****NEWS RELEASE - 16 Oct 2001****

ACTIVISTS RESISTING US SPACE COMMAND

SENTENCED TO PROBATION AND JAIL TIME



WHO: Four peace activists connected to the Los Angeles Catholic Worker

WHAT: Three sentenced to probation and fines; one sentenced to 3 months in jail

WHERE: Federal Courthouse at Los Angeles, CA, because of prayer-action at Vandenberg Air Force Base

WHEN: Monday October 15th 2001; 3:00pm

WHY: On May 19th 2001, hundreds of peace & justice demonstrators gathered at Vandenberg Air Force Base (near Santa Barbara, CA) to call for an end to global exploitation enforced by US Space Command programs conducted from Vandenberg (VAFB). Since July 2000, about 60 people have been arrested for protesting these star wars programs, and in July 2001 four of the activists went to trial and were convicted by a jury on August 2nd.

Brian Buckley, Liz Wyrsch, Scott Galindez & Marc Page were part of a Catholic Worker affinity group that conducted a prayer-action at VAFB on May 20th 2001. Two other co-defendants (Jeff Dietrich & Elizabeth Griswold) pleaded guilty early; Elizabeth is on probation for three years and Jeff is in prison for six months. Yesterday Judge William Rae pronounced a three-month prison sentence for Galindez, 0 fine & fees for Buckley & Wyrsch, and one year of probation for Buckley, Wyrsch, & Page. Galindez & Page were also ordered to pay the mandatory fees. The three defendants sentenced to probation told Judge Rae that they would not pay any fees and fines, and that they are likely to resist compliance with probation.

US Attorney Sharon McCaslin asked for Galindez to be jailed because of prior arrests and convictions. Three community members spontaneously stood up in the courtroom to support Galindez' request for a two-week stay of execution prior to his impending incarceration. Judge Rae accepted the request. Responding to McCaslin's accusation that the group acted under a hierarchical model of someone leading his followers, Wyrsch replied in anarchist fashion, "We led each other and we followed each other."

( Down the street in another federal courthouse, 15 Greenpeace activists were arraigned for the third time in a revised indictment of their action against star wars testing at VAFB. The internationals were granted the right to return to their homelands prior to their impending trial. They face up to 11 years for their successful delay of a national missile defense test on July 14th of this year. )

#30

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For further info:

http://www.nevadadesertexperience.org/M19.html

or

http://www.greenpeace.org

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