Drone War Crimes: Violation of Due Process
By Bruce Gagnon Organizing Notes May 17, 2014
At the court in Syracuse, NY [May 16, 2014] were Ed Kinane,Teresa B Grady and Mary Anne Grady Flores
Protests and arrests at the Hancock drone base in Syracuse, New York have been steady for the past couple of years. So many have been arrested that the trials are backed-up like five o’clock traffic in Los Angeles.
I was arrested there on April 28, 2013 and still don’t have a trial date.
In order to “deter” more protests the court has been handing out “Orders of Protection” (to protect the base commander Col. Earl Evans) to all who have done non-violent civil resistance at the drone field. The order declares that the protester will “refrain from assault, stalking, harassment, aggravated harassment, menacing, reckless endangerment, strangulation….” The list goes on. On my last two travels out of the US, when I returned, I was pulled aside at Customs & Immigration and interrogated about my Order of Protection from Hancock.
Yesterday Mary Anne Grady went to trial in Syracuse from an arrest in February, 2013 when she was merely an observer and support person for another action at Hancock Field. She was charged with violating the Order of Protection and faces one year in jail. Her sister Ellen Grady posted the following comments:
Off to court this morning in Syracuse for my sister Mary Anne’s trial. She was arrested 2/13/13 as she walked away from Hancock Airfield after taking pictures of the Ash Wednesday action at the main gate of the base were 8 of us stood with signs calling a halt to the war crimes being perpetrated from the base. She is having a jury trial. Her charge is contempt of court for violating the order of protection. If found guilty she is facing a year in jail.
Following the trial Ellen again wrote:
Guilty of contempt for violating the order of protection! Not guilty of disorderly conduct. Sentencing date has been set for July 10th.
Having sat through this process at this point I have nothing but contempt for this court and their continued protection of this Empire’s war on the world.
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