Ghosts of the Iraq War evidentiary hearing on November 7

Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski at verizon.net

 

PRESS RELEASE-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   November 5, 2008

Contact: Max Obuszewski [410] 366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net

 

FIVE GHOSTS OF THE IRAQ WAR WILL MAKE A MOTION TO DISMISS CONVICTIONS

CAPITOL POLICE OFFICERS TO TESTIFY ABOUT STOLEN EMAIL

WHO: The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore was formed for individuals willing to engage in nonviolent civil resistance to first prevent and later to protest the war in Iraq. It is affiliated with several national peace groups, including the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR] and United For Peace & Justice. 

NCNR organized a theatrical event on March 12 inside the gallery of the U.S. Senate.  Three members of the Baltimore Pledge, Maria Allwine, Ellen Barfield and Max Obuszewski, joined with Tim Chadwick, Joy First, Judith Kelly, Art Landis, Linda LeTendre, Manijeh Saba and Eve Tetaz as the Ghosts of the Iraq War. 

A number of the defendants stood up individually, while wearing a We Will Not Be Silent tee shirt and gauze over the head, and stated "I am a ghost from the Iraq War.  While I died needlessly, I am here to demand an end to the funding of the war so that others do not have to die."  All were removed, arrested and charged with Unlawful conduct, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a $500 fine. Nine of the defendants were pro se with Ann Wilcox acting as an attorney advisor.  Tetaz was represented by Jack Baringer.  Judge Robert Morin presided in the jury trial.

 

WHAT:  On October 24, the jury found Allwine, First, Kelly, Landis and LeTendre not guilty.  The others were found guilty.  However, earlier in the trial, Judge Morin ruled that he would entertain Obuszewski’s motion for dismissal post-verdict.

 

So Obuszewski argued that, despite his motion for further discovery which was filed on September 26, he did not get access to a relevant document until the prosecution’s case rested.   Once the judge examined the 26-page U.S. Capitol Police Intelligence Report for March 12, he discovered two relevant pages.  These pages contained an email proposal from Obuszewski sent on December 19, 2007 to selected activists calling for a March 12 visit to the gallery.  However, the source was mislabeled as a URL from Common Dreams.   That URL was for a press release which Common Dreams posted in May 2007 about another court case.  It was a crude attempt to cover up the real source of the purloined email.  Since Obuszewski was being spied on by the Maryland State Police, it is possible some police agency obtained the private email.

 

Thus Judge Morin ordered the prosecutor to contact the U.S. Capitol Police and find witnesses who could testify as to how this private email was obtained, why it was placed in an intelligence report and why the source was covered up.  Norm Gray and Eric Orsini of the U.S. Capitol Police will appear and are scheduled to testify.  

 

WHEN:  Friday, November 7, 2008 at 10 AM

 

WHERE:  Courtroom 312 in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 500 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

 

WHY:  Should it be confirmed that a private email was illegally obtained and relevant to the defense strategy, Judge Morin may grant a motion to dismiss the case for the five defendants found guilty.  The government could chose to retry the case, but that is an unlikely possibility.

 

As Obuszewski is one of the “53” activists listed as terrorists by the Maryland State Police, it may be discovered through cross-examination of U.S. Capitol Police officers that surveillance continued in 2007 and 2008.  Representatives of the Maryland State Police have stated the surveillance campaign began in March 2005 and ended in November 2006.  Revelations have shown that is untrue.

 

All ten defendants, long-time peace activists, have worked for years to try to convince their legislators that the Iraq War is an unqualified mess, a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars and an unmitigated disaster for the people of Iraq and the soldiers sent to fight.  As the Ghosts of the Iraq War, they tried again to call for an end to war funding.  While they failed, and some were convicted of unlawful conduct, they will continue their efforts to bring an end to the Iraq War.

 

See the action at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8BsJdy11Fc

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs