Contact: Dan Pearson: 312-286-8535
January 26, 2010                                                                       

Jessica Arents: 262-366-3785

13 Activists, 9 from Minnesota, Arrested in Front of The White House for Protesting US Militarism

Washington D.C., – The Twin Cities Campaign for Peace, Women Against Military Madness, and other Minnesotan peace groups, aligned with the Peaceable Assembly Campaign,  organized a civil disobedience action today, in Washington, D.C. 13 nonviolent activists were arrested in front of the White House protesting US militarism. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., over thirty participants read names of 77 Minnesotans killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with the names of Iraqis and Afghans killed in the U.S. wars.  After each name was read, a bell was rung and the participants said “We Remember You.” A banner that read,  “Occupation” was pelted with shoes inscribed with anti war slogans. Finally, the 13 walked onto the sidewalk and laid down in remembrance of the war dead.  Father William Pickard anointed the “dead” with olive oil. 

The Washington D.C. Park Police arrested all 13 lying on the pavement. Vickie Andrews, John Braun, Marie Braun, Lori Blanding, Ward Brennan, Stephen Clemens, Diane Haugesag,  Maxine McNamara, Ceylon Mooney, Joe Palen, Mary Percich, Father William Pickard and Cornelia Sullivan were first taken to the Anacostia Police station. Then they were transported to Washington D.C. District 1 police station only to be taken later to the Washington D.C. lock up. They have been told they will remain there until they appear before a judge on January 27, 2010.

The Peaceable Assembly Campaign is founded on the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution that states “Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the right of the people to assemble peaceably for redress of grievance.”  The group’s literature states:

We hold President Obama, the Senate and the House to:
• End the wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Publicly commit to vote against any additional funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond funds required for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops.
• Promote the redirection of funding away from military spending and towards the rebuilding of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine and to the rebuilding of and provision for the Common Good in the U.S.
• Further the development of truly green (non-nuclear), environmentally friendly alternative energy sources accompanied by a decrease in policies that drive consumption of fossil fuels.

Voices for Creative Nonviolence, www.vcnv.org, has initiated a nationwide Peaceable Assembly Campaign, which seeks an end to the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and an end to U.S. support of the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories. Begun in September, 2009, and continuing for the next ten months, the group engages in both legal and extralegal (nonviolent civil disobedience/civil resistance) lobbying efforts, urging Representatives and Senators to stop authorizing and funding wars and occupations.