Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Nukewatch, IVAW – Madison Chapter, Madison Pledge of Resistance, and other groups came together and organized a 30-mile 3-day walk in Wisconsin from Camp Williams (home of the 32nd Brigade Combat Team which is currently deployed in Iraq) to Fort McCoy (which plays a key role in the mobilization of Army Guard and Army Reserve units deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan) with an action of nonviolent civil resistance planned at the end of the walk at Fort McCoy.
Walking for Peace
We began our “Walk for Peace” on the evening of Thursday August 6, the 64th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. After the devastation and deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, we still have not realized that war and destruction will never bring about peace. We still kill to make peace and it is not working. The peace group from La Crosse organized a moving program, remembering the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima at the Mill Bluff State Park shelter..There were about 40 people camping for the weekend at Mill Bluff State Park as part of the walk. My daughter Jennifer was also part of the group, and for both of us, we learned a lot and came to appreciate more deeply the work that we must continue as we spent time with this inspiring group of people. We had some bad weather and were almost flooded out on Friday night with rain all night and a torrential downpour at about 4 am, but it was a great experience.
There were also others who joined the walk each day so we usually had between 40 and 50 people walking down the highway holding signs reminding the public that we must end the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, ban depleted uranium, abolish nuclear weapons, bring the guard home, and compensate victims of war. Walkers reported that there were a lot of positive responses from motorists passing by.
I was not able to join the walkers because I still have a lot of dizziness from the vertigo that came on when I was in Washington, DC for a Pentagon action in mid-March. Walking for long distances is difficult. The vertigo has left me with a permanent hearing loss in my right ear, and I have not been able to drive since mid-March though my balance should return in time.
I was involved in support activities during the walk, which included a lot of meal prep time. My daughter Jennifer was also there in a support role and it was nice to be able to spend a lot of time with her, Judy Miner from WNPJ, and Bonnie Urfer from Nukewatch. We had some amazing conversations as we chopped tons of wonderful vegetables.
On Saturday afternoon, after the walk was finished, we met the walkers for lunch at a park in Tomah on a beautiful lake. A large number of walkers enjoyed jumping into the lake to cool off after the walk. After some relaxation time, we held a nonviolence training led by Bonnie Urfer and John LaForge, both of Nuke Watch.
Planning for Ft. McCoy action
On Saturday evening, the eight of us who were planning to risk arrest and a few others met together at the beach at the campground to do our final action planning. John asked those of us who would be risking to put our biggest fear out on the table. For me, I really wanted to go home to my family on Sunday and I knew there was a strong possibility we could be held over. I also talked about how I wish we didn’t have to continue to put ourselves out there and risk arrest, and at the same time I realize that wars, occupations, and torture continue, and so I have to continue this work in resistance. I realized, not for the first time, that what I want personally, that my personal comfort and safety are not the most important thing when so many people’s lives are being destroyed as result of the empire-building our government is engaged in.
On Sunday morning we packed up our camping gear and prepared for the final day. After a group breakfast at the campground shelter, we gathered at Tunnel City to prepare for the final day of the walk and for the action at Fort McCoy. We gathered into a circle. Jeff Leys reported that the Monroe County Sheriff told him that officials from Fort McCoy said that anyone who crossed into the base and was arrested, and had been arrested at Fort McCoy in the past, would be transported to Madison to be held overnight for an arraignment.
This was not good news to hear because I have been arrested at Fort McCoy in the past. You never know if the police are really going to follow through on such threats. I really wanted to go home to my family on Sunday, but I knew that even if there was a possibility I would be held overnight, I had to continue with my resistance against the crimes of our government. It is resistance or complicity.
I have to make a note that Jeff Leys has been suffering from vertigo and ear problems over the past few weeks and was not able to participate in the action. Kathy Kelly was also very sick, beginning with an ear problem, and had to return to Chicago on Friday morning. We need to pay attention and keep track of what is going on here.
It was about a 2-hour walk from Tunnel City to Fort McCoy. Jennifer dropped me and others who were not able to walk at the main gate of Fort McCoy just as the rest of the walkers were arriving. We are not allowed to park along the highway at the gate, so Jennifer returned to County Road BB, just outside the boundaries of the base, to wait for a phone call to begin picking people up after the action.
Nonviolent action at Ft. McCoy
I was feeling anxious about the action, but also very determined to follow through. The group of about 50 activists were standing on the south side of State Highway 21 and the main gate to the base was on the north side of the highway. The main gate was closed in anticipation of our arrival. We could see roadblocks and we could see the welcoming committee of two upper level military officials. John LaForge began playing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on his trumpet and the tears started flowing for me as I put my head on Bonnie’s shoulder. There is so much love and support when you do this kind of work and you never feel alone. It is a very different experience for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan who are left in devastation, often losing their families and not having any kind of support as they struggle to deal with the loss of their whole way of life.The eight of us who were risking arrest came together and said that it was time. We carried the large sign that listed our demands, the sign that had been carried through Wisconsin during three days of walking. We are calling for an end to the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, a ban on depleted uranium, abolishment of all nuclear weapons, bringing home the national guard, and compensating victims of war. We crossed the highway and walked up to the roadblock with the two officers standing there waiting for us. One of them asked if he could read us a letter which stated that we were not allowed to enter the base. Brian Terrell responded that we understood, that we were very concerned about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that we would respectfully continue to enter the military base of Fort McCoy. Brian shook the officers hand and we walked onto the base.
There was a garage door about half a block down the driveway that immediately opened and about 18 military police officers came out and immediately began to arrest us. An officer took me by the arm and led me into the garage. He did not handcuff me as we began the processing, but then he looked and saw others were handcuffed. He said aloud to himself that we weren’t supposed to be handcuffed. But when he saw others being handcuffed, he also handcuffed me.
Sometime later, a ninth activist crossed onto the base and was taken into custody. The processing included collecting ids, taking down personal information, photographing, fingerprinting, and finally showing us our citation and a ban and bar letter from the base. As the processing was completed for each person, they sat those of us who had been arrested before at Fort McCoy on one side of the garage, and those who were being arrested for the first time at Fort McCoy on the other side. The group who had not been arrested before were put into a van and taken to County Highway BB just outside the base a few hours later, where supporters were waiting for them. This group included Janet Parker, Gerald Paoli, Tom Haebig, Vicki Andrews, and Dylan Parkes.
Jailed in Madison
Bonnie Urfer, Alice Gerard, Brian Terrell, and I were left sitting against the wall in the garage for several hours as officials from Fort McCoy negotiated with the federal marshals to transport us to the Dane County Jail in Madison. I’m not sure what happened. I don’t think the federal marshals would come and get us, and eventually two officers from Fort McCoy loaded us into a van, drove us to Madison, and booked us into the Dane County Jail. Was this a violation of Posse Comitatus?
The Dane County Jail is more comfortable in some ways than the other 2 jails I have spent the night in. For one thing, we had a mattress to sleep on. There was a TV to keep your mind occupied if you could stand to watch it. But it is still a bad system that needs major reform.
During the first 17 hours of our incarceration, we had no food, and only one 12 oz. bottle of water shortly after we were arrested.
Alice, and I were first put in a holding cell with about seven other women. Then we were moved to a holding cell with Bonnie and about four other women. Wisconsin’s population is 89.9% white, yet I only saw about two other white women locked up the whole time I was there. Even though the Dane County Jail was in some ways more comfortable than other jails, it is impossible to spend a night in jail without thinking about the necessity of reform of our criminal justice system. The women in jail live under so much oppression and because of their life circumstances return to jail over and over, forced to make difficult decisions in order to survive, decisions that I, as a white middle-class woman, cannot imagine. One woman was crying. She kept trying to use the phone, which didn’t work, to let her family know where she was. I don’t know if they put the phones in the cells to tease us. It is not clear what you have to do to use them.
Some of the guards are so sadistic and have no desire to help us. There was a particular female deputy who lied to us and did everything she could to dehumanize us. She was very mean to the woman who was upset and crying as she tried to contact her family. Monday morning I asked this particular deputy if she knew if we would be arraigned that day. That was a mistake. We should never ask for anything because that gives them so much power over us. She lied as she told me that we would have to appear in front of a Dane County judge and that we were behind people who had been waiting to see a judge since Thursday. It was a lie on at least 3 counts. She made it sound like it could be four days or more that we would be locked up before we could see a judge. She lied because we would be arraigned before a federal judge and not a Dane County judge. She lied because people were not waiting since Thursday to see a Dane County judge for an arraignment.
At about 10:30, Bonnie, Alice, and I were moved to the general population area of the jail. We thought that this was a sign that we would be staying there for another day or two. At least they gave us a toothbrush and soap. We were locked into a suite of cells with a TV, games, books, and a common area with a table where we could spend our time during the day if we so chose to. I was working to come to terms with the idea that I would likely be in jail for a few more days. I was so sure that we would be there for a few more days that I took off my underwear and washed it out in the sink. I was talking to Bonnie and broke down as I shared with her how sad I was to be away from my family for so long.
It is a very scary feeling to be in jail. I felt so alone – even with Alice and Bonnie there. I wondered if the federal marshals even knew we were there, or if the Fort McCoy officials screwed up the paperwork and we would sit there for several days waiting to be see a judge. I always try to remember the words of Attorney Mark Goldstone. He said that when we are feeling alone in jail, we should always remember that there is someone on the outside that has our back. That is hard to believe sometimes when you are sitting there and have no idea what is going on in the outside world. But in fact, Buddy, Judy, Casandra, Lee, and others were making numerous calls to the Federal Courthouse on Monday morning to find out where we were and what was going to happen to us.
Our experience is so different than the other men and women who are being held in the Dane County Jail who were not planning to risk arrest, who do not have a support system working to get them out, and whose family and friends may not even realize they are in jail. Many of the other people who are in jail do sit there for several days, weeks, or months just waiting.
Our experience is even more different than that of the men being held in Guantanamo and other places where they are being illegally detained, tortured, and have no hope that they will be released after years of captivity. I know the feelings of fear, desperation, and loneliness that I felt. To imagine the situation of the men being held in Guantanamo and even try to imagine what they are feeling is heartbreaking. But the thing is, many of the men in Guantanamo are cleared for release. They should not even be there. Our government has the power to release them, but that is not happening even after Obama promised their release.
Released
At about 12:30 pm on Monday, about 24 hours after we were arrested, just as I was getting settled in and coming to terms with the fact that I would be staying in jail a few more days, a deputy came to the door of the suite of cells and informed us that we were being released. There was no arraignment; we would just be let go. As happy as I was to be free, it was kind of a shock to the system when you are expecting you will be detained for another few days.We aren’t completely sure why we were released. The woman doing the paperwork for release at the jail told me that Fort McCoy dismissed the hold. When we met up with our friends on the outside, they said that the prosecuting attorney dismissed the hold because there was no room in the calendar to get us arraigned that day. We are not sure what is happening with the charges. None of the nine of us were given a court date, but when we were arrested at Fort McCoy in August of 2008 we did not get a court date until we had an arraignment over the phone in November with Judge Crocker. So we shall see what happens next.
Continuing the work for peace - and change
Obama promised a change, but things are not really getting better. The war and occupation of Iraq continues and the war and occupation in Afghanistan is getting worse everyday. Innocent people are being killed in Pakistan from the unmanned drone planes. Innocent men are still being illegally detained and tortured in Guantanamo and other places. Our new president is not keeping his promise for transparency in government and the secrets this administration is keeping are starting to rival those of the Bush Administration. The government is continuing its illegal spying on U.S. citizens. And at the same time as we are spending trillions on the illegal wars of aggression and empire building, US citizens are not getting adequate health care, housing, food, education etc. etc. etc.
I don’t engage in this work because I like to get arrested, but we must continue our work for change. I believe that for all the times I have been arrested that I have not broken any laws. What I am doing is participating in actions of nonviolent civil resistance, following the principles and practices of nonviolence that we have learned from Gandhi, King, Dorothy Day and others. It is our government that is breaking the law, and we are acting in resistance under our First Amendment rights and under the obligation of the Nuremberg Principles and other international law. I feel a strong internal calling to do this work and though I know that I have a choice about whether I continue this work, at another level I cannot refuse this calling. And so the story will continue as we continue our resistance.
Joy First is a member of Madison Pledge of Resistance and WNPJ
