Anti-Iraq War Civil Resistance
at the White House,
On November 16th, the first trial for the 373 people
arrested in front of the White House on September 26. The action culminated the
three day anti-war mobilization in
The
16th trail: Carlie Numi, Mary Jo McArthur, Susan Grubb, Melissa Elliott, Marcia
Angerman, Carol Seeley, and Sylvia Metzler.
Carlie Numi and
Carol Seeley had charges dropped. Others were found guilty in a trial
detailed below by Max Obuszewski from the
scheduled for the trial on December 21 and the
one set for January 18.
Justice Above the
Law?
“From start to finish, it was a trial unlike
most that unfold in the courthouse, as one defendant after another pilloried
Bush from the well of the courtroom and from the witness stand.” -- Henri E. Cauvin, THE
As a representative of the National Campaign for
Nonviolent Resistance, I am coordinating the legal efforts resulting from the
arrest of more than 370 peace activists who tried to exercise a First Amendment
right to petition the government on Sept. 26, 2005 at the White House. On
Nov. 16, more than 100 defendants were scheduled for trial in federal court in Washington,
3rd and Constitution Ave.
Around sixty of these defendants had contacted
me, and a majority had not yet paid the protest tax [$50 fine and $25 court
costs] listed on the citation. Remarkably 42 defendants appeared for
trial, traveling from Florida, California, Wisconsin, Oregon, New York, New
Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia to face a
charge of “demonstrating without a permit,” which carries a maximum fine of
$500 and a possible six months in jail.
Acting as pro se defendants with assistance from attorney
advisor, Mark Goldstone, Cindy Sheehan's attorney, Jon W. Norris, and volunteer
lawyer, Ann Wilcox, the activists volunteered to take on nine roles to be performed
during trial. It surprised me that the case went forward, as Mark
said it was the largest number of defendants in the same trial he
has witnessed in more than twenty years of
service to the peace and justice activists prosecuted in
After the morning demonstration on Nov. 16, the
defendants, lawyers and supporters were ushered to a vacant
courtroom. Mark, Jon and Ann soon began disseminating legal advice
to the curious, and the group proceeded
to engage in a mock trial.
Catherine Hartzenbusch, the
prosecutor, soon came in to offer a plea bargain: plead guilty and pay a fine
of $25 and court costs of $25. A marshal then began to take a roll call
of who was present, but the lawyers objected. He wanted to call the names by
arresting officer instead of in alphabetical order. This led Mark, Jon
and pro se defendant June Eisley, from
We were now informed, however, of the prosecutor’s
plan to pursue separate trials by arresting officers, rather than a joint
single trial. Moreover, the judge was intent on starting the trials without all
of the defendants being given an arraignment.
An arraignment is a standard procedure in court.
The defendant hears the charge, pleads to the charge and states to the court if
counsel is present. When I heard of the government’s plans, I realized
fairness was not to be a major concern in this court.
The government wanted to “steamroll” the defendants,
as Mark put it, into copping pleas. But the solidarity of the defendants
was emphasized by the fact that just one person accepted the plea
bargain. I now knew the steamrolling would not work.
By
Then Kay called the first group of defendants into the
well of the court, and each one sought an arraignment. The first four
explained they had no representation, and thus were not prepared for
trial. Kay had no alternative, but to grant a new trial
date, Dec. 16. The fifth pled guilty.
The prosecutor informed the court the government would
consider waiving the six months imprisonment, which would nullify a defendant’s
right to a public defender. I suspect such a move, which did happen, was
illegal.
So our entourage retired to the vacant courtroom to
strategize. The defendants agreed on a strategy to force the hand
of the government. Rabbi Arthur Waskow, from
The prosecutor indicated the government was prepared
for trial. We would find out later, she fibbed, as her primary witness
was not present. So actually she could not have pursued separate trials,
as the missing witness would have had to testify in every case.
She informed the court that no defendant would receive
discovery as no one requested it. Denying the defendants discovery is
astonishing, as there would be a police report at least which should be
accessible in preparing a defense.
The judge called up the first four defendants and
ordered them to sit in the well of the court. It took a legal skirmish
before Cindy Sheehan was allowed to sit at the defendant’s table.
The first matter, though, was to argue the
prosecutor’s motions: “To Preclude an Affirmative Defense of Necessity,
For Leave to Late File and the Notice of Intent to Introduce Certified Business
Records.” The judge ruled that the motion in limine
would be held over for further observation. Jon and many of the defendants had
never seen the motions before arriving in court.
Jon brought up the case of Andrew Bloch who was
arrested March 19, 2003 in an antiwar protest after climbing over barriers to
get to
Hartzenbusch, in her opening statement, told the
court the defendants had no permit.
her off by saying you were demonstrating
without a permit. A pro se defendant objected to this blatant prejudice,
and
In his opening statement, Jon pointed out his client
had suffered the ultimate penalty--her son was killed in
The first witness for the prosecution was called, a
who copped a plea would have had his case
dismissed. The term arresting officer does not necessarily mean the
person that placed a defendant into custody.
So the trial proceeded in this fashion. A group
of defendants were called to sit in the well of the court, and their arresting
officer testified against them. Objections were raised that isolating the
defendants up front would make it easy for the police witness to point them
out. The judge noted this objection, but permitted the practice to continue
throughout the trial. One police officer admitted that there may be
others in the courtroom who might be her arrestees. However, she
could not point any out.
Defendant pro se PJ Park, of
clothing, including a War Is Not the Answer tee
shirt. Cindy was obviously identified by name.
After five hours, we were informed the prosecution’s
last witness was not present. At
The next morning, the
Both Norris and Anna White, a pro se defendant from
D.C., offered motions for acquittal. Specific examples were noted of
the witnesses failing to identify defendants. Since the judge rejected
these motions, it was inevitable he would convict.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Waskow
called the first witness for the defense, Manijeh
Saba from
The next witness Joy First came from
Gael Murphy, a member of Code Pink from the District
of Columbia, testified that more than 30,000 petitions were taken to the guard
shack at the White House on Sept. 26, but were refused. In a statement to
the judge, she explained that she is disenfranchised because of her residence in
the District. She could not petition her legislators to vote against
the war.
The judge kept encouraging the defense to hurry as
time was running out. He never did this during the prosecution case. An
objection to this time bias was only noted.
The last witness for the defense was Cindy, all the
way from
Just before the closing statements were made,
Stephanie Allen from
Johnny Barber, from Deerfield Beach, FL, gave an
exceptionally moving closing statement, noting that dissidents are always
excluded from any of the president’s forums. Norris again reminded the court
that Cindy paid the greatest price and argued points of law, including the
Andrew Bloch decision by the appeals court.
After some minutes in his chambers, Kay ruled.
He gave the Webster’s Dictionary definition for civil disobedience and then
ruled all guilty and fined them $50 with a $25 assessment for court costs. In
the court of law, defendants have the right to speak before sentencing.
However, in this court, Rose Marie Berger from D.C.
made a collective sentencing statement after Kay announced the sentence.
She asked for time served and quoted William Penn, “Justice above the
law.” Kay indicated the sentence imposed stands.
As the judge left the bench, the defendants and
supporters erupted into a hearty version of "We Shall Overcome."
This was followed by Rabbi Waskow singing his
progressive version of “
The defendants spent two days sparring with the court
on major issues of life and death, war and the Bill of Rights and the need to
speak truth to power. From my perspective it was an invigorating example
of community-building and an empowering method of continuing the resistance inside
the courthouse. All involved deserve accolades. As a biased
observer, I found the defendants not guilty as
they acted on their
There are two more opportunities to take the
resistance into the courtroom. From the correspondence, I know many
others who were arrested on Sept. 26 are looking forward to having their day in
court.
Max Obuszewski
is a member of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore.
Report back from the
Following the September 24th Mass March on the
Washington, DC in which more than 100,000 people demanded an end to the war and
the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, the Sept. 24 - 26 Anti-War
Mobilization to End the War in
After walking from a nearby church to the White House
Ellipse, nearly a thousand people did a "peace circling" of the White
House, lead by bells tolling. Then, those facing arrest crossed
The
Camerota, Thomas Mullian,
Alan Dawley, Thomas Ehrhardt,
Karen Wisniewski, John Landreau, and Carol Seeley.
Others from the
"Dissent without disobedience is
consent." - Henry David Thoreau
Many thanks
to all the support people and for your continuing support.
POSTED:
UPDATED:
WASHINGTON -- The number of people arrested at an
anti-war rally outside the White House has grown from dozens to hundreds -- and
includes Cindy Sheehan.
Sheehan, 48, who has led a public battle against the war
since her son was killed in
She and the others sat down along the pedestrian walkway
in front of the White House and began to sing and chant "Stop the war
now!" Police warned them three times that they would be arrested if they
didn't move along, but that didn't deter them.
A spokesman for the U.S. Park Police estimates about 370
people were taken into custody over a four and a half hour period. The
demonstrators who were arrested cooperated with police.
All but one person was charged with a misdemeanor of demonstrating
without a permit. One person was charged with crossing a police line.
An
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush
in
The demonstration was part of a broader anti-war effort on
Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group.
Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of
Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops.
Sheehan and the others were taken to a processing center
to be fingerprinted and photographed. Police said they would be given a ticket
and released.
By JENNIFER C. KERR,
Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 26,
Sheehan, carrying a photo of her son in his Army uniform, rallied with other protesters in a park across the street from the White House and then marched to the gate of the executive mansion to request a meeting with President Bush.
The protesters later sat down on the pedestrian walkway in front of the White House — knowing they would be arrested — and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"
Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. One man climbed over the White House fence and was quickly subdued by Secret Service agents.
Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She smiled as she was carried to the curb, then stood up and walked to a police vehicle as protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."
"It's an honor to be arrested with this group of people," said
Gary Handschumacher, 58, of
Sgt. Scott Fear, spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said about 370 protesters were arrested over four and a half hours. All but one were charged with demonstrating without a permit, a misdemeanor. One person faced a charge of crossing a police line.
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed last year in an ambush in
Monday's demonstration was part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups met Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and to bring the troops home.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush is "very much
aware" of the protesters and "recognizes that there are differences
of opinion" on
"It's the right of the American people to peacefully express their
views. And that's what you're seeing here in
The protest Monday followed a massive demonstration Saturday that drew a crowd of 100,000 or more, the largest such gathering in the capital since the war began in March 2003.
On Sunday, a rally supporting the war drew about 500 people. Speakers
included veterans of World War II and the war in
"I would like to say to Cindy
Sheehan and her supporters: Don't be a group of unthinking lemmings," said
Mitzy Kenny of
See
video of arrest. (Watch out for stupid commercial which precedes the
video.)