Beale AFB: OCCUPIED

Five people were eventually arrested around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning after dozens of anti-drone demonstrators blocked the entrance to Beale Air Force Base for hours, resulting in hundreds of vehicles being prevented from entering the base.

Blocking the entry to the base was a tapestry of images of children
 killed by American drones flown from places like Beale AFB.

"STOP KILLER DRONES"

The CHP had to be called in to clear traffic which had lines of hundreds of cars in several directions after peace advocates from Sacramento, San Francisco, Nevada City and as far away as Fresno protested President Obama's U.S. killer drone program. 

Those arrested were briefly held on misdemeanor charges, which could result in six months in jail if convicted in federal court. In a similar action, 31 people were arrested at Hancock Air Base in Syracuse, NY on Sunday, 4/28

Police begin to arrest demonstrators as a line of waiting drivers looks on.

Last October, nine people were arrested at Beale during protests – and five are facing months in prison if convicted in a trial set for Sacramento Federal Court this summer (August 12).

Beale AFB is home to the U2 and the Global Hawk, the unmanned surveillance drone that is an "accomplice" in drone killings. Activists arrested attempted to deliver a letter to the Beale AFB commander that demanded:
(1) An immediate ban on the use of all drones for extrajudicial killing (2) A halt all drone surveillance that assaults basic freedoms and  inalienable rights and terrorizes domestic life in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia (3) A prohibition on the sale, and distribution of drones and drone technology to foreign countries in order to prevent the proliferation of this menacing threat to world peace, freedom and security and (4) The U.S. must immediately stop this lawless behavior of drone warfare that violates many international laws and treaties.


"US military and CIA Drone attacks have killed thousands of innocent civilians, including women and children, in the Middle East, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. In the name of combating terrorism against the U.S. we are terrorizing innocent people, and creating many more enemies and potential terrorists in the process," said a statement issued by Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, Chico Peace and Justice Center, Nevada County Peace Center, Peace Fresno, WILPF and World Can't Wait.


See video of the demonstration here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cfMk6O9NG4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P3wed9mJHs&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4BKJly_2Q&feature=youtu.be

Get involved in the nationwide movement against  illegal drone killing!

April Days of Action Against Drones in CALIFORNIA

California has a full slate of actions scheduled during the nationwide April Days of Action Against Drones.

Coming up on April 29-30:
OCCUPY BEALE AFB

Highlights so far include:

SACRAMENTO On Monday April 15th, activists filled the streets in front of the state courthouse, broadcasting images of children killed by drones to passing bureacrats and politicians. They also made their way into the offices of Sen. Barbara Boxer and Congresswoman Doris Matsui. In Matsui's office they were received attentively and given a pledge to take action. Though denied a hearing in Boxer's office, they succeeded in leaving behind images of the many innocent victims of drone warfare.

SAN FRANCISCO On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, dozens of anti-war activists rallied with hundreds of disgruntled environmentalists in the streets around the cordoned-off home of Ann and Gordon Getty Wednesday, where the President was visiting with loyal benefactors, during World Can't Wait's protest against U.S. drone assassination program.



(On April 13, San Francisco will be the site of another drones protest: the ANSWER Coalition U.S. Drones Out of Africa, Middle East, Asia and Here! event.)

SAN DIEGO - The weekly protest at General Atomics headquarters on March 23 foreshadowed the multi-day anti-drones protest on April 4-6. (See coverage in The San Diego Free Press.)

The protests in San Diego are provoking questions about the U.S. drone program and U.S. dependence on arms production for jobs in the media. "With the U.S. drone industry contributing billions to their city, residents of San Diego must reconcile their politics with the need to keep their economy humming." (The Daily Beast: San Diego, Hub of the U.S. Drone Industry. )

JOIN the Facebook event page for all the updates on the multi-day anti-drones protest in San Diego.

UPDATE: The April Days of Action are in full swing in San Diego!


OTHER UPCOMING CALIFORNIA EVENTS

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE - Monday, April 29, 2013 - Beginning of 2-day encampment to Occupy Beale AFB. (Read about past Beale occupations here.)

STUDIO CITY - Friday, April 5, and Friday, April 12, 2013 - Join us at our weekly peace vigil on two consecutive Fridays from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. to protest the use of drones in warfare by the US government and their possible use domestically by law enforcement agencies.

SACRAMENTO - Monday, April 15, 2013 - Tax Day Rally in support of the Beale 5. (Read more about the Beale trial here.)

SAN FRANCISCO - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - ANSWER Coalition - PROTEST: U.S. Drones Out of Africa, Middle East, Asia and Here!

(Add additional California events to the master list of national April Days of Action actions.)

What about YOU? Become part of No Drones California!

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!