From the Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the WarsJoin us as we walk from Hancock Airfield to the Onondaga County Jail on January 11th beginning at 12 noon at the Main gate on East Malloy Road.
Three members of the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and Stop the Wars will begin serving a 15 day sentence January 11th for their nonviolent civil resistance action at Hancock Airfield last June 28th.
The three joined 12 others in a blockade of the main gate of the base to draw attention to and try to stop the war crimes being perpetrated from the base.
The 15 also tried to deliver a war crimes indictment which included:
Killing Civilians, Wars of Aggression, Extra-Judicial Killing, Violation of National Sovereignty, and Violation of Due Process.
They were arrested and charged with violation trespass. During the trial one of the defendants, John Hamilton, stated to the judge, “there is no exception anywhere, for you, for me, for anyone from this overarching legal certainty: acts of aggression are always and everywhere illegal, and must not by ignored by the courts. Extra-judicial murder must be called out and stopped.”
Using the analogy of extra judicial killings by lynching of African Americans throughout US history, Hamilton stated, “We ask that you take a bold step tonight to end lynching, not in some backwoods Alabama town in 1912, but here in Dewitt in 2012. We ask you to find us not guilty of the (trespass) charges.”
However, the judge found them guilty in 10 minutes. Rae Kramer, Clare Grady and Ellen Grady have decided that the best response
to their sentence is to go back to the base where the war crimes continue, with impunity. Please join us. If you plan to walk please call 607-279-8303
Ground the Drones and Stop the Wars!
This press release was sent out by upstatedroneaction.org on January 8, 2013.