Occupy Beale AFB Update: The ultimate right is the right to life!

13 Protestors, Including 6 Veterans, Arrested Protesting Drones at Beale AFB Tuesday; Tried to Deliver Letter Charging Obama, Beale Base Commander with 'Crimes Against Humanity'

A protester testifies to the pain
 caused by drone killing.

 Main Gate:  7 arrested

Wheatland Gate:  6 arrested

MARYSVILLE/BEALE AFB – Six military veterans were among 13 people arrested at Beale Air Force Base here early Tuesday morning as they attempted to deliver an "indictment" charging President Obama, the Beale base commander, drone pilots and others with "crimes against peace and crimes against humanity."

Main gate: 7 arrested

Wheatland gate: 6 arrested

 All 13 demonstrators – who were handcuffed about 8 a.m. – were released after about two hours with misdemeanor charges. They are to appear in U.S. District Court. They face up to six months in prison.

Demonstrators being arrested at a Beale gate.

Blocking the gate with a banner depicting
 children murdered by drones.

Traffic was temporarily backed up
 over a great distance at both gates!

 The "Veterans Spring Days Drone Action" temporarily blocked traffic at the two busiest gates entering Beale AFB, the home to Global Hawk (Surveillance drone), the U2 and the MC12 Liberty aircraft, all participants in the so-called "war on terror." They have been complicit in the deaths and injuries thousands of innocent civilians.

 

In standing in the way of those driving in to participate
 in drone killing, demonstrators hoped to halt the
 drone warfare machine, however briefly.

"Drone Warfare Fosters Hate"

Many of those arrested were Veterans for Peace

This is the most people arrested in a single action at Beale AFB. Dozens have been arrested protesting drones at Beale AFB in the past year, including more than a dozen people and members of the clergy on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday this year. Three federal trials have been held – and earlier this month a lone protestor was found not guilty in U.S. Court in Sacramento.

 The Indictment delivered Tuesday says, in part:

"WE, THE PEOPLE, CHARGE THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, BARACK OBAMA AND THE FULL MILITARY CHAIN OF COMMAND INCLUDING COMMANDER COLONEL PHILLIP A. STEWART, EVERY DRONE CREW, AND SERVICE MEMBER AT BEALE AIR FORCE BASE WITH CRIMES AGAINST PEACE & CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, WITH VIOLATIONS OF THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND, EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS, VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS, WARS OF AGGRESSION, VIOLATION OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND KILLING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS..."

Of the 13 arrested, 6 were veterans and 3 others had never done civil resistance before!

Big thanks to arrestees:

Veterans for Peace: Barry Binks, Michael Kerr, John Rieger, Cres Velluci, Richard Gilchrist, Ted Sexaur 

Non-veterans: Devan Phenix, Bev Fitzpatrick, Fred Bialy, Shirley Osgood, Pamela Osgood, Catherine Hourcade and Cathy Webster

And special thanks to Barry Binks for organizing it all!

Please join us whenever you can and help 

it to grow! Photos, video and more here.

May 17-27:  WALK TO PEACE with us, To Resist Global Militarization and Drone Warfare

We will walk from San Francisco to Beale AFB.  Please join all or part.....we need support crew too! Any help offered will be very welcomed!  More details soon.Visit the Occupy Beale AFB page for more information.

The Spring Days of Drone Action are
 in full swing all throughout the nation. Join us!

"Wheatland 4" Charged with trespassing for action last April at Beale AFB

 4 activists arrested last April in a demonstration at Beale AFB were found guilty of trespassing after a day-long trial in a Sacramento Federal Court on Monday, February 3. 

 In last April’s protest, over a dozen activists blocked the main traffic artery into the base for over an hour. 

 When highway patrol arrived to break up the blockade, five of the protesters proceeded to enter base property to deliver a letter to the base commander, Col. Phil Stewart.  The letter charged Col. Stewart, President Barack Obama and all military personnel involved in drone warfare, with crimes against humanity and violations of international and national laws. While each activist was being arrested, she or he handed a copy of the letter to the serviceperson arresting them, requesting that it be delivered to the commander.  Before being released, the arrestees were given a "Ban & Bar" letter, signed by Col. Phil Stewart. This letter formally ordered them not to enter or re-enter Beale AFB, and warned of a penalty "fine" of an undisclosed amount and/or maximum imprisonment of 6 months should the order be violated.

Robin Ryan being arrested at Beale AFB last April

On Monday, after a lively pre-trial anti-drone rally with local media coverage, the courtroom filled with anti-drone activist supporters.  The defendants:  Martha Hubert, Robin Ryan, Bill Doub and Toby Blomé all felt strongly that they were not interested in arguing over whether or not they trespassed. In their eyes, they were there to put illegal U.S. drone warfare on trial.  They wanted to focus on their intent, which was not to trespass, but to hold their government and military officials accountable for crimes against humanity.  They publicly resisted this illegal activity through nonviolent direct action. They wanted to educate Beale AFB personnel about drone warfare and its negative effects on the perpetrators as well as the victims.  

Judge Claire had already denied them their constitutional right to a jury trial, and had denied them the right to use the "Defense of Necessity" argument or to discuss the Nuremberg Principles.  In the defendants eyes, justice had already failed.  The first half of the trial included witnesses from the base giving minute and monotonous details of the legal boundaries of the base property, what signs were posted to sufficiently (or insufficiently) warn visitors, etc.  The wonderful pro bono defense attorneys proceeded to find ways to get the charges dismissed based on loopholes, discrepancies, or mismanagement of the arrest. The military video of the arrest included footage of a highway patrol officer actually pushing some of the defendants onto the base property.  Called to witness, defendants Robin and Bill did an excellent job speaking for all of the defendants, testifying and emphasizing for the court record our intent to stop wrongdoing, bring accountability and save lives.  

Toward the end of the trial, Mark Reichel, Toby's attorney, inadvertently noticed a quote on the back side of a scribbled note handed to him earlier by Toby.  Atty. Reichel leaned over to Toby and whispered with enthusiasm, something to the effect:   "This is good.  This is really really good.  Do you mind if I read it to the judge?"  Ultimately, Judge Claire gave the defense attorney permission to read the excerpt from the NY Times letter to the editor, written by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Desmond Tutu.  It speaks for all of us seeking an end to drone killings:

"Do the United States and its people really want to tell those of us who live in the
 rest of the world that our lives are not of the same value as yours? That President
 Obama can sign off on a decision to kill us with less worry about judicial scrutiny
 than if the target is an American? Would your Supreme Court really want to
 tell humankind that we, like the slave Dred Scott in the 19th century,
are not as human as you are? I cannot believe it.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

 Ultimately, Judge Claire found all four defendants guilty of trespassing and sentenced them to ten hours of community service. She denied the prosecution's request for a "deterrent" fine of $300.  However, the judge did alert the defendants to expect a harsher sentence next time due to the "Ban & Bar" letter that was served them by the military at the time of their arrest. 

In Sacramento, though Judge Claire convicted the Beale AFB protesters of trespassing, she did allow the defendants to give post-sentencing statements. Each defendant spoke to different aspects of what motivates them to protest at Beale AFB. Bill spoke about his opposition to drone warfare and his hopes for a peaceful world for his grandchildren.  Robin told personal stories of wedding parties attacked, and PTSD suffered by our military.  Toby spoke of her personal experience, trying to right these wrongs, many futile visits to congressional offices, and never getting through to our “representatives”. Conventional approaches are ineffective, making it necessary to use "unconventional" tactics. Martha addressed the failings of the justice system.  For this case to be about trespassing is a farce.  Delivering a letter to the base commander at Beale AFB that day was exactly where these activists should have been as concerned citizens. 

The Wheatland 4: "We were NOT TRESPASSING" and
 "WE WILL NOT BE MOVED!"

The trial received coverage by a variety of local and national media sources:

Sacramento Bee

AOL news

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See the video below from NextNewsNetwork

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!

Beale: Main Gate Blockaded 4 Hours, 9 Arrested, as Peace Activists Protest US Killer Drones

Contact:
Toby Blome, 510-508-1020 ratherbenyckeling@comcast.net www.occupybealeafb.org
Pamela Osgood, 941-735-8865 pamelaosgood@att.net
Shirley Osgood, 941-320-0291 slogood481@hotmail.com www.occupybealeafb.org

Main Gate Blockaded 4 Hours, Nine People
Arrested at Beale AFB Tuesday After Vets,
Peace Activists Protest US Killer Drones

BEALE AFB (Marysville), Ca. – After blocking the main gate for more than four hours, nine (9) military veterans and peace activists from throughout California were arrested around Noon Tuesday here at Beale AFB protesting the inhumane and cruel U.S. Drone Program, killing thousands of innocent men, women and children around the world. The 'Beale 9' were cited for trespassing. Court proceedings are pending.

More photos at: "9 Arrested for Blocking Gate of Beale AFB to Protest Drone Strikes" on the Occupy Sacramento website.

About 100 activists from as far away as Fresno, the SF Bay Area, Sacramento, Nevada City/Grass Valley and other California cities unfurled large banners and carried model drones and large photos of child victims of drone strikes to show the dark side of drone warfare.

Beale AFB has been a target of anti-drone protests for years. Beale AFB is home to the U2 and the Global Hawk, the unmanned surveillance drone that is an "accomplice" in drone killings.

There have been a series of direct actions leading to arrests this year protesting President Obama's use of drones, most recently at Hancock Air Base near Syracuse, NY last Thursday, where 17 were arrested.

Activists 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.

"Our government has become lawless powers, acting as judge, jury and executioner, just because they can. They use remote-controlled drones to kill women in their kitchens, elders meeting in their jirgas, mourners at funerals, and rescuers who try to help the wounded. By most independent studies, the vast majority of those killed are civilians," said Toby Blome, of CodePink's Peace Delegation to Pakistan.

"When I learned about what we are doing with drones...killing innocent civilians, and see the faces of dead children and their mourners, I find the passion to do something. That's why I'm taking some action at Beale," said Shirley Osgood, Occupy Nevada County and Nevada County Peace Center and Nevada County Green.

Report: Disruptive Breach of Vandenberg Air Force Base Security Zones

October 22, 2012

Contact: tierralinda@live.com

Nonviolent Backcountry Resisters Cause Disruptive Breach of Vandenberg Air Force Base Security Zones

For the first time in nearly a decade, nonviolent civil resisters caused a disruptive breach of the backcountry security zones at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. VAFB enforces a sweeping global pattern of violent high-tech military abuse. Three participants were arrested for federal trespass and others eluded base security patrols. One participant [Theo Kayser] was hand-cuffed face down on the ground with an M-16 automatic rifle trained on his back during his 2 a.m. arrest, while search lights swept the surrounding hills. He was then held under armed guard for nine hours at a special security command post which VAFB had set up to deal with the backcountry occupation. Vandenberg security stated that they believed at least 15 individuals were spotted in base security zones between 0ctober 20th and 21st.

Action participants hope that others will follow their example in the months ahead. They entered the huge US Strategic Command facility at widely dispersed points and hiked miles into the base, crossing fences and rough terrain under cover of night, hanging banners on nuclear first-strike missile silos deep inside Vandenberg. They also conducted an unauthorized Christian prayer liturgy and exorcism of evil inside VAFB boundaries. Multiple sources, including contacts within VAFB, confirmed that the announced plans and the backcountry security zone occupation caused days of disruptive base alerts, interrupting Vandenberg’s business as usual to prepare for and deal with the security zone breaches.

Backcountry action participants and their supporters say that “Vandenberg, built on land stolen from the Chumash nation, launches and controls key satellites which run worldwide drone strikes that kill civilians, and are positioning US forces for a catastrophic peak-oil war with Iran. VAFB is making nuclear world war more likely by its first-strike Minuteman III flight tests, which seriously contaminate stolen indigenous territory at the Earth’s largest coral atoll, Kwajalein.”

Arrested action participants include Franciscan Priest Louie Vitale and Los Angeles Catholic Worker community members Theo Kayser and Rebecca Casas.


See Count of California Drone Bases Tops National List for drone testing, training, and operations activity at Vandenberg and seventeen (17) other California locations.