Pack the Courtroom! 5th Floor. Part JP4
9:30 am 100 Centre St. NY, NY
Submitted by Tarak Kauff, member of VFP Board of Directors
The reading of names of the dead continues as five veterans lie handcuffed together. Those handcuffed are (clockwise from top left): WWII vet Jay Wenk, Ellen Barfield, Ken Mayers, Micah Turner, and Tarak Kauff. Photo by ELLEN DAVIDSON
Nineteen military veterans and their allies were arrested last Oct. 7 at New York City’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza for refusing to leave the park at the 10 pm closing time. The date marked 12 years of invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, and the arrestees were reading the names of the dead from the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam, as well as from the drone wars in Pakistan and other countries. The aims of the action, organized by Veterans For Peace members, were fourfold:
- Calling for an end to the 12-year war in Afghanistan.
- Calling for an end to all U.S. wars of aggression.
- Remembering all those who have fallen and been wounded by war.
- Standing up for our right, duty and sworn oath, to defend the Constitution and to assemble and organize
Fourteen of those arrested were released after being given criminal summonses and charged with “remaining in the park after it is closed to public” and “failure to comply with a police order.” Their cases have since been dismissed by a judge.
The remaining five, including decorated World War II veteran, Jay Wenk, had handcuffed themselves together to symbolize their shared humanity and that of all the victims of war, as well as the fact that those killed in war are forever linked by death. They are charged with resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, disorderly conduct, failure to obey a park sign, trespassing, and failure to obey a lawful order. The first two charges guaranteed them the right to a jury trial. The five will go on trial March 10th at 100 Centre Street. They face a possible 6 months in prison.
We urge friends and allies to pack the court.
Vietnam-era nurse Susan Schnall. Photo by ELLEN DAVIDSON
Susan Schall a Vietnam era nurse spoke at the Memorial. "This is our memorial. We paid for it with our lives and our suffering and we are here to speak out against war!”
Iraq War veteran Micah Turner. Photo by ELLEN DAVIDSON
Micah Turner one of the five on trial spoke that night of the high rates of suicides among veterans and active-duty members of the military: “Three members of my unit committed suicide in a 30-day period. … It becomes clear to me that this epidemic has no discrimination between race, rank, or age.”
At 10 pm, the police, who had been massing at the edges of the memorial, informed those present that the park was closed and they faced arrest. Nineteen remained in the park, asserting that their First Amendment rights to assembly and speech trumped the city’s need to close the park.
For the veterans, defending First Amendment rights is inextricably intertwined with protesting war. As Vietnam veteran Mike Tork said, explaining why he was taking part in the Oct. 7 action, “Being able to peaceably assemble to petition the government for a redress of grievances is crucial. We may as well draw that line in the sand now, because it will eventually come to that. If we can’t assemble, then we can’t organize. If we can’t organize, we can’t win. We have to help provide the courage so that others will stand up as well.”