ZMO ONLINE-ONLY ARTICLE:
I am of the opinion that there has never been a movement in U.S. history with the number of arrests which have taken place in opposition to the Iraq War. The following list of appeals, arrests, and legal cases is not all-inclusive. Please send additions, corrections, and updates to mobuszewski@verizon.net.
FEBRUARY 2008
11—Tacoma, WA: Peter Ryan, Sky Ogawa Cohen, Jesus Lopez, Jesse Schultz III, and Fiona Thompson are scheduled for trial on a charge of failure to disperse while blocking arms shipments going to the port.
JANUARY 2008
23—Tacoma, WA: Wally Cuddeford is scheduled for trial. He was arrested on March 6, 2007 during public comment time in City Council chambers after he condemned police brutality.
16—Washington, DC: Thirty-four peace activists are scheduled for trial on two disorderly conduct charges in Superior Court. They were arrested in a National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance organized die-in at the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 20.
14—Tacoma, WA: Wally Cuddeford, Jeff Berryhill and Caitlan Esworthy are 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.
3—WDC: Around 20 protesters will go on trial for crossing a police line on Sept. 15 on the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Close to 200 people were arrested, but the vast majority paid a citation fine.
DECEMBER 2007
29—WDC: Beth Adams, Johnny Barber, Ellen Barfield, Michelle Grise, Sherrill Hogen, Kathryn McClanen, Joan Nicholson, and Max Obuszewski are to file their brief with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. They are appealing convictions related to protests on Sept. 26 or 27, 2006.
17—Cedar Rapids, IA: Mona Shaw, Lou Hellwig, Ajax Robert Ehl, Kathy Hall, Megan Felt, Lee Mickey, Nyssa Koons, Brian Shearer, Gloria Williams, Brian Terrell, and Renee Espeland go on trial for trespass. On July 6, they were arrested in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office. Also arrested was David Goodner, but he pled guilty and paid a small fine.
14—Omaha, NE: Peg Gallagher, Fr. Jack McCaslin and Jerry Ebner scheduled for trial, facing a charge of refusal to leave on Oct. 10 during a die-in outside the Strategic Space and Defense Conference.
12—San Diego, CA: Five members of San Diego Civil Disobedients scheduled for trial on a charge of trespass after being arrested in Rep. Susan Davis’s office on Sept. 20.
11—WDC: Don Muller, Max Obuszewski, Perry Reeve, and Lynn Robinson file an appeals brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 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. So this appeal goes before the U.S. Court of Appeals. Working with a public defender, the appellants have requested a 60-day extension to file their brief.
5—Denver: Sue Gomez, Arnie Carter and Raphael Egger, who were part of a group of seven who sat in Sen. Ken Salazar’s office on Feb. 21, scheduled for trial facing charges of trespass and disturbing the peace. The others, William Watts, Nelson Bock, John Scott Foreman and Claire Ryder, pled guilty and were given time served or community service sentences.
4—Tucson, AZ: Betsy Lamb, Mary Burton Riseley, and Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada are arraigned in federal court, facing 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, AZ on Nov. 18 during a solidarity demonstration with the annual protest at Fort Benning.
4—Burlington, VT: Four antiwar activists are expected to be prosecuted. They were arrested with four others on Oct. 22 while sitting in Rep. Peter Welch’s office.
3—Madison, WI: Seven nonviolent peace activists, Cassandra Dixon, Flo Evans, Joy First, Jamie Haack, Janet Parker, Karin Sandvik, and Susan Spahn, go on trial after an arrest in front of Senator Kohl’s office on Sept. 7. They were charged with obstructing a sidewalk after putting up crime scene tape around the entrance t
