In November of 2005, 40 people were arrested in acts of civil disobedience calling for the closure of the School of the Americas. Thirty four of these individuals will begin federal trials in Columbus, Georgia on Monday, January 30.
On Sunday, January 29, at 7 pm, a Festival of Hope will be held at the Columbus, Georgia Howard Johnson’s to celebrate these 34 members of our movement and the ongoing, worldwide resistance to the SOA and systems of oppression. Please join us if you’ll be in the area! This is our opportunity to celebrate the courageous stand of the 34 and remember the thousands in Latin America who work for peace, human rights and economic justice. Contact the SOA Watch office for more information.
These 34 defendants join 233 others in our movement who have faced trial for acts of civil disobedience at Fort Benning, the home of the School of the Americas. Since our movement began, 186 activists have been sentenced to prison or home confinement, and 47 have been sentenced to probation. We gather in remembrance and hope as our friends take our protest into the federal courts.
Help support those facing prison. Five SOA Watch activists are currently in custody at different jails and prisons. Write to them to offer your support! Find addresses here.
Learn more about political prisoners and the prison industrial complex in the US: visit Critical Resistance, Prison Activist Resource Center, The Nuclear Resister, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, and the Anarchist Black Cross Network.