SOA Protesters Convicted, More Cross Line
- Sentencing soon for ten human rights activists;
prosecution ahead for six more at School of the Americas.

In Columbus, Georgia, on March 10, U.S. District Court Judge Hugh Lawson found nine human rights defenders guilty of trespass for entering Ft. Benning to protest the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA). The group that includes veterans, Protestant clergy, a Catholic nun, a chemist, and three counselors, face up to six months in federal prison and a $5,000 fine. The judge delayed sentencing pending a pre-sentencing report on each defendant. The nine joined 12,000 gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning in November 1999 to call for the closing of the notorious institution that is linked to human rights atrocities. The SOA trains Latin American troops in commando tactics, military intelligence, and psychological operations.

During the three-hour trial, the nine each admitted they defied orders barring them from the base, and in turn described their experiences that led to such an act of civil disobedience. Their testimony will be published in a booklet by SOA Watch.

Brooks Anderson, Judy Bierbaum, Thomas Bottolene, Charles Butler, Kathleen Fisher, Gerhard Fischer, John Honeck, Margaret Knapke, and Sr. Megan Rice may be sentenced as early as April 6.

Margaret Knapke, who has worked with people from El Salvador traumatized by war, said, "I feel I'd be disobedient if I failed to speak for the people of Latin America. The system works slowly and people are dying, so it's important to speak out with the loudest voice possible."

Immediately after the guilty verdict was rendered, six other activists, including three Catholic nuns, a retired social worker, and a homeless advocate, left the courthouse to plant crosses and place coffins at the School of the Americas. They entered Ft. Benning in defiance of a "bar order" banning them from the facility, and each risks six months in prison and a hefty fine like the nine found guilty earlier that day. Sr. Kathleen Desautels, Joyce Ellwanger, Ann Huntwork, Sr. Mary Dennis Lentsch, Sr. Kathleen McCabe, and Bruce Triggs were arrested and may also face charges of destruction of government property and disorderly conduct. They were released pending arraignment.

The nine who were convicted are among 23 who were initially charged with reentry trespass at the November demonstration. Thirteen were not prosecuted, apparently because the government lacked proof they had received their initial ban and bar letter.

A few days later, Charles Liteky, the tenth to be prosecuted, appeared for a bench trial before Judge Lawson. Liteky was arrested again at Fort Benning on December 12, so he faced two counts of reentry trespass. (The last issue of the Nuclear Resister failed to note that a second person joined Liteky in the December line-crossing, and received a ban and bar letter.)

Despite - or perhaps in part due to - a decorated military record as a chaplain through two tours of duty in Vietnam, Liteky told the judge he will continue to protest at Fort Benning until the SOA is closed, regardless of his lifetime ban from the base. He told the court, "I was fully aware that I was breaking the law. However, I regard my civil disobedience to be in keeping with the historical and moral significance of calling attention to laws that violate respect for human life," and a "community service."

Judge Dawson found Liteky guilty on both counts, but he remains free on an unsecured bond until sentencing, also tentatively set for April 6. support action All ten convicts may soon be behind bars.

For more information, contact SOA Watch, P.O. Box 4566, Washington, DC, 20017, (202)234-3440, or SOA Watch in Columbus, Georgia, at (706)682-5369. Sentencing information and prison addresses will also be posted at www.soaw.org and www.nonviolence.org/nukeresister.