SOAW-W ~ Further Reports from Ft. Benning
1) Update: ¡La Luche Sigue!
2) Thanks, everybody!
3) East Bay SOAW Meeting
4) Article in the SF Chronicle
- Subject: Update: ¡La Luche Sigue!
- Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 23:33:34 -0800
- From: "Rachel Montgomery" <catsdogs@mindspring.com>
The choice now is not between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Growing Stronger Together
10,000 Voices Call: SHUT IT DOWN!Nov.19, 6pm - two people are still incarcerated in Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, GA. In the last 48 hours, the movement has been able to secure loans and raised funds to pay for the bonds of everyone who got arrested (close to $45,000 Dollar). The love, energy, strength and solidarity that has been generated over the last days has been amazing. Thanks to everyone who contributed to make this happen.
A trial is scheduled to take place on January 27, 2003. The defendants are facing up to six month in prison and $5000 Dollar fine for their courageous witness that exposed the issue of SOA violence in Latin America to the public. The weekend's events and the case against the SOA were covered in many media outlets throughout Latin America, in newspapers in Europe and on cable channels, radio stations and newspapers such as the New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and many others.
Donations are urgently needed to help cover legal expenses, to get ready for trial, and to continue our work to close down the SOA and to work for justice and peace throughout the Americas. If you are able to contribute financially, please give generously now. We deeply appreciate all that you do to close down the School of Americas.
For photos and detailed reports about the weekend's events visit the Atlanta Independent Media Center: www.atlanta.indymedia.org. You can donate by making a check out to SOA Watch and sending it to SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington DC 20017
In Solidarity, SOA Watch
________________________________________
SOA Watch ~ PO Box 4566 ~ Washington DC 20017 ~
(202)234-3440 ~ www.soaw.orgSubject: THANKS EVERYBODY! Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:18:04 -0800 From: "Rachel Montgomery" <catsdogs@mindspring.com>
Hey everybody-I just wanted to let you all know I am out of jail and back home. My arraignment was at about 10 am today, and was able to post bail thanks to a friend, and Laura Slattery was released after her arraignment about an hour after me. USF students Linda Aguilar,
Sunny Angulo, Margaret Rossi and Guadalupe Chavez as well as Don Haselfeld, Andrew Olive, Laura Slattery and Derrilyn Tom of San Francisco were also arrested, and I believe they have all been released on a $5000 bond.Even just two nights in a county jail is rough- I now truly understand how tough it must be for Toni Flynn and Jerry Zawada who are serving their entire sentences in county jails in Georgia. The other women and the truly amazing community we created in there together are what kept me going and kept me hopeful. I believe we now have the first SOAW Muscogee Men and Women's Choir after singing our hearts out yesterday waiting over 9 hours in 2 VERY small holding cells next to the court....despite warnings from the guards that we were "disrupting" Judge Faircloth's court. :-D Such a beautiful sound, and testament to the fact that whatever they may try to do to wear us down, they can't break our spirits!!!
I will definitely be at the meeting tomorrow night, as I am really looking forward to seeing all of you. We also need to start talking about the trial, fundraising for the co-defendants/legal team, as the trial is set to start January 27, 2003. And more than ever, I think we need to work on supporting Chani while she serves her time in Dublin.
Last, but by no means least, I really want to thank all of you who were there in Columbus, supporting us in whatever way you could- you have no idea how much it meant to me to know you were all out there thinking of us and holding us in your hearts- whether you were in Columbus or back home. Seeing the folks holding vigil and watching for us outside every time we were moved from jail to court was the highlight of my 3 days there.
THANKS to all of you!!
See you Wednesday!
Peace-
Rachel
East Bay SOAW meeting
Wednesday, November 20 7-9pm
World Ground Cafe, 3726 MacArthur Blvd.
(about 1-1/2 blocks south of 35th Ave. next to KFC)Contact Bob Nixon at robertnixon@mindspring.com or call 510-533-3120;
or Rachel Montgomery 510-205-3956Unless there are other things people would like to add to the agenda, this is what we will probably focus on:
1) Sharing with each other about our experiences at Fort Benning. I'm sure we will have many stories to tell, and we will hopefully have an update on those who decided to cross onto the base. (hopefully there will be LOTS this year!!!),
2) Talking about doing more to support Prisoner of Conscience Chani Geigle. Chani is from Salem, Oregon, but is serving a 6 month sentence at a women's prison very nearby in Dublin. This week about 8 of us had a peaceful vigil for her outside the gates of the military base where the prison is located, and had great signs as well. Some of us feel it would be good to do this on a regular basis, depending on how many people can do this, and how often.
3) And maybe some time talking about how we would like to reach out to the community in the East Bay after returning from the vigil.
We have enough people who tell it like it is--now we could use a few who tell it like it can be.- Robert Orben
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
Nov. 20, 2002 ~ News from Georgia #4 (Wednesday)1) All those from the Bay Area who were arrested on Sunday have been arraigned and released. Support efforts begin now for the trials scheduled for Jan. 27. Rachel Montgomery of Oakland is part of the East Bay SOAW. Don Haselfeld, Laura Slattery, and Derrlyn Tom of San Francisco are part of SOAWW in San Francisco. To support USF students Linda Aguilar, Sunny Angulo, Guadalupe Chavez and Margaret Rossi, contact Sarah Silva at sasilva@usfca.edu. To support Andrew Olive in the effort to have his charges dropped, contact Judy Liteky at jliteky@aol.com.San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.org3) San Francisco SOAWW Meeting.
5) 82 freed, three still in jail
Attorneys for SOA Watch question legality of arrests
By Jim Houston
Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Wed. Nov. 20, 2002U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth said Tuesday it was his decision to jail protesters arrested for crossing onto Fort Benning during this year's protest, and to require bond before their release.
Faircloth told SOA Watch attorneys and 20 protesters awaiting arraignment that he made the decisions, a dramatic departure from procedures employed in previous years, without consultation with the U.S. Army or the U.S. Marshal's Service.
The judge's comments were in response to Loyola University law professor Bill Quigley's questions at the start of the second day of arraignment for the 85 protesters arrested Sunday on misdemeanor charges. Quigley indicated that if such decisions had been made during a conference with the U.S. Attorney's office, U.S. Army officials or Marshal's Service officers -- without representatives from the protest group present -- it could have violated procedural rules.
"There was no conference," Faircloth said.
Capt. David Anglin, who prosecuted 37 protesters in May for crossing onto the post during November 2001 demonstrations, said the Army wanted to "move cases forward more promptly than in the past." Eight months between arrest and trial is too long, as even defendants last spring complained about the delay, he told Faircloth.
Instead of eight months, the trials this year will begin Jan. 27. By nightfall Tuesday, only three protesters remained in the Muscogee County Jail. The other 82 were released on bond, with only one exempted from posting a $500 deposit on the $5,000 bond Faircloth required for their release. After listening to each defendant request release on a personal recognizance bond, based on the individual's promise to return for trial, Faircloth thanked each for their word, but told them he required more guarantee of their return.
Marie C. Salupo of Cleveland told Faircloth she would remain in jail until released on her promise to return, and until all others have been released. She also said she will continue to fast while incarcerated.
"I don't question your fervor in your cause, but I do feel the necessity of assuring your attendance at trial," Faircloth replied. He ordered her to post a $500 deposit on the $5,000 bond.
But Faircloth made one exception when Michael Francisco Ugarte asked for a personal recognizance bond.
"I give you my word I will return," Ugarte told the judge. But his word means more than a promise, he said, because failure to return for trial would cost him his livelihood as a tenured professor of Spanish literature at the University of Missouri.
"You have voiced the most compelling reason for an O.R. bond that I have heard -- your tenure and employment as an educator would be jeopardized," Faircloth said. "That is far more than a simple promise to come back from someone I have just met."
Told he would be released without being required to post a cash deposit, Ugarte was speechless for a moment. "I'm shocked. I'm surprised," he stammered.
For Anika Justine Walz, a student at the College of St. Catherine in Minnesota, her plea for release on her promise to return included the comment that if she had to pay a cash deposit on the bond, she might not be able to pay her tuition.
"What you've just said to me was something you should have thought about before you came down here and took an action that may have violated the law," Faircloth replied.
Two protesters from Monday's court session who had refused to provide required information for approval of a bond returned to court on Tuesday. Eloy J. Garcia, who refused to provide the names or whereabouts of his parents, announced he would provide that information.
John "Peace" Doe, who has steadfastly refused to give the court or jailers his name, age, home town or any other identifying information, was brought back into the courtroom to ask Faircloth a question.
"If I remain in jail through the trial, and serve my sentence in prison as John Doe, will I be released after serving my time as John Doe?" he asked. Jail officers, he said, had warned him he would not be released from prison until authorities knew his identity.
Not so, Faircloth said. If he enters as John Doe and serves his sentence in full, he must be released. If authorities balk, a simple habeas corpus petition to the courts would force his release, the judge said. Doe returned to jail.
Faircloth said he will review the bond status of all who remain in jail by Friday.
For 81 of the protesters, the Jan. 27 trial will be before Faircloth on the Class B misdemeanor charge of trespassing on the military post, which is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Four defendants face a Class A misdemeanor charge, one for refusing to stop at a vehicle checkpoint and three for destruction of government property. The Class A offense is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, but the defendants may choose a jury trial, trial before U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land, or trial before Faircloth.
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
November 26, 2002Dear Friends:San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.orgReturning from Fort Benning where we joined thousands who again peacefully protested our very own terrorist training facility there, we are heartened to read such a thoughtful and timely article by SF Chronicle columnist, Ken Garcia. We are thankful this season for truly inspirational people like Frs. Louie and Bill:
Click on the link below to read the article in today's Chronicle:
For more information, contact me!
Dolores Priem
SOA Watch West
[For archived news from previous Ft. Benning
Reports, click on: First Reports.]
