National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
Year 2008 Resistance Against the War Update
March 9, 2008 -
Thanks to all of you who were able to risk arrest or to support such protests against the Iraq War. Let us continue to take the risks of peace. This list of appeals, arrests and legal cases is not all-inclusive. Please send additions, corrections and updates to mobuszewski at verizon.net. Included are arrests and pending cases in 2008 and arrests missed from 2007. Please send additions, corrections and updates to
~ Max Obuszewski
MAY 2008
27—[WDC] Close to fifty Witness Against Torture activists are scheduled to go on trial in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. There were eighty arrests inside and outside the Supreme Court on Jan. 11, the sixth anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Most defendants only provided the police with a name of a Guantanamo detainee and remained in jail until the evening of Jan. 12. Those arrested outside the Supreme Court are facing one count of disorderly conduct making parades illegal, while those arrested inside face an additional disorderly conduct charge against objectionable language. These are federal charges.
The government offered a stet to the arrestees which would place the case in an inactive file for six months. If the defendant was not arrested in the next six months, s/he would have the case dismissed. It was an obvious attempt to quell the resistance movement in D.C. At least two arrestees who did not accept the stet had their cases dismissed.
16—[WDC] Eight activists held in contempt after refusing to pay an assessment fee ordered by Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus King III are scheduled for a show cause hearing. Maria Allwine, Johnny Barber, Michelle Grise, Joan Nicholson, Max Obuszewski, Kay Warren, Bill Wylie-Kellerman and Jerry Zawada were convicted on charges relating to protests on Capitol Hill against war funding on either Sept. 26 or 27, 2006. King found them in contempt on May 11, 2007, and wanted to jail them. They demanded a trial.
So the case was taken up by Judge John Ramsey Johnson, who denied a government motion to jail the activists. Johnson ruled that the contempt case will be continued until after the appeals of the conviction are completed. A decision on the appeals is expected some time in 2008.
APRIL 2008
2—[WDC] David Barrows will be sentenced, after being found guilty of simple assault on Feb. 26 in a bench trial in Superior Court. The accuser, Karen Testerman, a pro-war right-wing homophobe, and the police witnesses failed to tell the truth. Testerman accused Barrows of assaulting her on Sept. 18, 2007 during a pro-war rally in Upper Senate Park. Senators Joe Lieberman, John McCain and Lindsey Graham were among the featured speakers.
2—[WDC] Barrows is also scheduled for trial in Superior Court after being arrested on Sept. 11 during testimony given by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
MARCH 2008
31—[NYC] A judge will decide on a motion for dismissal in the case of the UN witness against crimes perpetuated by Bush, Cheney & Co. against humanity here and abroad. The motion argues that no crime was committed and that the arrest was illegal. The judge waived the requirement for any defendant, including Linda Letendre, to be present.
26—[Omaha, NE] Two STRATCom/Offutt Air Force Base line crossers are to appear in federal court for a hearing before a magistrate judge. Dagmar Hoxsie and John Bach are facing a charge of criminal trespass for crossing a line at Offutt AFB on Dec. 28, 2007 during the annual Feast of the Holy Innocents. Go to http://www.nebraskansforpeace.org/nepeace/stratcom/index.php. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or a $5,000 fine. Since this is Hoxsie’s second crossing, she will probably be imprisoned.
21—[Alexandria, VA] Sr. Margaret McKenna. Aaron Weiss, Tom Lewis, Marcus Melder and Liz McAlister are scheduled for trial at 9 AM in federal court. They were taken into custody after doing a die-in at the Pentagon, as part of the Feast of the Holy Innocents Retreat in Dec. 2007.
7—[WDC] During the Interfaith Witness for Peace for Iraq, forty four members of various faith groups were arrested in the Hart Senate Office Building appealing to Congress to shut off the funding.
7—[WDC] The “Polar Bear 7” returned to Superior Court for reconsideration and/or sentencing. Attorney Ann Wilcox, along with co-defendants pro se, Adam Eidinger and Robert Levitt, were to argue for the “Polar Bear 7.”
On Oct. 22, 2007, during the “No War, No Warming” demonstration, people dressed up as polar bears sang and danced their way on sidewalks outside of the Cannon House Office Building to remind Congress of the connection between war and global warming. The US Capitol Police insisted they disperse, but the “Polar Bear 7” were arrested as they attempted to leave, less than 30 seconds after the first warning to disperse.
Charged with unlawful assembly were Paul “zool” Zulkowitz, Alexis Baden-Mayer, Adam Eidinger, Robert Levitt, Cesar Maxit, journalist William Jordan and Anna Duncun. Jordan and Duncun had their charges dropped at the beginning of the trial. Ariel Vegosen was also arrested, but her case was dismissed before the trial began. Judge Raphael Diaz referred to the defendants as the “Polar Bear 7” and alternatively, as “teddy bears.”
Following a six-day trial, on Feb. 11 Diaz found the “Polar Bear 7” innocent of unlawful assembly, but guilty of a “lesser included” charge, failure to obey a police order. This was another example of a D.C. judge convicting peace activists on flimsy evidence. The government argued that because others were arrested that day, the police had the right to take the bears into custody on the basis of “transferred intent.”
4—[Wausau, WI] Roberta Thurstin and Don Timmerman were convicted of disorderly conduct stemming from a visit to Rep. David Obey’s office on Feb. 26, 2007. The citizens along with Susanna Gilk went to the office seeking information as to how he was going to vote on funding for the Iraqi invasion and occupation. Gilk pled guilty and agreed to do community service.
Thurstin and Timmerman, though, went to trial and were convicted despite the lack of any disorderly conduct and the fact that they were arrested before the office was closed. They were fined $5 and ordered to pay court costs and service costs. It seems that if you convicted in Wisconsin, you must pay a fee to reimburse those who filed the charges as well as court costs. The defendants were ordered to pay $190 despite the fact they are paupers.
2—[Santa Barbara, CA] Larry Purcell, Ed Ehmke and Mary Jane Parrine were arrested protesting Stars Wars testing at Vandenberg Air Force Base. They’re expected to be charged with trespassing and go through the federal court system. In 1983 the first nuclear-capable Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was tested at Vandenberg and since then the base’s mission has expanded to launching and monitoring orbiting satellites, and managing space surveillance operations.
More than 150 people commemorated the 25th anniversary of antiwar demonstrations at Vandenberg. The group pleaded with members of the Air Force to abandon their posts and join the protest against nuclear weapons.
FEBRUARY 2008
28—[Wheaton, IL] Jeff Zurawski and Sarah Hartfield were to appear at a motions hearing to quash two separate disorderly conduct charges resulting from their May 6th display of a sign reading “Impeach Bush and Cheney — Liars” and an upside-down U.S. flag on the Great Western Trail Bridge over Interstate 355. They originally faced one count of disorderly conduct, but the state’s attorney added charges of reckless conduct and un-authorized display of a sign. The government then dropped two of the charges when the activists refused any plea bargain. However, the state’s attorney added a new disorderly conduct charge. So they are facing two disorderly conduct charges. If their motion to quash, on the basis of a false arrest, is denied, they would be scheduled for a trial date.
25—[WDC] Rev. Lennox Yearwood had his case relating to a war protest dismissed in D.C. Superior Court. However, as he was leaving the courtroom a Metropolitan Police officer gave him a citation to appear in court facing another charge. Details are unclear as to what arrest resulted in a dismissal and what the new citation is about.
15-[Madison, WI] Bonnie Block, Janet Parker, and Joy First were arrested at Hilldale Mall while lying on the floor covered with a white shroud. They were with seven other activists calling attention to the human suffering of the war and occupation of Iraq. This solemn vigil, organized by the Madison Pledge of Resistance, was highlighted by the reading of the names of the dead Iraqis and US soldiers. The arrestees were charged with unlawful trespass which carries a fine of $424.
11—[Tacoma, WA] Peter Ryan, Sky Ogawa Cohen, Jesus Lopez, Jesse Schultz III and Fiona Thompson were scheduled for trial on a charge of failure to disperse while blocking arms shipments going to the port.
11—[WDC] Don Muller, Max Obuszewski, Perry Reeve and Lynn Robinson were to file an appeals brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. However, the federal public defender’s office filed a motion for a 60 day extension. The activists were arrested on the White House sidewalk on Sept. 26, 2005, and later convicted of demonstrating without a permit in three separate trials. The convictions were affirmed by Chief Judge Thomas Hogan.
6—[Duluth, MN] Trespass charges against nine antiwar activists were dismissed. The activists had an appointment in the office of Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) on Sept. 21, 2007, but were denied entry. They were then arrested and jailed for refusing to leave the doorway of the Duluth Federal Building. At the start of their St. Louis County Court trial, a motion for dismissal was filed by the defendants, Jay Newcomb, Joel Kilgour, Emily Gaarder, Ozone Bhaguan,
Kristofer Dubbels, David Boulton, Peter Krause, all of Duluth, Lori Seele of Finland and Nukewatch staffer John LaForge, arguing the police had violated their Constitutional rights to free speech and association, peaceful assembly and the redress of grievances. Judge Gerald Maher granted the motion. A tenth defendant, Bonnie Urfer, also of Nukewatch, ignored court orders and had a warrant issued for her arrest Oct. 31, 2007. The defendants are considering filing a civil suit against the City.
4—[Tucson, AZ] Three anti-torture advocates appeared for trial in federal court facing charges for a Nov. 18, 2007 protest at Ft. Huachuca in Sierra Vista, AZ. Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada and Betsy Lamb had been incarcerated since the arrest because of outstanding legal matters in other jurisdictions. They appeared in court in handcuffs. Lamb is awaiting trial for a September anti-war protest outside the office of Rep. Greg Walden, in Bend, Oregon. Zawada has an outstanding bench warrant for failure to appear for a court date in Washington, D.C. The third defendant, Mary Burton Riseley, who was weak with the flu, came to court in a wheelchair.
They faced charges of criminal trespass on a military installation, conspiracy and failure to comply with a police officer. They were arrested outside the gate of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca during a solidarity demonstration with the annual protest at Fort Benning.
A plea agreement was reached in which the military prosecutor agreed to drop the conspiracy charge in return for the defendants agreeing to stipulate to the facts. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Marshall found Zawada, Lamb and Riseley guilty of trespass and failure to obey an officer. Each defendant received a sentence of two years of supervised probation, a $5000 fine or 500 hours of community service. She told the defendants that they could do their community service by participating in demonstrations, handing out leaflets and other legal forms of protest. She also advised them that they could ask for an early end to their probation as soon as they either paid the fine or completed their community service.
1—[Portland, OR] A motions hearing was scheduled to consolidate all the cases relating to an action on Oct. 5, 2006 during a World Can’t Wait march. Ten people were arrested, but Ryan Dunn would later be found not guilty. The others awaiting trial are as follows: Adriane Ackerman, Alex Tinker, Bonnie Tinker, Brent Georgeson, Chris Knudtsen, Colin Jones, Crystal, Paul Forester & Victor Phillips.
JANUARY 2008
29—[WDC] The government was to file a brief in response to the one filed on Dec. 29, 2007 by Mark Goldstone on behalf of Beth Adams, Ellen Barfield, Michelle Grise, Sherrill Hogen, Kathryn McClanen, Joan Nicholson, Max Obuszewski & Eve Tetaz with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. They are appealing convictions related to protests on Sept. 26 or 27, 2006. However the government has requested sixty additional days arguing this is a complicated case.
On Feb. 16, 2007 some 30 defendants who appear before D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus King III are convicted and ordered to pay a $50 assessment fee. One defendant was found not guilty. On Mar. 14, 2007 20 defendants who appear before Judge King facing charges from either Sept. 26 or 27 are convicted and ordered to pay the $50 fee.
29—[Columbus, GA] Eleven activists were convicted of “trespassing on a military base.” On Nov. 18, 2007 they crossed the line unto Fort Benning, the military base which houses the SOA/WHINSEC.
Federal Magistrate G. Malon Faircloth sentenced Ed Lewinson, who is blind, to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. Tiel Rainelli received the same sentence. The other sentences are as follows: Joan Anderson, 30 days and a $500 fine; Ozone Bhaguan, 90 days and no fine; Le Anne Clausen, 30 days and no fine; Art Landis, 30 days and no fine, Chris Lieberman, 60 days and no fine; Diane Lopez Hughes, 45 days and a $500 fine; Gus Roddy, 30 days and a $500 fine; Stephen Schweitzer, 60 days and a $500 fine; and Michelle Yipe, 30 days and a $500 fine.
25—[Madison, WI] Municipal Court Judge Daniel Koval found Bonnie Block, Conor Murphy, Jean McElhaney, Jamie Haack and Joy First guilty of unlawful trespassing at the East Towne Mall. On Nov. 2, 2007 a group of about 25 concerned citizens went to the mall for a die-in organized by Madison Pledge of Resistance. As the names of US soldiers and Iraqis killed in the carnage were read aloud, seven activists were moved to lie down on the floor. Those lying on the floor were covered with a white shroud, and a red rose was placed on top of each body. Two of the arrestees had their case resolved. The other five went to trial.
The judge was sympathetic to the cause, but had an obligation to follow the law noting a 1987 decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which determined shopping malls were private property where speech is limited to what is acceptable to the mall owner. The judge reduced the fine from $424 to $109 and offered 10 hours of community service as an option in lieu of paying the fine.
24—[Albuquerque, NM] The Rev. John Dear was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Don Svet to 40 hours of community service and $510 in fines and court costs to be paid immediately. The judge was quoted at sentencing: “I’m not interested in making a martyr out of you.” Dear and eight others were arrested in the Joseph M. Montoya Federal Building in Santa Fe on Sept. 26, 2006. On Sept. 6, 2007 Dear, Philip Balcombe, Sansi Coonan, Michella Marusa, Martin “Bud” Ryan and Eleanore Vouselas were convicted of failure to comply with official signs and directions. The activists, who had been denied access to Sen. Pete Domenici’s office, wanted to present him with a “Declaration of Peace” to end the war.
Jan Lustig and Bruno Keller offered Alford pleas and were ordered to pay $25 in court processing fees. Jordan McKittrick is a minor, and his case was dismissed. Dear’s co-defendants received varying sentences in Oct. 2007, including suspended prison time, fines and community service. All five are appealing their sentences. Dear received the highest fine and most hours of community service, but he will not appeal. At sentencing, Svet was also quoted as saying, “Mr. Dear, you frankly are a phony. You preach nonviolence but you are the same man who took a hammer and a can of paint against a U.S. aircraft.”
24—[Moyock, NC] Steve Baggarly, Beth Brockman, Mark Colville, Peter DeMott, Mary Grace, Laura Marks and Bill Streit were sentenced after being convicted on Jan. 23 in a jury trial. On Oct. 20, 2007, they were charged with resisting arrest, trespassing and destruction of property at the headquarters of Blackwater USA when they reenacted the Nisoor Square massacre, which happened on Sept. 16, 2007 when Blackwater contractors killed 17 Iraqis. Six of the protesters
were found guilty of second-degree trespassing and of resisting, obstructing and delaying a law enforcement officer. Grace was only found guilty of trespass.
The judge sentenced them to time served. Five of the protestors served five days in jail after their arrest. Marks and Brockman were only in jail one day, but the judge suspended the other four days as long as they stay away from Blackwater property.
In non-jury trials in December, the seven were convicted. However, the trials were closed to the public. The second trial was a result of an appeal of the earlier convictions. A formal complaint from the North Carolina chapter of the ACLU to the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission claims the judge violated the protesters’ constitutional right to a public trial.
23—[Tacoma, WA] Wally Cuddeford was scheduled for trial. He was arrested on Mar. 6, 2007 during public comment time in City Council chambers after he condemned police brutality against war protesters.
22—[WDC] Patrick O’Neil and Eve Tetaz were scheduled to be arraigned on charges relating to an arrest at the White House on Dec. 30, 2007 during the Feast of the Holy Innocents Retreat. That day, the Jonah House donkey joined Mary, Joseph and the Jesus in a walk through Lafayette Park to the White House. There they set up a “Refugee Camp” tent. The donkey was given a ban and bar letter from the District of Columbia.
17-18—[WDC] On Jan. 17, thirty one antiwar activists were convicted in Superior Court of unlawful assembly. Over a two-day period, the defendants were given suspended jail sentences ranging from three to ten days and six months of unsupervised probation. All were ordered to pay at least $50, though for some it is $100, by April 30 to the victims of violent crime fund. Some defendants also received stay-away orders for the Capitol Crypt. A number of defendants had no previous criminal record, yet received suspended jail sentences. This is very unusual in Superior Court. However, there is an attempt underway in D.C. to quell the antiwar resistance. More than half of the defendants have appealed the conviction.
Thirty four people, calling themselves Rivers of Blood, were arrested on Sept. 20, 2007 during a die-in at the crypt of the U.S. Capitol. The police made the mistake of not charging all of the defendants with the same disorderly conduct charge. After both sides rested their cases, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Shapiro realized the discrepancy in the disorderly conduct charges.
The only witness for the government was the “arresting officer.” She was not present for the entire die-in, nor did she individually ask all defendants to leave. She never identified what a single defendant did. Instead her testimony targeted the group. She repeatedly said “many” of them or “some” of them. The defense did not bother to cross examine her, as it assumed her testimony was lacking. While Judge Ann O’Regan Keary dismissed the disorderly conduct charges, her rationale for a guilty verdict for unlawful assembly was that the painted tee shirts worn by the defendants and the Rivers of Blood banner were provocative and a breach of peace. She claimed that the die-in could have caused others to engage in violence. Of course, the government never presented any such evidence.
17—[WDC] Tina Richards, Adam Kokesh and Ian Thompson were scheduled for trial. On Sept. 6, 2007 a police officer rode a horse into the middle of a press conference in Lafayette Park. Several activists were speaking to the media about the urgency of coming out to protest the war on Sept. 15. When Richards and Kokesh pasted up a poster advertising the demonstration, they were arrested. Also arrested was Thompson, an attorney.
14—[Tacoma, WA] Wally Cuddeford, Jeff Berryhill and Caitlan Esworthy were scheduled for trial on a charge of resisting arrest during a blockade of arms shipments going to the port. Berryhill and Cuddeford face the additional charge of assaulting police.
11—[WDC] The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned a conviction for Cindy Sheehan, relating to her arrest during a demonstration on the Pennsylvania Ave. sidewalk outside the White House on Sept. 26, 2005. Three hundred and seventy one activists were arrested that day and charged with demonstrating without a permit. Sheehan and forty-one others appeared for the first trial on Nov. 16, 2005 before Judge Alan Kay. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hartzenbusch was the prosecutor.
When the activist, who lost her son Casey in the Iraq War, tried to explain her intent on being on the White House sidewalk, the prosecutor objected and the judge sustained the objection, claiming that the charge imposed strict liability. After a two-day trial, Kay convicted Sheehan and the other defendants.
Sheehan v. United States, No. 05-MJ-00649, 2006 WL 3756349, was argued on Oct. 16, 2007. The appellant contested the district court’s judgment on five grounds: “1] The First Amendment challenge to the National Park Service Regulations was preserved at trial; 2] the NPS permit requirement is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment, because it imposes strict liability on protective expressive conduct; 3] there is no evidence of appellant’s mens rea, because the Government prosecuted the case on the premise that strict liability applied and the Magistrate Judge excluded evidence that addressed appellant’s mens rea; 4] the evidence does not show that appellant was ‘demonstrating’ within the meaning of the NPS regulations; and 5] the evidence does not show that appellant knowingly demonstrated without a permit.”
The court rejected the challenge to the constitutionality of the regulations. But it acknowledged the unfairness of the trial: “We reverse and remand for a new trial, however, because appellant was convicted of a crime that does not exist and prevented from offering a viable defense.”
10—[Montpelier, VT] A small group of war protesters briefly took over center stage at Gov. James Douglas’ State of the State address. Minutes into the speech, the activists, including high school students, unfurled banners bearing anti-war slogans. Approximately ten protesters were escorted out by Capitol Police from the House chambers, but not before winning the attention of the overflow audience.
10—[WDC] Mike Ferner, a national officer with Veterans for Peace, was convicted of disorderly disturbing Congress in a jury trial in Superior Court. On Sept. 20, 2007, he and Linda Weiner stood up in the gallery of the House of Representatives and shouted “Congress! Congress! Funding the war is killing our troops. Please stop.” The disposition of Weiner’s case is unknown.
Ferner was fined $100, which he refused to pay. Sent to the D.C. Jail, he was released after serving less than 24 hours.
3—[WDC] In Superior Court, Judge Henry Greene dismissed all charges against activists arrested on Sept. 15, 2007 on the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Close to 200 people were arrested, but most paid a citation fine. Only Elliot Adams, Ellen Barfield, Brian Becker, Carla Boccella, Rodney Centeno, Jay Gillen, Sholom Keller, Adam Kokesh, Polly Miller, Shawn Peterson and Rich Reinhart appeared for trial facing a charge of crossing a police line. In trial opening statements, the defendants argued that the police line was unconstitutionally set up, since it was formed to prevent protected speech with no sufficient cause for a time and place restriction, and no crimes were committed as the police helped or pulled protesters across the line.
The government’s case collapsed during the testimony of a Capitol Police officer when it became evident that the government failed to provide adequate discovery to the defense. One of the documents which was withheld included a “police sensitive document related to terrorism.” A motion for judgment of acquittal was granted.
3—-[Des Moines, IA] Twenty five activists intended to occupy Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters until the senator agreed to pledge to bring an immediate end to the war in Iraq and to veto further funding of that war if she is elected president. When Clinton staff saw the group approaching the office, the door to the building was locked. A demonstration was held outside for several hours. When the headquarters staff left to go to the caucuses, the protesters decided to leave. No arrests were made.
2—[Des Moines, IA] Twelve people were arrested during occupations of the campaign headquarters of Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. Four were arrested in Romney’s office: Chris Gaunt, Ed Bloomer, Janice Sevre-Duszynska and Suzanne Sheridan. The eight arrested in Obama’s office were as follows: Vicki Andrews, Diane Haugesag, David Hovde, Dan Pearson, Tom Roddy, Brian Terrell, John Tuzcu and Kathy Kelly.
2—[Arlington, VA] Nine individuals braved 30 degree weather and 20 mph winds to visit Hillary Clinton’s headquarters in solidarity with Voices for Creative Nonviolence’s SoDa POP (Season of Discontent, a Presidential Occupation Project) campaign. Participants carried signs and a mock coffin, and there was a costumed Hillary Clinton as Lady McDeath. Clinton staffers kept the doors closed and put up cardboard along the windows in order to avoid seeing the protesters. There were no arrests.
OCTOBER 2007
24—[WDC] Desiree Fairooz confronted Condoleezza Rice during a House of Representatives hearing, and was arrested. She is facing several charges, including destruction of government property. She has at least one other pending case.
10—[WDC] Pace e Bene board member Rev. Linda Jaramillo and United Church of Christ general minister and president Rev. John Thomas were arrested delivering petition with 60,000 signatures to the White House. They went to the White House gate on Pennsylvania Ave. with a Pastoral Letter on the Iraq War. Thomas, the UCC’s general minister and president, and Jaramillo, executive minister for Justice and Witness Ministries, had earlier sought a meeting with the White House’s public liaison office, in order to hand-deliver the petitions, but their requests were not granted.
After being taken into custody by Park Police, they were given a citation release after paying $100. Earlier, during morning meetings, Thomas and Jaramillo successfully delivered boxes of petitions to representatives of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner.
2 [Waukegan, IL] A judge in the 19th Circuit Court of Illinois dismissed trespassing charges against Jeff Leys stemming from a July 5, 2006 demonstration at the nation’s command center for processing military recruits. Before jurors were picked in the trial, the Illinois State Attorney moved for dismissal of the charge. Referring to the Oct. 1 bench trial before Judge Patrick Lawler which resulted in the acquittal of a reporter arrested with Leys, the prosecutor moved the charge be dismissed. A police officer who was the state’s key witness failed to appear for the reporter’s trial. Presumably he was absent for Leys’ trial.
At the end of a month-long, 320-mile walk from the Illinois capital of Springfield, to the Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) at the Great Lakes Naval Base, Leys and two other protesters, Ceylon Mooney and Diane Hughes, walked onto the facility’s parking lot, knelt down and began reading a list of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. The three were taken into custody by military security officers and charged with trespass. It is unknown what happened with the two other protesters.