Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) is organized to end our community's participation in the illegal occupation of Iraq by stopping the U.S. Military's use of the Port of Olympia.
Your donations are urgently needed for the defense of the Oly 26! Please click below to donate directly to the Oly PMR Legal Fund.
Mark your calendar!
Solidarity March!
A March against War and in Solidarity with the ♀ly-26
No Persecution! No Prosecution! The War is Criminal - Not the People
Saturday, November 15th
1 PM: Gather at Sylvester Park (Capitol & Legion Way) in Olympia
On November 15th our community will come together to march against the Bush Government’s perpetration of war and torture on the world’s People. We will march in memory of those who have died. We will march in solidarity with the members of our community who came together in order to stop more from dying.
One year ago 39 women linked arms and sat down in a peaceful and courageous act of nonviolent resistance to demonstrate against the use of our public resources for war and torture. Though the women remained peaceful themselves, they were consistently threatened with chemical assault weapons and physical violence by armed police. Outrageously, 26 of these peacemakers are today being unjustly targeted for prosecution by our public officials.
We will not stand by as our public resources are used for war and torture! And we will not stand by as or our public monies are used to persecute our daughters, sisters and mothers for exercising their constitutional rights and following their moral imperative to nonviolently resist war and torture! Where the Bush Administration is guilty of war crimes; where the perpetrators of war and torture go free, the ♀ly 26, women of our community, are being unjustly prosecuted for peaceful acts of humanity. It is the war that is criminal — not the peacemakers!
To ensure the change we want for our futures, we must continue to say no to those who stand for war. And we must say no to the persecution and prosecution of those who stand for peace. Tragically, our local prosecutors have exclusively targeted women, people of color and members of the gay community for participating in, and observing, non-violent direct actions during anti-war port protests. In an effort to repress dissent amongst those who have the most to gain in exercising their civil rights, amongst those who have been historically denied equal civil rights—our public officials appear to be punishing select individuals simply for having the courage to exercise their hard won constitutionally protected rights to protest.
On November 15th, 39 years to the day when 250,000 marched on DC in protest of the Vietnam war, and nearing the end of Bush’s criminal reign—we call for solidarity from our community to, again, march against war and torture - and to march in solidarity with those who work for peace.
March called by Olympia Movement for Justice & Peace and members of the♀ly 26.
Note from the Breakfast Underground: Vegan Breakfast to Support Port Protesters!
Sunday 9 November at 519 Puget, Olympia, WA.
Hey there,
In light of the sentences handed down surrounding the port mobilization actions (and the hefty fine accompanying them), our house is throwing a vegan support breakfast to raise some aid.
What! A sumptuous vegan breakfast with a $3-5 sliding scale entry donation. Folks are encouraged to add to the bounty with potluck goods, music, jokes about McCain's goiter, whatever.
When!: This Sunday, November 9th at 12ish.
Where!: 519 Puget St. downstairs, we're a little black house...it's hard to miss us.
Who!: The breakfast underground is anybody and everybody who enjoys thrifty dumpstering and squandering of ill-gotten food stamps on worthy causes with delicious vegan food.
Why!: Because we've got empty bellies and full hearts!
RSVP if you can, the better idea we have of the amount of folks, the less likely there will be a riot in response to the shortage of waffles.
Seriously, tell err'body you know. If this goes well, this could be a wonderful way to not only foster conscious community but to support various causes that need aid.
Support Vigil - Women Opposed to War - Please Come and Support the Oly 26
Friday, November 7 from 4pm - 6pm
4th and Water Street
At the "Women’s Action" on Nov 13th, 39 women and 4 men were arrested at the Port of Olympia for trying to end the use of our port to support the Iraq War. 26 of these people are now facing charges by Thurston County District Court; 25 of them are women.
These women, and the men who supported them, took a courageous nonviolent stand to end the war in Iraq in solidarity with Iraqi women. Please bring signs supporting them and join the vigil with Fellowship of Reconciliation and other community organizations.
Endorsed by LBC, Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, Women’s Resource Center, Students Educating Students About the Middle East, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, and others.
NEWS
The first arraignment for the defendants of the Oly 26 begins tomorrow!
Olympia: 9 November 2008
The Oly 26 are 25 women and 1 man, who, along with hundreds of other concerned residents, demonstrated against the Port of Olympia’s militarization in Nov. 2007. One year later, these 26 have been singled out for charges of “Attempted(!) Disorderly Conduct” and “Obstruction.”
The arraignments for the 26 have been split up into 6 dates, alternating between Mondays and Wednesdays for the next three weeks. The first five defendants are being arraigned tomorrow. BE A SPORT AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THOSE IN COURT WHO FOUGHT THE PORT!
Here are the complete arraignment dates:
Monday, Nov. 10, 9:30 AM
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 10 AM
Monday, Nov. 17, 9:30 AM
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 10 AM
Monday, Nov. 24, 9:30 AM
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 10 AM
The City of Olympia passed the buck to Ed Holm's (Thurston Co.) Office. So these cases are being held at Thurston County District Court, located at:
THURSTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Building 3
Olympia, WA 98502
See you there!
Women Targeted for Prosecution in Non-Violent Port Protests
Olympia: 25 Oct 2008
Prosecutors have brought charges against twenty-six people arrested during a non-violent women's protest in November, 2007.
Thoughtful, Moral Demonstrations
For two weeks in November, hundreds of demonstrators blocked military equipment from moving through their publicly owned port. On November 13th, 39 women were arrested during a non-violent demonstration in solidarity with each other, women nationally, and the women in Iraq.
Patty Imani, one of those charged, said Friday: "Thousands of women have been killed in Iraq. It's obscene that the city's response is to jail those of us who were only trying to stop more from dying."
The women in Olympia saw the suffering that the United States' occupation of Iraq was causing, to the Iraqi people and particularly to the women of Iraq. The protest was carefully planned to bring attention to how the war has effected the lives of women in Iraq and the United States.
Inappropriate Prosecution
The City has waited nearly a year to bring these charges, and has suspiciously brought these new charges less than a week after their other cases against port protesters were dismissed. Also, prosecutors have a history of targeting women and people of color in protest cases. Twenty-six demonstrators have been singled out for prosecution, 25 of whom are women.
A Call for Solidarity
Those being prosecuted are calling for solidarity and support from all those who are concerned that women and people of color are being targeted for carrying out their constitutionally protected right to non-violently dissent.
Defendants are available to speak to the press.
Your donations are urgently needed for the defense of the Oly 26! Please click below to donate directly to the Oly PMR Legal Fund.
Victory in Court! Kathleen Hutchison's Unjust Case Dismissed!
Olympia: 19 September 2008
After testimony today, Katie Hutchison's case has been dismissed! Many thanks to Larry and Karen and everyone who's been so supportive through this process.
As many will remember, Katie was arrested while imploring the police to provide medical attention to her twin sister Patsy who had been brutalized.
In the end, the judge seemed to agree with our assertion that there was a video tape taken by the police that contained exculpatory evidence, and that the police had destroyed that tape.
Larry and Karen represented this case excellently and charged a nominal fee, so they're hurting for cash. Please donate if you can!
Port of Tacoma 2008: A day by day break down of what happened
Tacoma and Ft. Lewis, WA: 8 August 2008
As the 4th Stryker Brigade 2nd Combat Infantry Division returns to Ft. Lewis through the Port of Tacoma, people from throughout the Northwest have taken Direct Action to blockade the paths of these stryker vehicles. 15 arrests so far have been made during blockades attempted at both the Port of Tacoma and Ft. Lewis and in general resistance to the militarization of publicly owned ports and our communities at large.
The intended effect of these demonstrations is to raise the social and economic cost of the war. The excessive security costs caused by the protests cut away at the profits made by accepting military shipments and make ports less likely to accept shipments in the future. After the Port of Olympia demonstrations, the military reimbursed the port for security costs. Steve Hall, City Manager for the City of Olympia, announced after similar protests at the Port of Olympia, that the city would be unprepared to accept another military shipment without calling in the national guard. We are told that these actions taken to blockade military shipments in the North West have inspired others in the anti-war movements across the country take more radical and direct action to have a concrete impact on stopping the war. If so much resistance was shown in every port in the country in response to every military shipment, the war would be impossible to continue.
Demonstrations at the Port of Tacoma began the day the USS Brittin, the boat carrying 900 stryker vehicles, arrived on Tuesday, July 29th. On Thursday, July 31st, there was a march of approximately 40 people into the port. Two women, Kelly Beckham and Kteeo, were arrested. After seeing strykers driving down a nearby cross street and out of the port Beckham and Kteeo took off running to catch up with them. The two women were followed by their fellow demonstrators and about 15 police officers on bikes. The officers beat Beckham and Kteeo to the strikers and formed a line. Beckham and Kteeo along with about 20 other demonstrators stood in front of the line of cops. Beckham was pulled across the police line and arrested. Kteeo was pulled across the police line by her hair, slammed to the ground, lifted up in a head lock then slammed down again. Police then kneeled on her back. This all happened while she loudly repeated "I'm not resisting arrest." Beckham is being charged with obstruction and property destruction. Kteeo is being charged with obstruction and resisting arrest.
Friday night, August 1st, protesters effectively blocked a convoy of military equipment on Freedom Bridge at the 122 exit to a gate into Ft. Lewis, the military base where the strykers were based. Three were arrested during this action, including one person who was arrested for asking an officer what his badge number was. The police were taken by surprise, and soon approximately 20 to 30 police cars arrived from three different departments. Later that night, a truck transporting military equipment was blocked on another bridge at a gate to Ft. Lewis, exit 123. There were 7 people blocking the bridge, with maybe 10 more demonstrating on the sidewalk. 3 were arrested.
August 2nd, late at night, a lock down blocked the off ramp to the main gate of Ft. Lewis, exit 120, stopped a trunk transporting a Stryker vehicle for twenty minutes. Three people were in lockboxes, a device made out of PVC piping and other materials by which they locked their arms to each other. These protesters were removed from the gate and brought to a field. The protesters still refused to move from the devices for another 2 and a half hours. During this time the police attempted a multitude of tactics in attempts to remove the protesters. These included but were not limited to, calling in the fire department to remove the demonstrators from their devices (the department refused to touch the protesters), calling in two specialist (who could not solve the “problem”), googling lockboxes (which yielded no results). After these attempts and two and a half hours, the protesters, tiring of police shenanigans, decided to release themselves.
While in jail protester Patty Imani was subjected to discrimination and psychological abuse. The police began her booking process, asking her standard questions. Jailers refused to accommodate Imani's hearing impairment, while claiming Imani was not complying in answering interview questions she could not hear, and put her into solitary confinement. Jailers refused to continue her booking until she became "more cooperative". Imani was released 15 minutes after the police finished her booking, eight hours after she was originally arrested.
After the blockade was broken, a car full of activists was detained by military police for an hour and a half at the gates of Fort Lewis. There were perhaps three jurisdictions there, including Lakewood Police, Washington State Patrol, and Fort Lewis Police. It seems that while they were turning around, one of the departments ran their license plate and a red flag came up indicating that they were protesters. A lieutenant and sergeant personally supervised the detainment. The five in the car had their information taken down, were told they were would arrested by military police if they ever returned to Fort Lewis, and were given tickets for failure to proof insurance and failure to proof registration. A police dog sniffed their car. An officer, while on the phone, was overheard explaining that a drug dog would help establish probable cause for a full search of the car. They kept refusing a search, and eventually were let go.
This is the first time the port militarization resistance movement actively resisted at a military base. Over the past year since the last port militarization resistance demonstrations at the Port of Tacoma, the police have had time to review and readjust their tactics in dealing with the demonstrators. Taking the resistance to Fort Lewis was in response to the changing tactics of the police. The police were taken by surprise by this change in tactics and venue and were less prepared to respond.
Sunday, August 3rd, demonstrators, knowing that police expected them at night, broke with their pattern and showed up in the middle of the day. 20 people demonstrated for most of the day inside the “free speech zone” designated by the police. In the late afternoon, as people began to leave, there was about 10 to 15 demonstrators left. Two police cars drove into the designated free speech zone. Demonstrators sanding near one of the cars were told by an officer, driving car number 773, that he was going to taser one of them. He brandished his weapon and pointed it at them. There demonstrators were breaking no laws or posing any threat to the officer at the time. The officer turned around towards Forest Student, a demonstrator standing alone several feet away from the police car. Forest Student was tasered twice, once while standing and again after hitting the ground. Student was then arrested for third degree assault, a charge that was then dropped. Eye witness testimony proves Student’s arms were crossed and he was not threatening the officer at all. The officer was sitting in his car at the time and tasered him through the window.
On Monday August 4th 40 people marched down to the port carrying banners and chanting. The group marched down the middle of a major street through the port. Eventually they were pushed to the side walk outside of an entrance to the port. The group waited beside the gate, determined to prevent military equipment from leaving the quay. At one point during the night the Tacoma Police Department walked around behind the group, specifically targeting Joe LaSac, the groups’ only videographer. He was grabbed and arrested for “trespassing.” As demonstrators moved closer to watch the arrest, members of TPD surrounded the group, pointing tasers at them on two sides.
As demonstrators were leaving the port, they were surrounded by police cars. The demonstrators were not able to access their vehicles for a period of time. While the demonstrators attempted to figure out an exit strategy the police turned on their lights and sirens as an intimidation technique. The demonstrators made it out of the port safely.
A Tacoma Municipal Judge later ordered that the Police return the camera but not the film, stating it could be used as 'evidence'. It is probable the film will be used to ID anti-war activists for unconstitutional surveillance purposes.
Port of Olympia Activists arrested in November still need your help. Please donate to the Legal Defense Fund: