January 2016
IN THIS E-BULLETIN
GRANDMA DRONE PROTESTER JAILED FOR 6 MONTHS
KOREAN NAVAL BASE RESISTER REFUSES TO PAY FINE, IS JAILED
TWELVE ARRESTED AT JERRY BERRIGAN MEMORIAL DRONE BLOCKADE
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ACTION AT LOCKHEED MARTIN RESULTS IN 9 ARRESTS
THIRTEEN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON U.S. CAPITOL STEPS BEFORE STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
DRONE PROTESTERS BLOCKADE BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, 5 ARRESTED
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
Grandma drone protester jailed for 6 months
Hancock drone resister and grandmother Mary Anne Grady Flores was taken into custody on January 19 at the Town of DeWitt Court. She had been convicted on May 16, 2014 of violating an order of protection while taking pictures of eight Catholics nonviolently protesting the U.S. drone assassination program at the Hancock Air Base on Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2013. DeWitt Judge David Gideon sentenced Mary Anne to one year in prison and fined her $1000, but she was released on bail while her appeal was pending. All eight Catholic drone resisters arrested that Ash Wednesday were acquitted, by a judge who asserted that the protesters intended to uphold law, not break it.
On January 12, Grady Flores received a letter saying that Onondaga County Court Judge Thomas Miller upheld her lower court conviction, but he had reduced her sentence to six months. Her legal team is filing an appeal.
Read more here.
Korean naval base resister refuses to pay fine, is jailed
On January 27, Mr. Kim Guk-Nam, a 50-year-old sea-diving activist living in Gangjeong village on Jeju, the Peace Island of Korea, turned himself in to jail after refusing to pay fines of 5 million KRW (about USD$5,000) for his protests against the navy base nearing completion there. At the rate of one day per 100,000 KRW, he will serve 50 days in prison. Construction of the base began with destruction of the sacred Gureombi rock coast at Gangjeong, and subsequent devastation of rare coral habitat. Kim has participated in underwater monitoring with others since the base construction began, documenting multiple violations of construction rules intended to safeguard the sea.
Read more here.
Twelve arrested at Jerry Berrigan Memorial Drone Blockade
On the morning of January 28, thirty life-sized cutouts of Syracuse peacemaker Jerry Berrigan (who died on July 26, 2015 at the age of 95) blockaded the main entrance of Hancock Air National Guard Base outside Syracuse, New York. The cutouts were accompanied by twelve nonviolent drone resisters, who were arrested after blockading for an hour and a half.
Jerry Berrigan came to the base on a bi-weekly basis whenever he was able, “to register horror and indignation at reports of bombing missions by drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan which resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians; men, women and children.”
Read more here.
Martin Luther King, Jr. action at Lockheed Martin results in 9 arrests
Members of the Brandywine Peace Community gathered in the cold at Lockheed Martin in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania on January 18, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. They have gathered there every year since 1977, holding banners and signs for Dr. King and his message of nonviolent action and resistance for justice and peace. After 20 minutes of excerpts from Dr. King’s sermons and speeches, the group had an MLK Day Memorial litany, drawn from his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Nine people then proceeded to face arrest for civil resistance/disobedience by walking onto and holding signs across the corporation’s main driveway entrance. The signs read “Unarmed Truth” and “Unconditional Love”.
Read more here.
Thirteen activists arrested on U.S. Capitol steps before State of the Union speech
On the afternoon of January 12, 2016, with President Obama’s last State of the Union address scheduled that evening, members and associates of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to express their vision for a just society. They held a banner which read “STOP THE WAR MACHINE – EXPORT PEACE” and sang “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Thirteen of them were then arrested and charged with “incommoding and obstructing.”
Read more here.
Drone protesters blockade Beale Air Force Base, 5 arrested
On January 12, midway through a monthly drone protest at Beale Air Force Base, five activists marched down S. Beale Road toward the Wheatland gate. They blocked incoming traffic during commute time for about 15 minutes, and were arrested while delivering a letter to Col. Lee, the base commander. Mauro Oliveira, Fred Bialy, Shirley Osgood, Denise Marks and Toby Blome were detained for nearly 2 hours, cited and released.
Read more here.
Please support imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists – The Nuclear Resister needs YOU!
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