Mah Fellow Veterans,
Happy, er, ah, NAH, make it POIGNANT
VETERANS DAY !
bp
BP & Co-Defendants arrived shortly after Dawn, to set the stage
for the Tale of Veterans
FREE SPEECH
DENIED
Nick Morgan & Mathis Chiroux... Well below, please find Chiroux's
account of Today's,
November 10, 2008 Court Date for the IVAW's 10 Veterans' who were denied
the opportunity
to ask 1 question each, to John McCain, and Barack Obama, @ the Oct 15th
Hofstra "Debate"
MFSO (Military Families Speak Out) Goddess and WCW (World Can't Wait)
Maven,
Ms Elaine Brower, took 2 of BP's October 15th Hofstra Police RIOT photos,
and blew
them up to 24" X 36" to help folks visualize the cruelty of Nassau County
Mounted Police
Mathis 'splains today's Court proceedings, which were basically the Judge
was pissed that
all 15 Defendant's pleaded "NOT GUILTY", and demanded Trial by Jury, AND
the Judge was
pissed that IVAW had 150 supporters in front of the Court.
Mathis Chiroux will be on AMY GOODMAN's Democracy Now!
on Tuesday, Veterans Day
11/11/2008
Nick Morgan, who is recovering nicely from when the Police Riot broke his
eye socket's
King of Ink, and co-defendant Geoff Millard
Co-Defendant Mike Spinaton
Co-Defendants Jose Vasquez & Kris Goldsmith
You may have seen CNN's coverage of Goldsmith's PTSD on last weeks' CNN
Special. at:
ALL Photos, CREDIT Bill Perry
Bill Perry,
Service Officer
Disabled American Veteran CSO
Make ANY ERROR in
the VA Claims maze,
& you'll be forced into a 2 year Appeal
process
Get Expert Advice, Evaluations, & Treatment
215-945-1269 215-945-3350 215-589-9413
Hempstead 15 plead not
guilty while cops defend brutalizing veterans
It was a
sad day for Nassau County, but a proud one for veterans and activists
nation-wide when the Hempstead 15 plead not guilty Nov. 10 in the Nassau County
District Courthouse to charges of disorderly conduct while a crowd of 100
supporters cheered them from in and outside the building.
The charges
stemmed from an action planned by IVAW around the final presidential debate at
Hofstra University Oct. 15. During the debate, members of Iraq Veterans Against
the War and supporters peacefully marched into police lines blocking Hofstra's
entrance after having their voices and issues ignored throughout the election
cycle by the candidates.
During the demonstration, Nassau County Police
used horses to push demonstrators onto a sidewalk before brutalizing them and
arresting several, including Nick Morgan, a veteran of Iraq whose face was
crushed by a police horse. In total, ten veterans and five of our supporters
were arrested, hence the Hempstead 15.
Following an evening of relentless
harassment by Nassau County Police, including threats of rape and further
brutality, the Hempstead 15 were released to appear in court today where all
plead not guilty as the police defended their actions to the press.
"The
protesters were trying to gain entry into the debate, and police were not going
to let that happen," said Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone of the NCPD to Newsday. "We
used necessary force in order to carry out that goal," he said, before asserting
that police have yet to determine whether Nick was actually
trampled.
This claim comes in direct contradiction not
only to video evidence clearly showing Nick and others being trampled and
brutalized on the sidewalk opposite the main gate of Hofstra, but also a
statement made by Lt. Kevin Smith of the NCPD's Public Information Office almost
a month ago where he acknowledged, "One of the defendants collided with a police
horse," before adding, "Who do you think is gonna win?"
After refusing to
drop charges against the Hempstead fifteen, Nassau County once again snubbed the
first amendment and our supporters by setting different court dates for our
members, scattering our next appearances from this Wednesday to late January, I
suspect in an attempt to complicate further demonstrations.
What these
legal gerrymanderers don't realize is they've just given a motivated movement a
good reason to celebrate liberty and support our troops 15 more times on their
front porch!
So where do we go from here?
We must keep up the
pressure on Nassau County to drop all charges against the Hempstead 15. You can
do this by calling District Attorney Kathleen Rice at 516-571-2994 or contacting
her here: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/DA/contact.html
As well, you can sign the petition demanding that charges be dropped
against Nick Morgan and that those officers responsible for the brutality of
Oct. 15th be held accountable. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justicefornick/?e
Additionally, please donate money to help cover Nick's medical bills at ivaw.org.
Please reach
out to president-elect Obama however you can and demand that he condemn the
trampling and arrests of Nick and others as well the eroding of our civil
liberties as Americans.
Please help us spread word of
the tragic events of Oct. 15th by continuing to forward information about the
demonstration, Nick Morgan and the Hempstead 15 to your friends, relatives and
co-workers. This REALLY makes a difference.
Adam Kokesh will be going to
trial this Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Please come out to the courthouse at 8
a.m. to show your support! 99 Main St., Hempstead, NY. The next court appearance
will not take place until December which gives us some time to plan.
I'll
be appearing on Democracy Now tomorrow morning for Veterans Day and to speak
about what happened in court this morning. Please tune in or check out the
broadcast on the web at democracynow.org.
We're a long way from finished fighting. And this is a fight we will
ultimately win. Simply having people in this country willing to put their bodies
on the line in defense of our veterans and the constitution is proof that
victory is within our grasps.
I was so moved this morning to see so many
supporters gathered so early in the morning in solidarity with us. Thank you to
all who turned out to make good on America's promise to support her troops. And
thank you to all who signed the petition, donated to Nick and who've helped us
get the word out!
Much more is to come from IVAW and the Hempstead 15.
Stay in touch to see how we're going to end the war and ensure our troops get
the care and respect they deserve!
Peace and
Solidarity,
Matthis Chiroux
VIDEO OF
HOFSTRA ACTION AND POLICE BRUTALITY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvV_6OoqhVw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eupU-StpCqM&watch_response
NAOMI
WOLF INTERVIEWS MATTHIS CHIROUX ABOUT HOFSTRA ACTION:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahP4Y-8_JgY
The Hempstead 15:
Matthis
Chiroux (Army Sergeant)
Kristofer Goldsmith (Army Sergeant)
Adam Kokesh
(Marine Sergeant)
Mike Spinato (Marine Corporal)
Geoff Millard (Army
Sergeant)
Marlisa Grogan (Marine Captain)
Nathan Peld (Navy,
1998-2004)
Nick Morgan (Army Sergeant)
James Gilligan (Marine Corps, 6
years)
Jose Vasquez (Army & Army Reserves, 1992-2007)
Ryan
Olander
Paul Blasenheim
David M. Disimino
Lianne Gillouly
Megan
Day