"Have you been arrested yet?"

One of my fondest memories (besides doing the sun salutation in the parking lot of a Waffle House) of a trek to Fort Benning 5 years ago was having breakfast on Sunday morning w/ Laura and Erica. At a table nearby were three women dressed to the nines and who appeared to be in their seventies. One leaned over to our table and whispered, "Are you girls here for the protest?" When we answered in the affirmative, she then asked in a much louder voice, "Oh great, have you been arrested yet?"

from today's Common Dreams

SOA Protesters Sentenced
by Alan Riquelmy

Sixteen protesters at November's SOA Watch rally were sentenced in U.S. Magistrate Court on Monday for trespassing onto Fort Benning.

The trespassers, ranging in ages from 17 to 71, stood in judgment before U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth, who has jurisdiction over the misdemeanor offense. He listened throughout the morning and into the afternoon as 15 of the accused entered guilty pleas, then read from written statements or spoke from memory about why they chose to illegally step onto federal property on Nov. 19.


Joshua Harris, 30, from Claremont, Calif., makes a statement Monday morning from the steps of the federal courthouse in Columbus. Harris is one of the 16 people sentenced for trespassing on Fort Benning property during the annual SOA Watch protest at the post's main gate. Harris was one of five who made statements Monday morning. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison.

Grayman Ward, 20, of Raleigh, N.C., was the only one to plead no contest to entering military, naval or Coast Guard property -- a federal crime that carries a maximum sentence of six months. He lost his job when his employer found out about his arrest.

Faircloth found Ward guilty and sentenced him to 30 days in prison, but not before Ward took the opportunity to sing a song by David Rovics. "We're here at Fort Benning. Please excuse me while I state: If you're here looking for weapons, you'll find them behind that gate," Ward recited in singsong. "You're not making it to Hollywood," Faircloth said after hearing from Ward.

Most of those who signed written statements stipulating they had trespassed onto post entered through a cut in a fence, but Melissa Helman, 23, of Ashland, Wis., says she climbed a fence to get on post. "I admire your spunk," Faircloth said. "Those are some pretty high fences." Helman made reference to what she called the massacre of hundreds of people in 2004 by soldiers under the command of those trained at Fort Benning. "I'm not guilty of a criminal act," she said. "But I am guilty of being a conscious individual." Helman received a 60-day sentence, though like the other trespassers sentenced on Monday, she doesn't have to report to prison until notified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Joshua Harris, 30, of Claremont, Calif., was the only trespasser to represent himself. He shares Helman's sentiment about the criminality of his actions, saying the law is concerned about what he did and not why he did it. "People have gone to jail in the past for their convictions, and so will I," he said. "I do not feel I am guilty of a crime." Harris was sentenced to 60 days.

Sheila Salmon, 71, of Sebastian, Fla., told Faircloth she has protested at the SOA Watch for the past four years. A member of the Sisters of Humility of Mary, Salmon crossed the line in 2000. "I am a Christian, and I have no choice but to follow in Jesus' footsteps," she said.

Margaret Bryant-Gainer, 38, of Shenandoah Junction, W. Va., had already spent 71 days in jail when she appeared in court Monday. She was the lone trespasser who declined to make bond and has been in the jail since her arrest. Bryant-Gainer was sentenced to time served and released.

Tina Busch-Nema, 48, of Kirkwood, Mo., said a word many trespassers uttered in court on Monday -- love. "My civil disobedience is an act of loving other people," she said. Before her sentencing, Busch-Nema gave Faircloth a drawing one of her children had done. It appeared to be done in crayon -- a child's drawing of a judge in robes.
Faircloth told her he has defended and will continue to defend the right to protest, but within the law's restrictions. "And that's where it stops," he said.

Protesters gathered under the SOA Watch banner in November for an annual demonstration against the School of the Americas, which was abolished by Congress and reconstituted under new guidelines and goals as the Western Hemisphere Instituted for Security and Cooperation. The protesters call for closure of the institute, citing participation by many School of the Americas graduates in atrocities committed in Latin American countries.

© 2007 Ledger-Enquirer and wire service sources