disarm More.” War Resisters League.
May 9, 2010. Seven people trying to stop a foreclosure-driven
eviction were arrested in Toledo Ohio. Take Back the Land.
May 15, 2010. Thirty four people protesting against Arizona’s
draconian immigration laws were arrested outside the White
House.
May 17, 2010. Sixteen people were arrested in NYC protesting
against unjust immigration policies.
May 20, 2010. A woman US Army specialist who served as a Military
Police applied for conscientious objector status while serving in
Iraq and who later left her unit was sentenced to 30 days in
jail.
May 24, 2010. Thirty seven people protesting against unjust
immigration policies were arrests in New York City.
June 1, 2010. Fifty six people protesting against unjust
immigration policies were arrested in NYC.
June 8, 2010. Six peace advocates were arraigned in federal court
in Des Moines, Iowa for numerous actions protesting in US Senators
offices for the previous several months. One activist, a
grandmother and hog farmer, held weekly die-ins in Senators’
offices and was arrested frequently. Once, when police asked her to
leave, she replied that she was dead and couldn’t leave.
Voices for Creative Nonviolence.
June 15, 2010. Several people protesting against evictions caused
by bank foreclosure were arrested in Miami Florida. Take Back the
Land.
June 23, 2010. Twenty two people protesting in favor of immigration
reform singing “America the Beautiful” and “This
Land is Your Land,” were arrested and charged with blocking
traffic in Seattle.
July 5, 2010. Thirty six people protesting for a nuclear free
future were arrested at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee – thirteen of federal trespass charges and
twenty-three on state charges for blocking a highway. Oak Ridge
Environmental Peace Alliance.
July 6, 2010. Seventy eight people protesting against police
brutality in Oakland California and the trial involving a shooting
by a BART police office.
July 23, 2010. One hundred fifty two hotel workers protesting
against management at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.
UNITE Here Local 2.
July 29, 2010. Thirteen people were arrested in Tucson Arizona
protesting against the state’s illegal immigration laws.
August 9, 2010. On Nagasaki day, three people protesting against
the US commitment to nuclear weapons were arrested outside the US
Strategic Air Command in Omaha Nebraska. Omaha Catholic Worker.
August 15, 2010. A twenty two year old female student at Michigan
State University who pitched an apple pie at a US Senator during an
anti-war protest was arrested and charged with federal felony
charges of forcible assault on a federal officer. Another anti-war
activist was also arrested and charged with the same crime.
September 9, 2010. Twelve people protesting for equality for gay
people in the workplace were arrested in San Francisco.
September 27, 2010. One hundred fourteen people protesting
mountaintop removal coal mining were arrested at the White House
after a conference of people from West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky
and Tennessee. Prior to this protest, forty-nine activists in the
Climate Ground Zero Campaign have served jail time for taking
action against strip-mining in Appalachia. Climate Ground Zero.
November 5, 2010. One hundred fifty two people protesting police
killings were arrested in Oakland, California.
November 8, 2010. Five people protesting wind turbines in Lincoln,
Maine were arrested including an 82 year old native of Maine.
November 21, 2010. Three people were arrested on federal charges
and twenty-four more on state charges at the School of
Americas/WHINSEC protest in Columbus Georgia outside the gates of
Fort Benning. Six others were arrested at a protest against a
private prison housing immigrants in rural Georgia. School of
Americas Watch. ACLU Immigrant Rights Project.
December 1, 2010. Three people protesting against unjust
immigration policies were arrested at the office of a Congress rep
in Racine Wisconsin. Voces de la Frontera.
December 16, 2010. One hundred thirty one protestors, including
numerous veterans, gathered in the snow outside the White House
challenging the war in Afghanistan, the cover-up of war crimes and
the prosecution of Bradley Manning and Wikileaks were arrested for
failing to clear the sidewalk. In a parallel New York City protest,
several others were also arrested. Veterans for Peace.
December 17, 2010. Twenty two people protesting against unfair home
foreclosures were arrested when they blocked an entrance to a Chase
bank branch in Los Angeles. Alliance Californians for Community
Empowerment.
December 20, 2010. Six people were arrested after protesting at
Bank of America against the foreclosure of an elderly couple in
South Saint Louis. Missourians Organizing for Reform and
Empowerment.
December 28, 2010. Three parents asking for the abolition of all
nuclear weapons were arrested for leafleting at the Pentagon.
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.
2009
January 2009, seventeen people, clad in black mourning clothes and
white masks, were arrested in the US Senate Building for reading
the names of the dead in ongoing US wars and unfurling banners
stating “The Audacity of War Crimes,”
“Iraq,” “Afghanistan,”
“Palestine,” and “We Will Not Be
Silent.”
January 26, 2009, six human rights advocates were sentenced to two
to six months of federal prison or home arrest in federal court in
Columbus Georgia for challenging training of Latin American human
rights abusers at the US Army School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC)
by walking onto Fort Benning. School of Americas Watch.
January 2009, a former Army specialist who refused to graduate with
his Airborne Division because he realized he could not kill anybody
was arrested and jailed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The former
soldier had been ordered home in May 2002 to await discharge
papers. Courage to Resist.
February 2009. There were fifteen arrests of activists protesting
mountain top removal by Massey in West Virginia. Climate Ground
Zero.
February 2009, five peace activists in Salem Oregon fasting on the
steps of the state capitol building so that National Guard soldiers
would not be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan were cited for trespass
by state police.
March 1, 2009, six anti-nuclear activists protesting the 55th
anniversary of the US nuclear bomb detonation at Bikini Atoll were
arrested at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Kitsap, Washington
after they knelt in the roadway. Ground Zero Community and Pacific
Life Community.
March 4, 2009, nine people seeking to present a letter to CEO of
Alliant Technologies outlining how weapons manufacturers were
prosecuted as war criminals at the end of WWII were arrested in
Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Alliant Action.
March 12, 2009, four people who were arrested during a protest at
Vandenberg Air Force base were fined between $500 and $2500 by
federal authorities. California Peace Action.
March 17, 2009, seven people seeking a meeting with US Defense
Secretary to challenge the legality of the war in Iraq were
arrested at the Pentagon. National Campaign for Nonviolent
Resistance.
March 18, 2009, seven women, ranging in ages from 65 to 89, some in
wheelchairs and walkers, were arrested protesting the war in Iraq
after wrapping yellow crime scene tape around a military recruiting
center and blocking the entrance for an hour in New York City.
Grannie Peace Brigade.
March 19, 2009, three people protesting the war in Iraq were
arrested in Washington DC. In one instance a US Army veteran scaled
the front of the Veterans Administration building and unfurled a
banner saying “Veterans Say NO to War and Occupation.”
Protests against the war in Iraq in Chicago resulted in an arrest
there after banner drop.
March 19-21, 2009, protests against the war in Iraq in San
Francisco resulted in twenty-two arrests at a die-in in the
financial district, eleven more for blocking a street outside the
Civic Center, and ten more at the Saturday march when Palestinian
marchers were confronted by pro-Israel counter protestors resulting
in police using batons and tear gas.
March 31, 2009, four people were arrested in Brattleboro, Vermont,
for standing in silent opposition to the Vermont Yankee nuclear
power reactor.
March 31, 2009, an anti-nuclear protestor was convicted of
trespassing at the Los Alamos nuclear weapons facility and
sentenced to two days in jail, community service and probation.
Trinity House Catholic Worker.
April 3, 2009, four people protesting injustices on Wall Street and
in Afghanistan and Iraq were arrested in New York, NY, for marching
down the center of the street. Bail Out the People Movement.
April 9, 2009, fourteen people were arrested at Creech Air Force
outside Las Vegas Nevada base protesting against the US use of
drones in lethal attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Nevada
Desert Experience.
April 10, 2009, eight people were arrested while kneeling and
praying for peace at the Pentagon. Another, clad in an orange
jumpsuit and black hood, was arrested at the White House where he
was chained to the fence protesting the human rights abuses of
Guantanamo. Jonah House.
April 10, 2009, sixteen people were arrested while protesting the
war profiteer Lockheed Martin in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Brandywine Peace Community.
April 12, 2009, twenty one people were arrested while protesting
the use of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site on
Western Shoshone tribal lands. Nevada Desert Experience.
April 17, 2009. A man protesting US polices of violence, racism and
poverty-production was sentenced to six months in prison for
hammering out some windows in the US Military Recruiting Center in
Lancaster Pennsylvania.
April 23, 2009, four people protesting lies by military recruiters
were arrested after locking themselves to the door at the military
recruiting center in Minnesota. Three others were arrested at the
Knollwood Plaza after disrupting the recruitment center so much it
had to be closed. Another woman was arrested near a recruiting
center after placing a “Don’t Enlist” sticker on
a police car. Antiwar committee.
April 24, 2009, a woman calling for the return of the National
Guard from Iraq was arrested in the US House Appropriations during
testimony by US Generals in Washington DC. Code Pink.
April 28, 2009, a US Army veteran who refused to fight in Iraq was
court-martialed in Fort Stewart, Georgia and sentenced to one year
in prison. Courage to Resist.
April 29, 2009, twenty-two people were arrested after trying to
serve a Notice of Foreclosure for Moral Bankruptcy on
Blackwater/Xe, the mercenary company responsible for so many deaths
in Iraq, at its compound in Mount Carmel, Illinois. Des Moines
Catholic Worker Community.
April 30, 2009, sixty three people were arrested at the White House
protesting against illegal detention and torture at Guantanamo
prison. Witness Against Torture.
May 20, 2009. Twenty one people protesting against the war in Iraq
were arrested outside a military recruiting center in Milwaukee
Wisconsin.
July 22, 2009, four people protesting against Boeing’s role
in the production of drones, which have killed more than 700 people
in Afghanistan and Pakistan, were arrested inside the Boeing lobby
in Chicago, Illinois. Christian Peacemaker Teams.
August 4, 2009, four shareholders who sought to speak at the
shareholders meeting of depleted uranium munitions producer Alliant
Techsystems were arrested when they approached the microphone in
Eden Prairie Minnesota. Alliant Action.
August 5, 2009, a US Army specialist who refused to deploy to
Afghanistan was sentenced to 30 days in jail and given a less than
honorable discharge in Killeen Texas. Courage to Resist.
August 6, 2009, a 75 year old priest, protesting the 64th
anniversary of the US dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima, was
arrested outside of Greeley Colorado where he cut the fence around
a nuclear missile silo, hung peace banners, prayed and tried to
break open the hatch on the silo.
August 6, 2009, nine antiwar activists were arrested at Fort McCoy
Wisconsin after a three day peace walk protesting against US
nuclear weapons and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nuke Watch.
August 6, 2009, two people were arrested at the Pentagon entrance
on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing carrying a banner
stating “Remember the Pain, Remember the Sin, Reclaim the
Future.” Jonah House.
August 6, 2009, twenty two people protesting the horror of
Hiroshima were arrested in Livermore California when they blocked
the entrance to the Lawrence Livermore weapons lab. Tri-Valley
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment.
August 6, 2009, nine people at a vigil for peace and nonviolence
were arrested for walking onto Lockheed Martin property at Valley
Forge Pennsylvania and spreading sunflower seeds, an international
symbol for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Brandywine Peace
Community.
August 6, 2009, two people were arrested when they refused to stop
praying at the gates of the Davis-Monthan Air Force base in Tucson
Arizona. Rose of the Desert Catholic Worker.
August 10, 2009, nine persons calling for the abolition of nuclear
weapons were arrested at Bangor Naval base, home to the Trident
submarine, twenty miles from Seattle Washington. Ground Zero
Community.
August 14, 2009, a US Army Sergeant who refused to go to
Afghanistan and who asked for conscientious objector status was
found guilty of disobeying lawful orders and going AWOL at a trial
in Fort Hood. He was sentenced to one year in prison and given a
bad conduct discharge.
August 17, 2009. Four people were arrested outside the Boalt Hall
classroom where they were protesting John Yoo, who coauthored the
memos authorizing torture on people in Guantanamo during the Bush
administration.
August 22, 2009, two people protesting against nuclear missile
testing were arrested at Vandenberg Air Force base and cited for
trespass.
September 9, 2009. Four people protesting against Massey Energy
mountain top removal were arrested in Madison West Virginia.
Climate Ground Zero.
September 12, 2009, seven people who were protesting against the
use of the high-tech bloodless arcade Army Experience Center in
Philadelphia were arrested. Seven other protestors were arrested
there earlier in the year. Shut Down the AEC.
September 24, 2009, ninety two people protesting management
disregard for union rights of hotel workers were arrested at the
Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco. UNITE Here Local 2.
September 27, 2009, twenty one people protesting against the Nevada
Test Site were arrested at the Mercury gate. At an action to
“Ground the Drones” protesting the increasing use of
lethal drones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, another eleven
people were arrested. Code Pink. Pace e Bene. Nevada Desert
Experience.
September 28, 2009, four women, ages 66 to 90, walked past security
guards at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant protesting inadequate
safety at the plant. Carrying signs saying “Yom Kippur,
September 28, Time to Atone, Shut Down Vermont Yankee,” this
was the seventh set of arrests at the nuclear plant or its
corporate headquarters since 2005.
September, 2009, the US Army accepted the resignation of
Lieutenant, who refused to fight in Iraq because he believed the
war violates international law, and gave him a discharge under
other than honorable conditions. Courage to Resist.
October 1, 2009. A well known mixed martial arts fighter was
sentenced to 90 days of work release and a fine of $28,000 for
spraying symbols on an Army recruiting center and the Washington
State Capitol building to help raise consciousness about the
illegal war in Iraq.
October 2, 2009. Four people trying to deliver a document titled
“Employee Liabilities of Weapons Manufacturers under
International Law” to the weapons manufacturer Alliant
Technologies were arrested in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Alliant
Action.
October 5, 2009, a couple, who married the day before and who were
carrying a banner saying “Just Married; Love Disarms,”
were arrested during a peace protest at Lockheed-Martin in
Sunnyvale California. A priest was also arrested as the three gave
out leaflets to workers entering the war contractor work site.
Albuquerque New Mexico Catholic Worker.
October 5, 2009, sixty one people were arrested while protesting
the ninth year of the US war in Afghanistan in front of the White
House. Some of the arrested were in orange jumpsuits and chained to
the fence. Secret Service officers assaulted other protestors,
pushing and pulling them away from the protest site, bruising some.
No Good War and Jonah House.
October 7, 2009, twelve protestors against the war in Afghanistan
were arrested in Rochester, NY. Some of the arrested were treated
at the hospital after being struck by police. Rochester Students
for a Democratic Society.
October 7, 2009. Two people were arrested in Grand Central Station
after unfurling banners which said “Afghanistan
Enough!” War Resisters League.
October 11, 2009. Two women who held up banners when Tiger Woods
was ready to putt, saying “President Obama – End
Bush’s War,” and “End the Afghan Quagmire,”
were handcuffed and escorted away from the President’s Cup
golf tournament in San Francisco.
November 2, 2009. Five people calling for nuclear disarmament cut
through the fence around the Naval Base Kitsap which houses the
Trident nuclear submarines and nuclear warheads outside of Seattle
Washington. The five walked through the base until they found the
storage area for nuclear weapons and cut two more fences to get
inside where they put up banners and spread sunflower seeds until
they were arrested. Disarm Now Plowshares.
November 4, 2009. Two people were arrested while protesting outside
Vandenberg Air Force base in California. Vandenberg Witness.
November 4, 2009. Eight protestors, including one who was 91 years
old, were arrested at the Strategic Space Symposium in Omaha
Nebraska while holding a “Space Weapons=Death” banner.
Des Moines and Omaha Catholic Worker.
November 15, 2009. Five people protesting against US torture
practices at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where military interrogators
are trained were arrested. Torture on Trial.
November 22, 2009. Four people protesting the training of human
rights abusers by the US Army at their School of Americas/WHINSEC
were arrested in Columbus, Georgia. School of Americas Watch.
November 23, 2009. A longtime war tax resister pled guilty to
avoiding paying taxes for war at court in Bangor Maine. National
War Tax Resistance Coordination Committee.
December 1, 2009. Protestors at 100 cities across the country
challenged President Obama’s talk at West Point to escalate
the war in Afghanistan. Six were arrested at West Point, eleven in
Minneapolis, and three in Madison Wisconsin.
December 9, 2009. Six people protesting that President Obama was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize were arrested outside the federal
building in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Catholic Worker.
December 10, 2009. Six people protesting the use of lethal drones
were forcibly escorted out of the 11th Annual Unmanned Aerial
Systems Conference outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Trinity
Nuclear Abolition and Code Pink.
December 29, 2009. Twelve people leafleting and praying for peace
at the Pentagon were arrested. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and
Jonah House.
Bill Quigley is a law professor and Director of the Law Clinic and
the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New
Orleans.
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