Report and News Articles on March 12, 2008 “Ghosts of the Iraq War” Action at U.S. Capitol
Friends,
Members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR] again went inside the U.S. Capitol with a message to end the funding of the Iraq War. On September 20, 2007, thirty four NCNR activists did a die-in at the Capitol Crypt to plead with Congress to stop funding an illegal occupation of Iraq.
This time, on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, NCNR members went into the gallery of the U.S. Senate as Ghosts of the Iraq War. Four of the Ghosts, Ellen Barfield, Joy First, Linda Letendre and Eve Tetaz, were not released from custody, while six other ghosts, Maria Allwine, Tim Chadwick, Judith Kelly, Art Landis, Max Obuszewski and Manijeh Saba were finally released early Thursday morning. During the incarceration, Art Landis, who has a history of mini-strokes, and Eve Tetaz, who suffers from glaucoma, were hospitalized. The whereabouts of Barfield, First, Letendre and Tetaz were unknown, as U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police refused to inform supporters where they were being held.
All ten of us were scheduled to be arraigned at 10:30 AM on March 13 in Courtroom C-10 of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The defendants are facing a charge of disorderly conduct/disruptive conduct, which carries a possible sentence of six months in jail and/or a $500 fine. No explanation can be given why some were held, and others were released.
The Ghosts of the Iraq War was a great action. We were on C-Span until someone in the Senate pulled the plug. Then Capitol Police organized against the media to try to prevent any coverage of the resistance.
Thursday, March 13 was agonizing. The six of us who received citation release around midnight were ordered to appear in court at 10:30 AM. We found out around 11:30 AM that they would not hear our case until the afternoon. Actually what the government did was to take every other case before the gallery ghosts. The intent was to clear the courtroom except for the protesters and our supporters.
Ellen Barfield, Joy First, Linda Letendre and Eve Tetaz were brought from the lock-up at 7 PM. The other six were called around 7:20 PM. The government wanted to detain many of us, but Judge Eugene McCarthy would not agree. Some of the defendants were given stay-away orders from Capitol Hill.
We have a status hearing date on May 27, and the plan is to opt for a jury trial. The six ghosts who violated probation could also be called back to court for a show cause hearing. More details of the action and its aftermath, along with government misconduct, will be forthcoming.
Kagiso, Max Obuszewski
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VC2OS81&show_article=1 [1]
War Protesters Arrested in Senate
Mar 12 03:15 PM US/Eastern
Anti-war protesters chant “war criminal” at Condi Rice during hearing on Capitol Hill. Later more protesters took the protest inside the Capitol’s Senate gallery.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Capitol Police arrested 10 war protesters who began shouting in the Senate gallery Wednesday.
The protesters were quickly hustled into a hallway and out of the view of reporters. They had chanted, “The war is immoral! Stop funding the war!”—as police officers grabbed them and physically removed them from a visitors gallery overlooking the Senate floor.
The demonstrators wore gauze shrouds over their heads and black shirts that read, “We will not be silent.”
One member said they represented the “National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.”
Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas was speaking during debate on the federal budget when the protest broke out. She stopped talking while the protesters were removed.
Outside the chamber, police ordered reporters to leave the public hallway where authorities were detaining the protesters. An officer could be heard reporting that there had been 10 arrests in the incident.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Protesters halt Senate business
By Alexander Bolton and J. Taylor Rushing
Posted: 03/12/08 03:04 PM [ET]
Anti-war protesters shut down Senate proceedings momentarily Wednesday afternoon by chanting slogans that disrupted a debate over the budget resolution.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) was speaking on the Senate floor at 2:20 p.m. when the group began chanting, “We are from the National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance” over and over.
Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (N.D.), who was managing debate for the Democrats, asked the sergeant at arms to clear the disturbance.
U.S. Capitol Police officers removed at least 10 protesters from the Senate chamber after they shouted at lawmakers to stop funding the war in Iraq.
Most of the protesters wore what appeared to be cheesecloth over their faces, giving them a ghostly appearance.
“Stop the dying,” chanted one protester.
Most of the protesters appeared to be middle-aged. One carried a cane and had to be helped along out of the chamber by a security officer.
Capitol Police ordered reporters to clear a hallway adjacent to the chamber. A tense exchange between Capitol Hill reporters and police ensued, with reporters questioning officers for keeping them from the scene.
That brought out Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer, who listened to Capitol reporters complain about being barred from witnessing how police handled the protesters.
Gainer said the episode “unfolded quick,” and that blocking the press from covering the protest was “not the message” the Senate wanted to send. He called the press complaints “reasonable” and “point well-taken.”
“I never would expect our officers to manage the press while they’re engaged in their duty,” Gainer said. “To the extent we were imperfect, we will try to improve.”
The protest halted Senate proceedings for about 10 minutes. When calm was restored, senators resumed the budget debate.