Activist on Remand in Scotland for Government Weaponry Resistance

by Frank - Des Moine Catholic Worker Fri Jun 04, 2004 01:26 Iowa, USA

Bill Basinger of Des Moines plead no contest and received two years of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $200 fine.

Galen Leonhardy of Rock Island plead no contest and received a year of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $100 fine.

Rosalie Riegle of the Saginaw CW plead no contest and received a year of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $100 fine.

Paul Gallagher of the St Jude CW in Champaign IL plead not guilty. He was given a June 25th trial date.

* Paul Gallagher and Greg Boertje-Obed will be tried together by Judge Gossett on June 25th. Chuck Hannan will be their attorney. For more info and show of support contact

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Below text of article on "Omaha 8 & Fed Court" to appear in June 2004 issue of the via pacis, the Des Moines Catholic Worker Newsletter

Eight CWers charged with trespass, appeared in Fed Court in Omaha

Breaking a long standing practice of simply giving people ‘ban and bar’ letters for line crossings at Offutt AFB, the Offutt JAG Office through the Omaha Fed Attorney’s Office decided to charge all eight CWers who crossed the line at Offutt AFB last March 14 with Fed trespassing. It is a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

When asked the reason line crossers were being prosecute this time, Russ Sibble, the Fed. prosecuting attorney, on loan from Offutt, said it was because, “the nation is at war” and the price for peace making just went up at Offut AFB.

4 of the now dub Omaha 8 appeared in Omaha Fed Court Wed. May 26 and Thurs. May 27th. All four appeared before Federal Magistrate Judge Gossett. Judge Gossett is new to the bench and these were his first Offutt AFB protest cases. Chris Dunn and Jerry Ebner appeared before Judge Gossett on Wed.

Chris Dunn of the Rock Island Catholic Worker was first. Chris was represented in court by Chuck Hannan. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Persecutor agreed to an oral plea bargain and recommended a $100 fine and one year unsupervised probation with the added stipulation that Chris not enter onto any military base during the years probation. Chris accepted the plea bargain. He plead guilty. The judge accepted the Prosecutors recommendation and gave Chris a $100 fine and one years unsupervised probation.

Jerry Ebner of Des Moines was the next defendant before Judge Gossett. Jerry was also represented by Chuck Hannan. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Persecutor agreed to an oral plea bargain and recommended a $100 fine and a two year unsupervised probation with the added stipulation that Jerry not enter onto any military base during the two year probation. Jerry accepted the plea bargain. He plead guilty. The judge accepted the Prosecutors recommendation and gave Jerry a $100 fine and two years unsupervised probation.

The following day Bill Frankel-Streit and Greg Boertje-Obed appeared before Judge Gossett. Both represented themselves.

Bill Frankel-Streit of the Little Flower Catholic Worker in Louisa VA plead no contest. Judge Gossett accepted Bill’s no contest plea. After a very moving statement in which Bill stated that he would be hard press to be able to pay any fine, the Prosecutor recommended only a year of unsupervised probation with no fine. The Judge accepted the Prosecutors recommendation and Bill received a sentence of one year unsupervised probation.

Greg Boertje-Obed of the Duluth Catholic Worker represented himself. He plead not guilty. He asked that Chuck Hannan be assigned to his case. The Judge accepted his not guilty plead, assigned Chuck Hannan as his court assigned attorney and set a June 25th trial date.

The following week on Wed June 2nd the remaining four of the “Omaha 8” appeared before Federal Magistrate Judge Thalken in the Omaha Fed Court House. All four were represented by Chuck Hannan. Judge Thalken accepted the prosecutors recommended sentence in each no contest plea.

Bill Basinger of Des Moines plead no contest and received two years of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $200 fine.

Galen Leonhardy of Rock Island plead no contest and received a year of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $100 fine.

Rosalie Riegle of the Saginaw CW plead no contest and received a year of unsupervised probation with the stipulation he not enter any military base plus a $100 fine.

Paul Gallagher of the St Jude CW in Champaign IL plead not guilty. He was given a June 25th trial date.

Big Thank you’s go out to Chuck Hannan for representing folks who ask for it. Chuck is an attorney from Council Bluffs. He is also a Catholic Deacon from St Patrick Parish in Council Bluffs. Chuck has represented other Offutt protesters in the pass. He considers it part of his ministry. And even though he could receive financial compensation from the Fed. government for these case, he refuses any money for his efforts.

Thanks also to the Omaha Spirit of Peace Community for offering hospitality to the defendants and supporters from out of town during the court hearings.

* Paul Gallagher and Greg Boertje-Obed will be tried together by Judge Gossett on June 25th. Chuck Hannan will be their attorney. For more info and show of support contact

The Spirit of Peace Community
3218 Webster St., Omaha NE 68131
Ph (402) 991-4586
E-mail

The Phil Berrigan Catholic Worker House
713 Indiana St., Des Moines IA 50314
Ph (515) 282-4781
E-mail
DMCW Web Page

by Voices in the Wilderness Thu Jun 03, 2004 13:21

Dear friends,

Below is a press release from Voices in the Wilderness and a letter from Kathy
Kelly regarding the upcoming court case Friday, June 4th. Please help VitW by
contacting your local press and government officials.

For documents regarding the case, please see http://vitw.org/summons.

For further information call: Angela Garcia, 773-784-8065 or Danny Muller
917-217-6809 (on site in D.C.)



May 31, 2004
Social Security
by Kathy Kelly
Voices in the Wilderness

On June 4, 2004, lawyers for Voices in the Wilderness (VitW) will argue, in
federal court, that a judge should allow further "discovery" to help establish
why VitW travelers believed they had a duty to challenge economic sanctions
against Iraq. The U.S. government charges us with the "crime" of delivering
donated medicines to Iraq, without authorization. The U.S. Treasury Department
is attempting to collect $20,000 from VitW for violation of U.S. sanctions
against Iraq, sanctions which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
children in Iraq and effectively destroyed the civilian infrastructure. VitW is
countersuing for reparations for the catastrophic effect of UN/U.S.-led economic
sanctions.

From 1996-2003, our resolve, not bound by unjust UN/U.S.-led economic sanctions,
deepened each time we personally witnessed innocent Iraqis being brutally and
lethally punished by shortages of food and medicines, deteriorating
infrastructure, contaminated water and a disastrous breakdown in their health
care systems.

Prosecuting lawyers will argue that our case should be resolved swiftly since we
have already acknowledged delivering medicines to Iraq. Our attorney, Bill
Quigley, professor of law at Loyola University, New Orleans, who traveled to
Iraq prior to the U.S. war, counters, "The U.S. government has no business
punishing people for bringing medicine to Iraq, while its sanctions and
occupation cause the daily deaths of Americans and Iraqis and continue to create
a desperate need for medicine and basic goods for many Iraqis. This case is
about justice, this hearing is an attempt to further criminalize dissent, and we
will continue our civil resistance and actions regardless of the outcome of this
case."

Only the lawyers will appear in the courtroom on June 4. But our role, in the
wider court of public opinion, continues.

I can't directly participate in activity outside a courtroom, on June 4th – a
federal court has already imprisoned me for protesting at a U.S. military combat
training school which has been graduating Latin American trainees who have later
been implicated in torture, disappearance, assassination, and murder upon return
to their home countries. But here in the Pekin Federal Prison Camp, between work
shifts in the dish room, I have several hours each day to contemplate further
nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making.

There is considerable press attention right now to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse
and torture scandal. Here in the prison library, I've read numerous letters to
the editor that insist that, even if ordered, U.S. Military Police and prison
guards should not have cooperated with the degrading humiliation of Iraqi
prisoners. Should VitW members have gone along with economic sanctions when we
saw that Saddam Hussein didn't miss a meal while these sanctions were inflicting
disease and death on Iraq's most vulnerable people? Should we have cooperated
with one of the most egregious instances of child abuse in history?

Here is a tableau that communities across the country could set up outside of
courtrooms as a demonstration of solidarity with VitW defendants.

Several friends could pack a duffel bag with antibiotics, aspirins, and
vitamins, along with a few toys. One could hold a sign reading:

"Yes, VitW traveled to Iraq, after learning that ½ million Iraqi children died
as a direct result of economic sanctions.

"Yes, VitW brought medicine and toys to children's hospitals in Iraq.

"Yes, VitW developed friendships with Iraqis.

"Yes, VitW disobeyed a U.S. law."

Efforts to extend a hand of friendship and build bonds of trust between people
enhance our collective "social security." Treat other people well and you won't
have to be afraid of them – this truism could liberate us from the trap of
insecurity set for us by Bush's ongoing war against Iraq.

Imagine the frustration felt by mothers here in the prison when they can't
directly influence situations affecting their children. Hampered by maddeningly
limited phone time and long distances between themselves and their loved ones,
women still do what they can, over the months and years, to help care for their
children.

I hope they'll inspire me, beyond these confines, to use our freedoms creatively
and constantly in hopes of shaping a more secure future for our children and
later generations.

We can't wait for Mr. Bush or Mr. Kerry to improve our "social security."
Exercising our right to free speech, let's join Dennis Kucinich, community and
religious leaders and others worldwide who are calling for an end to the war
against Iraq. Let's help people deliver a verdict against war and occupation.
You might start with an exercise in front of your local courthouse.

For documents regarding this case, please see
http://vitw.org/summons



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
US Treasury Department Prosecutes Americans For Bringing Medicines to Iraq

Contact : Angela Garcia, Daniel Muller
773-784-8065
917.217.6809 (on site)

May 28, 2004- Voices in the Wilderness (VITW) will appear in US District Court
on June 4, 9:30 AM in Washington DC for civil fines imposed by the US Department
of Treasury for "bringing medicines to Iraq." VITW delegates will be present at
the hearing and a press conference will follow.

The US Treasury Department is attempting to collect $20,000 from VITW for their
violation of US sanctions against Iraq, sanctions which resulted in the deaths
of hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq and effectively destroyed the
civilian infrastructure. VITW is countersuing for reparations for the
catastrophic effect of US led economic sanctions.

"The US government has no business punishing people for bringing medicine to
Iraq, while its sanctions and occupation cause the daily deaths of Americans and
Iraqis and continue to create a desperate need for medicine and basic goods for
many Iraqis," stated Bill Quigley, VITW lawyer and professor of law at Loyola
University, who traveled to Iraq prior to the US war. "This case is about
justice, this hearing is an attempt to further criminalize dissent, and we will
continue our civil resistance and actions regardless of the outcome of this
case."

VITW has campaigned to end economic and military warfare against the Iraqi
people since 1996. They have organized over seventy delegations to Iraq in
deliberate violation of UN economic sanctions and US law. They have lived
alongside ordinary Iraqis before and during the US invasion and throughout the
current US occupation of Iraq. In defiance of the sanctions, they publicly
delivered modest amounts of medical supplies to children and families in need.
Their primary focus has always been ordinary Iraqi civilians and the most
vulnerable of Iraqi society, especially children.

"There is another America, which is not reflected by the images of torture and
destruction that have come to symbolize the US presence in Iraq, which was shown
in some small way by our efforts and those of others working against economic
sanctions," stated Kathy Kelly, co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness and three
time Nobel Peace prize nominee. "But this administration is teaching a lesson
hard to miss; help someone and you will be prosecuted, punish them and its
business as usual."

VITW recognizes that an unjust law is no law at all, and will nonviolently
resist all payments, fines, taxes, and laws that perpetuate war and restrict our
rights and responsibilities as world citizens. The US Treasury Department has
attempted collection in the past, and VITW has responded each time by refusing
payment and raising $20,000 in humanitarian aid for people in Iraq.

For documents regarding the case, please see http://vitw.org/summons

For interviews with our legal team or recently returned delegates, 773.784.8065
/ info@vitw.org

###



The Wheels of Justice Tour (http://www.justicewheels.org/) wrapped its spring
calendar with a number of great events in Ohio, MI, and IN. Aside from possible
appearances at major conferences this summer, we will pick-up the pace in the
fall after we restock and repaint the bus. Please join and invite the bus to
your area for the fall semester (especially if you know teachers who could
invite us to more schools, colleges, and universities). Contact Ceylon Mooney at
ceylon@vitw.org. Also, please donate. Donations can be sent to PRRC (Attn WOJ),
PO Box 1172, Orange, CT 06477


Please pass this information on to others. You can visit our email archive at
http://vitw.org/emailarchives.html and use "Send this message to a friend"
located at the bottom of each archived email.



Our home page http://vitw.org/
letters from Iraq http://vitw.org/letters.html
letters from Kathy Kelly http://vitw.org/kkletters.html
about us http://vitw.us/who_we_are/