F.B.I. Comes A Callin' on Catholic Workers & other anti war resistance in the U.S.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Monday February 21, 2005 10:58

by Ithaca Catholic Worker

Ithaca, New York, USA

St. Patrick's Day (2003) 4 Recharged with Felonies

Homes of four people associated with the Ithaca Catholic Worker were visited by the FBI on Friday.

In an act that represents escalated harrassment of those nonviolently resisitng the war, the St. Patrick's Day 4 have been hit with summons related to felony charges After failing to convict them at district court level (hung jury) the Feds have now stepped in upped the stakes to felonies.

On Friday, February 18, 2005, Peter DeMott, Clare Grady, Danny Burns, and Teresa Grady, “the St. Patrick’s 4”, received a summons to appear in
the United States Federal District Court in Binghamton, NY on charges reading “conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States.

This will be the second trial for the four for their act of nonviolent civil resistance at the local US Army/Marine Recruiting Center on March
17, 2003. After prayer and discernment the four poured their own blood sacramentally in the vestibule of the center, thereby making visible
the blood that is shed by the work of the center. They went there in the spirit of nonviolence, knelt in prayer and in no way threatened or used force.

“We can’t help but wonder whether the timing of these charges are politically motivated to stifle dissent and resistance to war making as
we approach the second anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and the March
19, 2005 international call to action to resist the ongoing war” said Peter De Mott.

“We take note that, as a direct result of our US invasion, over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 1,600 coalition soldiers have been killed. Wide
areas of Iraq are now contaminated with depleted uranium, poisoning the people in these areas and the land permanently. While a few people and
corporations make billions from this war, many in our nation are homeless, have no healthcare, living wage jobs, assurance of social security or
adequate education” said Teresa Grady.

Clare Grady stated further that “we stand by our actions, believing that they are just, moral, legal, and required as the great crimes of mass
murder, grand theft, and torture are perpetrated in our names.”

“We are being prosecuted by the office of a man, Attorney General Gonzalez, who has worked to institute the use, by the United States, of
torture, an international crime,” Danny Burns noted. Burns went on to say, “Our nation’s young people are being targeted by the military to
participate in this illegal war. They are being promised jobs, education
and a future. Instead, they are getting illness, death and deep trauma from participating in killing innocent people.”

The four take full responsibility for entering the vestibule and pouring their own blood. They maintain that they are innocent of any crime
because citizens have moral and legal obligations to take action to prevent greater crimes. They invite everyone to come to their court proceedings,
the dates of which they will announce as they become known.

Clare Grady said, “We are heartened by people all around the world who are rising up for a just and peaceful world and we remember the words of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”