[Ppnews] Resistance in Obama Time - Over 2, 600 Activists Arrested in the US Since Election

[Political Prisoner News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley05242011.html

May 24, 2011


Over 2,600 Activists Arrested in the US Since Election


The Resistance in Obama Time

By BILL QUIGLEY

Since President Obama was inaugurated, there have 
been over two thousand six hundred arrests of 
activists protesting in the US.   Research shows 
over 670 people have been arrested in protests 
inside the US already in 2011, over 1290 were 
arrested in 2010, and 665 arrested in 
2009.   These figures certainly underestimate the 
number actually arrested as arrests in US 
protests are rarely covered by the mainstream 
media outlets which focus so intently on arrests 
of protestors in other countries.

Arrests at protest have been increasing each year 
since 2009.  Those arrested include people 
protesting US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 
Guantanamo, strip mining, home foreclosures, 
nuclear weapons, immigration policies, police 
brutality, mistreatment of hotel workers, budget 
cutbacks, Blackwater, the mistreatment of Bradley 
Manning, and right wing efforts to cut back collective bargaining.

These arrests illustrate that resistance to the 
injustices in and committed by the US is alive 
and well.  Certainly there could and should be 
more, but it is important to recognize that 
people are fighting back against injustice.

Information on these arrests has been taken 
primarily from the newsletter The Nuclear 
Resister, which has been publishing reports of 
anti-nuclear resistance arrests since 1980, and anti-war actions since 1990.

Jack Cohen-Joppa, who with his partner Felice, 
edits The Nuclear Resister, told me “Over the 
last three decades, in the course of chronicling 
more than 100,000 arrests for nonviolent protest 
and resistance to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, 
torture, and war, we've noted a quadrennial 
decline as support for protest and resistance 
gets swallowed up by Presidential politicking. It 
has taken a couple of years, but the Hopeian 
addicts of 2008 are finally getting into 
recovery. We're again reporting a steady if slow 
rise in the numbers willing to risk arrest and 
imprisonment for acts of civil resistance. Today, 
for instance, there are more Americans serving 
time in prison for nuclear weapons protest than 
at any time in more than a decade.”

In the list below I give the date of the protest 
arrest and a brief summary of the reason for the 
protest.   After each date I have included the 
name of the organization which sponsored the 
protest.  Check them out.  Remember, they can 
jail the resisters but they cannot jail the resistance!

2011

January 1, 2011.  Nine women, ages 40 to 91, who 
brought solar panels to the Vermont Yankee 
nuclear reactor were arrested for blocking the 
driveway at Entergy Corporation.  Shut It Down.

January 5, 2011 and February 2, 2011.  Five 
arrests were made of peace activists protesting 
at Vandenberg Air Force base, including a veteran 
of WWII.  Vandenberg Witness.

January 11, 2011.  Ten people protesting against 
the continued human rights violation of 
Guantanamo prison trying to deliver a letter to a 
federal judge were arrested at the federal building in Chicago, Illinois.

January 11, 2011.  A sixty one year old 
grandmother protesting against excessive 
radiation was arrested for blocking the path of a 
utility truck in Sonoma County, California.

January 15, 2011.  Twelve people protesting 
against Trident nuclear weapons at the 
Kitsap-Bangor naval base outside of Seattle, 
Washington were arrested – six on state charges 
of blocking the highway and six others on federal 
charges of trespass for crossing onto the 
base.  Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

January 17, 2011.  Marking the anniversary of 
Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, people 
protested outside the Lockheed Martin Valley 
Forge Pennsylvania office where eight people were 
arrested.  Brandywine Peace Community.

January 17, 2011.  Three people protesting the US 
use of armed drones and depleted uranium were 
arrested at the Davis-Monthan air force base near Tucson Arizona.

January 29, 2011.  Eight peace activists marking 
the 60th anniversary of the testing of the atom 
bomb were arrested at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site.   Nevada Desert Experience.

February 10, 2011.  Twenty three hotel workers 
were arrested after protesting management abuses 
at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.  UNITE Here Local 2.

February 15, 2011.  A former CIA agent turned 
whistleblower was arrested and battered by police 
for standing silently and turning his back during 
a speech on the need for human rights in Egypt 
delivered by the US Secretary of State.   Veterans for Peace.

February 17, 2011.  Nine people protesting 
against the attack on collective bargaining in 
Wisconsin were arrested at the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.

February 25, 2011.  Eleven people protesting 
federal budget cuts against the poor, including 
one person in a wheelchair were arrested charged 
with blocking traffic in Chicago.

March 4, 2011.  Three people were arrested in 
Seattle after a protest against police abuse.

March 4, 2011.  Sixteen people were arrested at a 
protest against tuition increases at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

March 10, 2011.  Fifty people protesting the 
removal of collective bargaining rights were 
arrested after being carried out of the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.

March 16, 2011.  Seven union supporters 
protesting proposals to strip collective 
bargaining from teachers were arrested in Nashville Tennessee.

March 19, 2011.  One hundred thirteen people 
protesting the eighth anniversary of the war in 
Iraq, lead by Veterans for Peace, were arrested 
at White House. Veterans for Peace.

March 19, 2011.  Eleven military family members 
and veterans were arrested in Hollywood 
California after staging a sit protesting the 8th 
anniversary of the war in Iraq.  Veterans for Peace.

March 20, 2011.  Thirty five people were arrested 
protesting outside the Quantico brig where 
Bradley Manning was being held.  Bradley Manning Support Network.

March 28, 2011. Seven people defending a family 
against eviction and protesting home foreclosures 
were arrested in Rochester, NY, including a 70 
year old neighbor in her pajamas.  Take Back the Land.

April 4, 2011.  Seven people protesting against 
unjust immigration legislation barring 
undocumented immigrants from Georgia colleges 
were arrested for blocking traffic in Atlanta Georgia.

April 7, 2011. Seventeen people were arrested 
protesting budget cuts in assistance for the poor 
and elderly and calling for an end to corporate 
tax exemptions in Olympia Washington.

April 10, 2011.  Twenty seven people calling 
attention to the thousands of murders of people 
in Latin America by graduates of the US Army 
School of the Americas/WHINSEC were arrested 
outside the White House. School of Americas Watch.

April 11, 2011.  Forty one people, including the 
Mayor and many of the members of the District of 
Columbia city council, protesting Congressional 
action limiting how the District of Columbia 
could spend its own money were arrested in Washington DC.

April 15, 2011.  Eight teenage girl students, 
some as young as fourteen, were arrested after 
they refused to leave their public school 
Catherine Ferguson Academy, which is specially 
designated for pregnant and mothering teens in 
Detroit.  Also with the young women were children 
and teachers.  The school is targeted for closure due to budget cutbacks.

April 22, 2011.  Thirty seven people were 
arrested protesting the use of drones outside the 
Hancock Air Force base near Syracuse New 
York.  Syracuse Peace Council.  Ithaca Catholic Worker.

April 22, 2011.  Eleven women chained and locked 
the gate at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power 
plant in Vernon Vermont before being arrested.

April 22, 2011.  Thirty three people protesting 
at the Livermore Lab which designs nuclear 
weapons at an interfaith peace service were 
arrested for trespassing in California.

April 22, 2011.  Four people were arrested at the 
Pentagon after they held up a banner and read 
from a leaflet outside of the designated protest 
zone.  Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.

April 24, 2011.  Sixteen protestors against 
nuclear weapons at the Nevada National Security 
Site were arrested after a sixty mile sacred walk 
from Las Vegas.  Nevada Desert Experience.  Pace e Bene.

May 2, 2011.  Fifty two protestors against a 
nuclear weapons plant in Kansas City Missouri 
were arrested after blocking a gate to the 
construction site.  Holy Family Catholic Worker.

May 9, 2011.  Five people protesting against 
draconian immigration laws were arrested in the 
governor’s office in Indianapolis, Indiana.

May 7, 2011.  Seven people celebrating Mothers 
Day and protesting nuclear weapons were arrested 
outside the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor twenty miles 
from Seattle.  Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

May 9, 2011.  Sixty five people protesting 
cutbacks in education funding were arrested in Sacramento California.

2010

January 6, 2010.  Over one hundred people 
protesting for union recognition of hotel workers 
at Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.  UNITE Here Local 2.

January 15, 2010.  A man who served nearly six 
months in jail and who was still on probation for 
hammering windows at a military recruiting center 
in Lancaster Pennsylvania was arrested at the 
recruiting center after insisting that recruiters 
and recruits to leave the army.

January 18, 2010.  Seven people commemorating 
Martin Luther King’s birthday wore sandwich board 
messages saying “Make War No More,” “It’s about 
Justice,” and “its About Peace,” outside of 
Lockheed Martin’s main entrance in Merion 
Pennsylvania until they were arrested.  Brandywine Peace Community.

January 21, 2010.  Forty-two people protesting 
the ongoing human rights violations of Guantanamo 
prison were arrested at the US Capitol 
building.  Twenty-eight were arrested on the 
steps of the Capitol and fourteen inside the rotunda.  Witness Against Torture.

January 26, 2010.  Thirteen people from Minnesota 
lobbying to stop funding for war were arrested 
after holding a die-in on the sidewalk in front 
of the White House.  Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

January 31, 2010.  Eight people were arrested 
trying to protest at Vandenberg Air Force base in 
California, one of those arrested, an 
octogenarian, was brought to the hospital for 
injuries suffered in the arrest.  A few days 
later, seven protestors were arrested at the same 
spot.   A month later, four more protestors were 
arrested.  Vandenberg Witness.

February 22, 2010.  Five people protesting 
against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were 
arrested inside US Senators’ offices in the Des 
Moines Iowa federal building.  Voices for 
Creative Nonviolence.  Des Moines Catholic Worker.

March 4, 2010.  Four students protesting against 
rape were arrested after they refused to leave 
the administration building at Michigan State 
University in East Lansing Michigan.

March 20, 2010.  Nine peace activists were 
arrested in Washington DC for lying down beside 
mock coffins outside the White House.

March 21, 2010.  Two people protesting at the 
Aerospace and Arizona Days air show at Monthan 
Air Force base held a banner declaring “War is 
not a Show” in front of a Predator Unmanned Air Vehicle (drone) were arrested.

March 30, 2010.  Eight protestors were arrested 
during a march against police brutality in Portland Oregon.

April 2, 2010.  Eleven people on a Good Friday 
walk for peace and justice were arrested outside 
the USS Intrepid in New York city after they 
began reading the names of 250 Iraqi, American 
and Afghan war dead.  Pax Christi New York.

April 2, 2010. Nine people carrying a banner 
“Lockheed Martin Weapons + War = The Crucifixion 
Today” in the 34th annual Good Friday protest at 
Lockheed Martin were arrested in Valley Forge 
Pennsylvania.  Brandywine Peace Community.

April 4, 2010. Twenty two people protesting 
against nuclear weapons after the Sacred Walk 
from Las Vegas to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site 
were arrested after the Western Shoshone sunrise 
ceremony and Easter Mass.  Nevada Desert Experience.

April 7, 2010.  Three people, including a 12 year 
old girl, were arrested inside a US Senators 
office in Des Moines, Iowa with a banner “No More 
$$$ For War.”  The mother of the 12 year old girl 
was called into the police station and issued a 
citation the next day for contributing to the 
delinquency of a minor.  Voices for Creative 
Nonviolence and Des Moines Catholic Worker.

April 15, 2010.  A man protesting nuclear weapons 
was arrested inside the security fence of a 
nuclear missile silo near Parshall, North Dakota.

April 16, 2010.  Twelve people protesting against 
Sodexho mistreatment of workers were arrested in 
Montgomery County Maryland.  Service Employees International Union.

April 20, 2010.  A woman was arrested for 
standing in the path of a bulldozer to try to 
prevent mining in Marquette County, Michigan.

April 26, 2010.  Seventeen people protesting war 
and poverty inside and outside the federal 
building in Chicago were arrested.  Midwest Catholic Worker.

April 26, 2010.  Boulder Colorado police arrested 
five people protesting at Valmont coal power plant.

May 3, 2010.  Three people protesting nuclear 
weapons were arrested at Bangor Naval Base 
outside of Seattle Washington.  Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

May 3, 2010.  Twenty two people protesting 
nuclear weapons were arrested at Grand Central 
Station in New York city after unfurling banners 
saying “Nuclear Weapons = Terrorism,” and “Talk 
Less, Disarm More.” War Resisters League.

May 9, 2010.  Seven people trying to stop a 
foreclosure-driven eviction were arrested in Toledo Ohio.  Take Back the Land.

May 15, 2010.  Thirty four people protesting 
against Arizona’s draconian immigration laws were 
arrested outside the White House.

May 17, 2010.  Sixteen people were arrested in 
NYC protesting against unjust immigration policies.

May 20, 2010.  A woman US Army specialist who 
served as a Military Police applied for 
conscientious objector status while serving in 
Iraq and who later left her unit was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

May 24, 2010.  Thirty seven people protesting 
against unjust immigration policies were arrests in New York City.

June 1, 2010.  Fifty six people protesting 
against unjust immigration policies were arrested in NYC.

June 8, 2010.  Six peace advocates were arraigned 
in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa for numerous 
actions protesting in US Senators offices for the 
previous several months.  One activist, a 
grandmother and hog farmer, held weekly die-ins 
in Senators’ offices and was arrested 
frequently.  Once, when police asked her to 
leave, she replied that she was dead and couldn’t 
leave.  Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

June 15, 2010.  Several people protesting against 
evictions caused by bank foreclosure were 
arrested in Miami Florida.  Take Back the Land.

June 23, 2010.  Twenty two people protesting in 
favor of immigration reform singing “America the 
Beautiful” and “This Land is Your Land,” were 
arrested and charged with blocking traffic in Seattle.

July 5, 2010.  Thirty six people protesting for a 
nuclear free future were arrested at the Y12 
Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee – 
thirteen of federal trespass charges and 
twenty-three on state charges for blocking a 
highway.  Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance.

July 6, 2010.  Seventy eight people protesting 
against police brutality in Oakland California 
and the trial involving a shooting by a BART police office.

July 23, 2010.  One hundred fifty two hotel 
workers protesting against management at the 
Grand Hyatt San Francisco were arrested.  UNITE Here Local 2.

July 29, 2010.  Thirteen people were arrested in 
Tucson Arizona protesting against the state’s illegal immigration laws.

August 9, 2010.  On Nagasaki day, three people 
protesting against the US commitment to nuclear 
weapons were arrested outside the US Strategic 
Air Command in Omaha Nebraska.  Omaha Catholic Worker.

August 15, 2010.   A twenty two year old female 
student at Michigan State University who pitched 
an apple pie at a US Senator during an anti-war 
protest was arrested and charged with federal 
felony charges of forcible assault on a federal 
officer.  Another anti-war activist was also 
arrested and charged with the same crime.

September 9, 2010.  Twelve people protesting for 
equality for gay people in the workplace were arrested in San Francisco.

September 27, 2010.  One hundred fourteen people 
protesting mountaintop removal coal mining were 
arrested at the White House after a conference of 
people from West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and 
Tennessee.  Prior to this protest, forty-nine 
activists in the Climate Ground Zero Campaign 
have served jail time for taking action against 
strip-mining in Appalachia.  Climate Ground Zero.

November 5, 2010.  One hundred fifty two people 
protesting police killings were arrested in Oakland, California.

November 8, 2010.  Five people protesting wind 
turbines in Lincoln, Maine were arrested 
including an 82 year old native of Maine.

November 21, 2010.  Three people were arrested on 
federal charges and twenty-four more on state 
charges at the School of Americas/WHINSEC protest 
in Columbus Georgia outside the gates of Fort 
Benning.  Six others were arrested at a protest 
against a private prison housing immigrants in 
rural Georgia.  School of Americas Watch. ACLU Immigrant Rights Project.

December 1, 2010.  Three people protesting 
against unjust immigration policies were arrested 
at the office of a Congress rep in Racine Wisconsin.  Voces de la Frontera.

December 16, 2010.  One hundred thirty one 
protestors, including numerous veterans, gathered 
in the snow outside the White House challenging 
the war in Afghanistan, the cover-up of war 
crimes and the prosecution of Bradley Manning and 
Wikileaks were arrested for failing to clear the 
sidewalk.  In a parallel New York City protest, 
several others were also arrested.  Veterans for Peace.

December 17, 2010.  Twenty two people protesting 
against unfair home foreclosures were arrested 
when they blocked an entrance to a Chase bank 
branch in Los Angeles.   Alliance Californians for Community Empowerment.

December 20, 2010.  Six people were arrested 
after protesting at Bank of America against the 
foreclosure of an elderly couple in South Saint 
Louis.  Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.

December 28, 2010.  Three parents asking for the 
abolition of all nuclear weapons were arrested 
for leafleting at the Pentagon.  Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.

2009

January 2009, seventeen people, clad in black 
mourning clothes and white masks, were arrested 
in the US Senate Building for reading the names 
of the dead in ongoing US wars and unfurling 
banners stating “The Audacity of War Crimes,” 
“Iraq,” “Afghanistan,” “Palestine,” and “We Will Not Be Silent.”

January 26, 2009, six human rights advocates were 
sentenced to two to six months of federal prison 
or home arrest in federal court in Columbus 
Georgia for challenging training of Latin 
American human rights abusers at the US Army 
School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC) by walking 
onto Fort Benning. School of Americas Watch.

January 2009, a former Army specialist who 
refused to graduate with his Airborne Division 
because he realized he could not kill anybody was 
arrested and jailed at Fort Bragg, North 
Carolina.  The former soldier had been ordered 
home in May 2002 to await discharge papers.  Courage to Resist.

February 2009.  There were fifteen arrests of 
activists protesting mountain top removal by 
Massey in West Virginia.  Climate Ground Zero.

February 2009, five peace activists in Salem 
Oregon fasting on the steps of the state capitol 
building so that National Guard soldiers would 
not be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan were cited for trespass by state police.

March 1, 2009, six anti-nuclear activists 
protesting the 55th anniversary of the US 
nuclear  bomb detonation at Bikini Atoll were 
arrested at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in 
Kitsap, Washington after they knelt in the 
roadway.  Ground Zero Community and Pacific Life Community.

March 4, 2009, nine people seeking to present a 
letter to CEO of Alliant Technologies outlining 
how weapons manufacturers were prosecuted as war 
criminals at the end of WWII were arrested in 
Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Alliant Action.

March 12, 2009, four people who were arrested 
during a protest at Vandenberg Air Force base 
were fined between $500 and $2500 by federal 
authorities.  California Peace Action.

March 17, 2009, seven people seeking a meeting 
with US Defense Secretary to challenge the 
legality of the war in Iraq were arrested at the 
Pentagon.  National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.

March 18, 2009, seven women, ranging in ages from 
65 to 89, some in wheelchairs and walkers, were 
arrested protesting the war in Iraq after 
wrapping yellow crime scene tape around a 
military recruiting center and blocking the 
entrance for an hour in New York City.  Grannie Peace Brigade.

March 19, 2009, three people protesting the war 
in Iraq were arrested in Washington DC.  In one 
instance a US Army veteran scaled the front of 
the Veterans Administration building and unfurled 
a banner saying “Veterans Say NO to War and 
Occupation.”  Protests against the war in Iraq in 
Chicago resulted in an arrest there after banner drop.

March 19-21, 2009, protests against the war in 
Iraq in San Francisco resulted in twenty-two 
arrests at a die-in in the financial district, 
eleven more for blocking a street outside the 
Civic Center, and ten more at the Saturday march 
when Palestinian marchers were confronted by 
pro-Israel counter protestors resulting in police using batons and tear gas.

March 31, 2009, four people were arrested in 
Brattleboro, Vermont, for standing in silent 
opposition to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power reactor.

March 31, 2009, an anti-nuclear protestor was 
convicted of trespassing at the Los Alamos 
nuclear weapons facility and sentenced to two 
days in jail, community service and probation.  Trinity House Catholic Worker.

April 3, 2009, four people protesting injustices 
on Wall Street and in Afghanistan and Iraq were 
arrested in New York, NY, for marching down the 
center of the street.  Bail Out the People Movement.

April 9, 2009, fourteen people were arrested at 
Creech Air Force outside Las Vegas Nevada base 
protesting against the US use of drones in lethal 
attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.  Nevada Desert Experience.

April 10, 2009, eight people were arrested while 
kneeling and praying for peace at the 
Pentagon.  Another, clad in an orange jumpsuit 
and black hood, was arrested at the White House 
where he was chained to the fence protesting the 
human rights abuses of Guantanamo.   Jonah House.

April 10, 2009, sixteen people were arrested 
while protesting the war profiteer Lockheed 
Martin in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.  Brandywine Peace Community.

April 12, 2009, twenty one people were arrested 
while protesting the use of nuclear weapons at 
the Nevada Nuclear Test Site on Western Shoshone 
tribal lands.  Nevada Desert Experience.

April 17, 2009.  A man protesting US polices of 
violence, racism and poverty-production was 
sentenced to six months in prison for hammering 
out some windows in the US Military Recruiting 
Center in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

April 23, 2009, four people protesting lies by 
military recruiters were arrested after locking 
themselves to the door at the military recruiting 
center in Minnesota.  Three others were arrested 
at the Knollwood Plaza  after disrupting the 
recruitment center so much it had to be 
closed.  Another woman was arrested near a 
recruiting center after placing a “Don’t Enlist” 
sticker on a police car.  Antiwar committee.

April 24, 2009, a woman calling for the return of 
the National Guard from Iraq was arrested in the 
US House Appropriations during testimony by US 
Generals in Washington DC. Code Pink.

April 28, 2009, a US Army veteran who refused to 
fight in Iraq was court-martialed in Fort 
Stewart, Georgia and sentenced to one year in prison.  Courage to Resist.

April 29, 2009, twenty-two people were arrested 
after trying to serve a Notice of Foreclosure for 
Moral Bankruptcy on Blackwater/Xe, the mercenary 
company responsible for so many deaths in Iraq, 
at its compound in Mount Carmel, Illinois.  Des 
Moines Catholic Worker Community.

April 30, 2009, sixty three people were arrested 
at the White House protesting against illegal 
detention and torture at Guantanamo prison.   Witness Against Torture.

May 20, 2009.  Twenty one people protesting 
against the war in Iraq were arrested outside a 
military recruiting center in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

July 22, 2009, four people protesting against 
Boeing’s role in the production of drones, which 
have killed more than 700 people in Afghanistan 
and Pakistan, were arrested inside the Boeing 
lobby in Chicago, Illinois.  Christian Peacemaker Teams.

August 4, 2009, four shareholders who sought to 
speak at the shareholders meeting of depleted 
uranium munitions producer Alliant Techsystems 
were arrested when they approached the microphone 
in Eden Prairie Minnesota.  Alliant Action.

August 5, 2009, a US Army specialist who refused 
to deploy to Afghanistan was sentenced to 30 days 
in jail and given a less than honorable discharge 
in Killeen Texas.  Courage to Resist.

August 6, 2009, a 75 year old priest, protesting 
the 64th anniversary of the US dropping atomic 
bombs on Hiroshima, was arrested outside of 
Greeley Colorado where he cut the fence around a 
nuclear missile silo, hung peace banners, prayed 
and tried to break open the hatch on the silo.

August 6, 2009, nine antiwar activists were 
arrested at Fort McCoy Wisconsin after a three 
day peace walk protesting against US nuclear 
weapons and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Nuke Watch.

August 6, 2009, two people were arrested at the 
Pentagon entrance on the anniversary of the 
Hiroshima bombing carrying a banner stating 
“Remember the Pain, Remember the Sin, Reclaim the Future.” Jonah House.

August 6, 2009, twenty two people protesting the 
horror of Hiroshima were arrested in Livermore 
California when they blocked the entrance to the 
Lawrence Livermore weapons lab. Tri-Valley 
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment.

August 6, 2009, nine people at a vigil for peace 
and nonviolence were arrested for walking onto 
Lockheed Martin property at Valley Forge 
Pennsylvania and spreading sunflower seeds, an 
international symbol for the abolition of nuclear 
weapons.  Brandywine Peace Community.

August 6, 2009, two people were arrested when 
they refused to stop praying at the gates of the 
Davis-Monthan Air Force base in Tucson 
Arizona.  Rose of the Desert Catholic Worker.

August 10, 2009, nine persons calling for the 
abolition of nuclear weapons were arrested at 
Bangor Naval base, home to the Trident submarine, 
twenty miles from Seattle Washington.  Ground Zero Community.

August 14, 2009, a US Army Sergeant who refused 
to go to Afghanistan and who asked for 
conscientious objector status was found guilty of 
disobeying lawful orders and going AWOL at a 
trial in Fort Hood.  He was sentenced to one year 
in prison and given a bad conduct discharge.

August 17, 2009.  Four people were arrested 
outside the Boalt Hall classroom where they were 
protesting John Yoo, who coauthored the memos 
authorizing torture on people in Guantanamo during the Bush administration.

August 22, 2009, two people protesting against 
nuclear missile testing were arrested at 
Vandenberg Air Force base and cited for trespass.

September 9, 2009.  Four people protesting 
against Massey Energy mountain top removal were 
arrested in Madison West Virginia.  Climate Ground Zero.

September 12, 2009, seven people who were 
protesting against the use of the high-tech 
bloodless arcade Army Experience Center in 
Philadelphia were arrested.  Seven other 
protestors were arrested there earlier in the year.  Shut Down the AEC.

September 24, 2009, ninety two people protesting 
management disregard for union rights of hotel 
workers were arrested at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 
San Francisco.  UNITE Here Local 2.

September 27, 2009, twenty one people protesting 
against the Nevada Test Site were arrested at the 
Mercury gate.  At an action to “Ground the 
Drones” protesting the increasing use of lethal 
drones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, another 
eleven people were arrested.  Code Pink.  Pace e 
Bene.  Nevada Desert Experience.

September 28, 2009, four women, ages 66 to 90, 
walked past security guards at the Vermont Yankee 
nuclear plant protesting inadequate safety at the 
plant.  Carrying signs saying “Yom Kippur, 
September 28, Time to Atone, Shut Down Vermont 
Yankee,” this was the seventh set of arrests at 
the nuclear plant or its corporate headquarters since 2005.

September, 2009, the US Army accepted the 
resignation of Lieutenant, who refused to fight 
in Iraq because he believed the war violates 
international law, and gave him a discharge under 
other than honorable conditions.   Courage to Resist.

October 1, 2009.  A well known mixed martial arts 
fighter was sentenced to 90 days of work release 
and a fine of $28,000 for spraying symbols on an 
Army recruiting center and the Washington State 
Capitol building to help raise consciousness about the illegal war in Iraq.

October 2, 2009.  Four people trying to deliver a 
document titled “Employee Liabilities of Weapons 
Manufacturers under International Law” to the 
weapons manufacturer Alliant Technologies were 
arrested in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Alliant Action.

October 5, 2009, a couple, who married the day 
before and who were carrying a banner saying 
“Just Married; Love Disarms,” were arrested 
during a peace protest at Lockheed-Martin in 
Sunnyvale California.  A priest was also arrested 
as the three gave out leaflets to workers 
entering the war contractor work site.  Albuquerque New Mexico Catholic Worker.

October 5, 2009, sixty one people were arrested 
while protesting the ninth year of the US war in 
Afghanistan in front of the White House.  Some of 
the arrested were in orange jumpsuits and chained 
to the fence.  Secret Service officers assaulted 
other protestors, pushing and pulling them away 
from the protest site, bruising some.  No Good War and Jonah House.

October 7, 2009, twelve protestors against the 
war in Afghanistan were arrested in Rochester, 
NY.  Some of the arrested were treated at the 
hospital after being struck by police.  Rochester 
Students for a Democratic Society.

October 7, 2009.  Two people were arrested in 
Grand Central Station after unfurling banners 
which said “Afghanistan Enough!”  War Resisters League.

October 11, 2009.  Two women who held up banners 
when Tiger Woods was ready to putt, saying 
“President Obama – End Bush’s War,” and “End the 
Afghan Quagmire,” were handcuffed and escorted 
away from the President’s Cup golf tournament in San Francisco.

November 2, 2009.  Five people calling for 
nuclear disarmament cut through the fence around 
the Naval Base Kitsap which houses the Trident 
nuclear submarines and nuclear warheads outside 
of Seattle Washington.  The five walked through 
the base until they found the storage area for 
nuclear weapons and cut two more fences to get 
inside where they put up banners and spread 
sunflower seeds until they were arrested.  Disarm Now Plowshares.

November 4, 2009.  Two people were arrested while 
protesting outside Vandenberg Air Force base in 
California.  Vandenberg Witness.

November 4, 2009.  Eight protestors, including 
one who was 91 years old, were arrested at the 
Strategic Space Symposium in Omaha Nebraska while 
holding a “Space Weapons=Death” banner.  Des Moines and Omaha Catholic Worker.

November 15, 2009.  Five people protesting 
against US torture practices at Fort Huachuca, 
Arizona, where military interrogators are trained 
were arrested.  Torture on Trial.

November 22, 2009.  Four people protesting the 
training of human rights abusers by the US Army 
at their School of Americas/WHINSEC were arrested 
in Columbus, Georgia.  School of Americas Watch.

November 23, 2009.  A longtime war tax resister 
pled guilty to avoiding paying taxes for war at 
court in Bangor Maine.  National War Tax Resistance Coordination Committee.

December 1, 2009.  Protestors at 100 cities 
across the country challenged President Obama’s 
talk at West Point to escalate the war in 
Afghanistan.  Six were arrested at West Point, 
eleven in Minneapolis, and three in Madison Wisconsin.

December 9, 2009.  Six people protesting that 
President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 
were arrested outside the federal building in Los 
Angeles.  Los Angeles Catholic Worker.

December 10, 2009.  Six people protesting the use 
of lethal drones were forcibly escorted out of 
the 11th Annual Unmanned Aerial Systems 
Conference outside of Albuquerque, New 
Mexico.  Trinity Nuclear Abolition and Code Pink.

December 29, 2009.  Twelve people leafleting and 
praying for peace at the Pentagon were 
arrested.  Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and Jonah House.

Bill Quigley is a professor of law at Loyola 
University New Orleans and Associate Legal 
Director at the Center for Constitutional 
Rights.  More information about many of these 
arrests can be found at 
<http://www.nukeresister.org/>www.nukeresister.org. 
Bill can be reached at <mailto:Quigley77 at gmail.com>Quigley77 at gmail.com




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