02/23/07 War Protesters Get Community Service
War Protesters Get Community Service
They Blocked Traffic Near Kohl's Office
The Capital Times
Friday, February 23, 2007
By Katrin Madayag The Capital Times
Six peace activists who were arrested and ticketed for lying in the street in front of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl's downtown Madison office were found guilty Thursday of a city ordinance violation.
Municipal Judge Daniel Koval sentenced the protesters to 11 hours of community service.
About a half-dozen people showed up at the trial at the Municipal Courthouse to support defendants Cassandra Dixon, Bonita Sitter, Bonnie Block, Deb Mulligan, Jennifer First and Joy First. They held an hour-long vigil in front of the courthouse before the trial.
The women had pleaded not guilty, stating that they had peacefully resisted out of necessity. As citizens, they said, it was their duty to protest what they saw as an illegal war in Iraq.
The protesters said they were trying to get a response from Kohl, who they say has been lukewarm in his opposition to the war.
"We've tried and tried and tried to talk to Sen. Kohl," Joy First said before the trial.
The protesters said they've tried vigils, writing letters and meeting with Kohl's staff, then decided to switch to more confrontational tactics, she said.
On Nov. 2 at about 2:30 p.m., about 25 local peace activists with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance gathered in front of Kohl's Mifflin Street office. Eight of them wore red gloves, symbolizing the blood on American hands, as they laid in the road. They held stop signs and chanted against the war. Madison police arrested them peacefully and ticketed them for obstructing traffic.
Each woman gave a statement in court defending her actions, with five of them wearing the red gloves. They emphasized that their actions were necessary to protest a dishonest government that had violated the Nuremberg Principles and international law.
Mulligan read her prepared statement with emotion, saying that as an attorney she had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. By protesting the "illegal and immoral acts" of the U.S., she was defending the Constitution's principles.
"I kept my promise as a U.S. citizen and attorney," she said.
Sitter, whose stepson is serving in Iraq, said that Americans have forgotten that the government needs consent of the people to work properly, she said.
Koval said the city may be sympathetic to the cause, but the law was clear. Blocking traffic is a violation of municipal law, he said.
Because they were cooperative with the police, Assistant City Attorney Marci Paulsen recommended the minimum fine of $109, which the judge imposed.
Each woman requested and received community service in lieu of the fine.
They have 20 days to appeal the decision.
Another protester, Susan Spahn, also had been ticketed but had paid the fine before the trial. Protester Steve Burns did not appear and received a default verdict of guilty.