Activists Arrested Decrying Killer Drones at CIA in Langley, VA. on June 29, 2013

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP,  (holding yellow sign), walks with fellow activists in peaceful protest against drones at CIA

LANGLEY, VA – Fifty people protested killer drones at the main gate of

the CIA today, and six individuals were arrested. The action was

organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR], a

group that has been active in challenging U.S. invasions of

Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries, abolishing torture, closing

Guantanamo, and bringing an end to drone warfare.

 

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, ministers at "die in " at symbolic mourning rite for innocent victims of drone attacks

Those arrested were Joy First, Mt. Horeb, WI; Malachy Kilbride,

Arlington, VA; Max Obuszewski, Baltimore, MD; Phil Runkel, Milwaukee,

WI (Catholic Worker Archivist <Phil.Runkel@marquette.edu>); Cindy

Sheehan, Vacaville, CA; and Janice Sevre_Duszynska, Lexington, KY.

Members of NCNR previously sent a letter to CIA Director John Brennan

requesting a meeting to discuss ending the drone program, and have

received no response. Because the group is concerned about continuing

deaths from drone strikes, they decided they must act, and they must

personally go to the CIA and ask for a meeting. They were joined by

Cindy Sheehan, Brian Terrell, and other activists from Code Pink,

World Can’t Wait, Veterans for Peace, Answer, and many individuals

affiliated with other groups to protest the illegal and immoral CIA

killer drone program. Sheehan is the mother of Casey who was killed

in 2004 in Iraq. Terrell was recently released from federal prison

after serving a 6-month term for a peaceful protest against drones at

Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

 

The group walked up to the gates of the CIA with a copy of the letter

they had sent to Brennan. When they were denied a meeting, six

individuals crossed onto the base. After announcing a mock drone

strike, five people lay down on the ground and were covered with

pictures of drone victims. The sixth person keened and wailed over

the bodies. After 20 minutes, the group rose up and began to walk

further onto the base carrying pictures of drone victims. They were

arrested, and cited and released on site.

Somewhere around 3500-4500 people have been killed by drones in

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and other places around

the globe with no due process. According to a study from Stanford

and NYU only 2% of those killed are high-level targets. Over 200

children have been killed in Pakistan alone. According to Malachy

Kilbride, NCNR, “These illegal drone strikes are not making people in

the U.S. any safer and will only perpetuate the cycle of violence.”

 

NCNR citizen activists believe they have the right and a Nuremberg

responsibility to highlight perceived illegal government operations.

Moreover, the Nuremberg trials pointed out that citizens must act to

prevent their government from further illegal activities. Ellen

Barfield, Vets for Peace, commented on the arrests stating, “Because

our government seems incapable of restricting drone weapons, these

brave citizens are practicing their Nuremberg responsibilities.”

Contacts:

Max Obuszewski 410-366-1637 <mobuszewski@verizon.net>

Joy First 608-239-4327 <joyfirst5@gmail.com>