PEACE BANNER HANGERS   ACQUITTED

Well before the dust had settled, it seemed certain that the atrocity that began with the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center would be compounded by U.S. military retaliation. But for a few hours, eleven days after the 11th of September, an alternative to the din of war cries waved gloriously above Denver. "Wage Peace Now" declared the enormous words on the hanging banner that bore the images of the Dalai Lama, Jesus Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Mahatma Gandhi.

By April 4, the question before a Denver jury had been reduced to one of misdemeanor trespass. The judge said free speech was no excuse. Had the six activists - five on the towering crane and one on the ground below with a two-way radio - unlawfully entered the downtown construction site?

Veteran Denver civil rights attorney Walter Gerash successfully argued that the site was not properly enclosed. With a passion to match his legal prowess, Gerash choked back tears as he told the jury "I wish I had grandchildren and children who did what they did."

Regarding their acquittal, defendant Yuri Koslen told a reporter, "We got off on a technicality, but I think the jury liked having a way to get us off." The activists hope the case "signifies a shift in public sentiment towards reevaluation of war as an answer to tragedy. With the world in crisis, and violence begetting ever more violence, now more than ever is the time to protect civil liberties and struggle for peace."

For more information, visit www.wagepeacenow.org or contact Yuri Koslen at 720-563-0485 or Amy Johnson at 720-290-8199.