<html>
<body>
<font size=3>
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley05242011.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley05242011.html<br><br>
</a></font><font size=2 color="#990000">May 24, 2011<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>Over 2,600
Activists Arrested in the US Since Election<br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">The
Resistance in Obama
Time</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By BILL
QUIGLEY<br><br>
</font><font size=3>Since President 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 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.
<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
Information on these arrests has been taken primarily from the newsletter
<i>The Nuclear Resiste</i>r, which has been publishing reports of
anti-nuclear resistance arrests since 1980, and anti-war actions since
1990. <br><br>
Jack Cohen-Joppa, who with his partner Felice, edits <i>The Nuclear
Resister</i>, 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 Hopeian 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.”<br><br>
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!<br><br>
<b>2011<br><br>
</b>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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
February 10, 2011. Twenty three hotel workers were arrested after
protesting management abuses at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
UNITE Here Local 2.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
February 17, 2011. Nine people protesting against the attack on
collective bargaining in Wisconsin were arrested at the Wisconsin Capitol
in Madison. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
March 4, 2011. Three people were arrested in Seattle after a
protest against police abuse. <br><br>
March 4, 2011. Sixteen people were arrested at a protest against
tuition increases at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. <br><br>
March 10, 2011. Fifty people protesting the removal of collective
bargaining rights were arrested after being carried out of the Wisconsin
Capitol in Madison.<br><br>
March 16, 2011. Seven union supporters protesting proposals to
strip collective bargaining from teachers were arrested in Nashville
Tennessee.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
March 20, 2011. Thirty five people were arrested protesting outside
the Quantico brig where Bradley Manning was being held. Bradley
Manning Support Network.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
April 4, 2011. Seven people protesting against unjust immigration
legislation barring undocumented immigrants from Georgia colleges were
arrested for blocking traffic in Atlanta Georgia.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
April 22, 2011. Eleven women chained and locked the gate at the
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon Vermont before being
arrested. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
May 9, 2011. Five people protesting against draconian immigration
laws were arrested in the governor’s office in Indianapolis, Indiana.
<br><br>
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.<br><br>
May 9, 2011. Sixty five people protesting cutbacks in education
funding were arrested in Sacramento California. <br><br>
<b>2010<br><br>
</b>January 6, 2010. Over one hundred people protesting for union
recognition of hotel workers at Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.
UNITE Here Local 2.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
March 20, 2010. Nine peace activists were arrested in Washington DC
for lying down beside mock coffins outside the White House.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
March 30, 2010. Eight protestors were arrested during a march
against police brutality in Portland Oregon.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
April 15, 2010. A man protesting nuclear weapons was arrested
inside the security fence of a nuclear missile silo near Parshall, North
Dakota.<br><br>
April 16, 2010. Twelve people protesting against Sodexho
mistreatment of workers were arrested in Montgomery County
Maryland. Service Employees International Union.<br><br>
April 20, 2010. A woman was arrested for standing in the path of a
bulldozer to try to prevent mining in Marquette County,
Michigan.<br><br>
April 26, 2010. Seventeen people protesting war and poverty inside
and outside the federal building in Chicago were arrested. Midwest
Catholic Worker. <br><br>
April 26, 2010. Boulder Colorado police arrested five people
protesting at Valmont coal power plant.<br><br>
May 3, 2010. Three people protesting nuclear weapons were arrested
at Bangor Naval Base outside of Seattle Washington. Ground Zero
Center for Nonviolent Action.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
May 9, 2010. Seven people trying to stop a foreclosure-driven
eviction were arrested in Toledo Ohio. Take Back the Land.<br><br>
May 15, 2010. Thirty four people protesting against Arizona’s
draconian immigration laws were arrested outside the White
House.<br><br>
May 17, 2010. Sixteen people were arrested in NYC protesting
against unjust immigration policies. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
May 24, 2010. Thirty seven people protesting against unjust
immigration policies were arrests in New York City. <br><br>
June 1, 2010. Fifty six people protesting against unjust
immigration policies were arrested in NYC.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
June 15, 2010. Several people protesting against evictions caused
by bank foreclosure were arrested in Miami Florida. Take Back the
Land.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
July 6, 2010. Seventy eight people protesting against police
brutality in Oakland California and the trial involving a shooting by a
BART police office. <br><br>
July 23, 2010. One hundred fifty two hotel workers protesting
against management at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.
UNITE Here Local 2.<br><br>
July 29, 2010. Thirteen people were arrested in Tucson Arizona
protesting against the state’s illegal immigration laws.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
September 9, 2010. Twelve people protesting for equality for gay
people in the workplace were arrested in San Francisco.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
November 5, 2010. One hundred fifty two people protesting police
killings were arrested in Oakland, California. <br><br>
November 8, 2010. Five people protesting wind turbines in Lincoln,
Maine were arrested including an 82 year old native of Maine.
<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
December 28, 2010. Three parents asking for the abolition of all
nuclear weapons were arrested for leafleting at the Pentagon.
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.<br><br>
<b>2009<br><br>
</b>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.” <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
February 2009. There were fifteen arrests of activists protesting
mountain top removal by Massey in West Virginia. Climate Ground
Zero. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
March 31, 2009, four people were arrested in Brattleboro, Vermont, for
standing in silent opposition to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power
reactor. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
April 10, 2009, sixteen people were arrested while protesting the war
profiteer Lockheed Martin in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Brandywine
Peace Community. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
April 30, 2009, sixty three people were arrested at the White House
protesting against illegal detention and torture at Guantanamo
prison. Witness Against Torture.<br><br>
May 20, 2009. Twenty one people protesting against the war in Iraq
were arrested outside a military recruiting center in Milwaukee
Wisconsin. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
August 22, 2009, two people protesting against nuclear missile testing
were arrested at Vandenberg Air Force base and cited for
trespass.<br><br>
September 9, 2009. Four people protesting against Massey Energy
mountain top removal were arrested in Madison West Virginia.
Climate Ground Zero. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
October 7, 2009. Two people were arrested in Grand Central Station
after unfurling banners which said “Afghanistan Enough!” War
Resisters League.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
November 4, 2009. Two people were arrested while protesting outside
Vandenberg Air Force base in California. Vandenberg
Witness.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
November 15, 2009. Five people protesting against US torture
practices at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where military interrogators are
trained were arrested. Torture on Trial.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
December 29, 2009. Twelve people leafleting and praying for peace
at the Pentagon were arrested. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and
Jonah House. <br><br>
<b>Bill Quigley</b> is a professor of law at Loyola University New
Orleans and Associate Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional
Rights. More information about many of these arrests can be found
at
<a href="http://www.nukeresister.org/">www.nukeresister.org</a>
. Bill can be reached at
<a href="mailto:Quigley77@gmail.com">Quigley77@gmail.com</a><br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>