School of the Americas Watch
July 13, 2002
School of the Americas Protesters Lock Gate to Fort Benning After 37 Activists Sentenced
Photos of Action Available Upon Request
Columbus, GA The front gate of Fort Benning was closed this morning by an autonomous activist who locked herself to
the fence on Fort Benning Road underneath a sign that read, ³Lock up SOA/WHISC, Not Peacemakers!² The activist, Rebecca
Johnson, 23, of Washington, DC was joined by a vigil of supporters who gathered in the permitted demonstration area. All
were acting in solidarity with 37 human rights workers who were sentenced in Columbus, GA for their role in the SOA
Watch November vigil and nonviolent resistance.
The entrance to Fort Benning was ³locked up² at 10:00 AM when Ms. Johnson closed the gates and chained herself to them.
Many of the defendants attended the vigil, preparing for their sentences by calling attention to the atrocities
committed by SOA graduates.
The ³SOA 37² were among 10,000 who gathered last November to call for the closure of the notorious SOA/WHISC. The
defendants peacefully crossed onto Ft. Benning, site of the school. Judge Faircloth is known for giving the maximum of
six months to SOA/WHISC opponents. Seventy-one people have served a total of over forty years in prison for engaging in
nonviolent resistance in a broad-based campaign to close the school. These defendants received sentences ranging from 6
months probation to 6 months in prison and a $5000 fine (see attached sheet).
³Those who speak out for justice are facing harsh prison sentences while SOA-trained torturers and assassins are
operating with impunity,² said SOA Watch founder Fr. Roy Bourgeois. Ms. Johnson added, ³I am called to act for real
change in US foreign policy towards Latin America. The SOA, under any name, teaches torturers, rapists, and murderers
that the US will not divulge the secret of their crimes against humanity.²
The SOA/WHISC is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. Its graduates are consistently involved in human
rights abuses. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to release training manuals used at the school that advocated the use of
torture, extortion and execution. In December 2000 Congress authorized the WHISC to replace the SOA. The renaming of the
school was widely viewed as an attempt to diffuse public criticism and to disassociate the school from its reputation.
SOA Watch maintains that the underlying purpose of the school, to control the economic and political systems of Latin
America by aiding and influencing Latin American militaries, remains the same.
School of the Americas Watch www.soaw.org/newsroom
Sentencing of the 37 SOA Watch Defendants
(listed in order of state) Fr. William O¹Donnell Berkeley, CA, 72, Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine
Leone Reinbold Oakland, CA, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Fr. Louis Vitale San Francisco, CA, Sentenced to three months in federal prison
Toni Flynn Valyermo, CA, 56, Sentenced to six months in federal prison (in custody now)
Jonna Cohen Denver, CO, 20, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Michael Sobol Golden CO, 18, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Kathy Shields Boylan Washington DC, 58, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Richard Ring Atlanta, GA, 33, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Mary Dean Chicago, IL, 37, Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine
Kathleen Desautels Chicago, IL, 64, Sentenced to six months in a federal prison
Brigid Conarchy Grayslake, IL, 23, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine and barred from entering Muskogee County
for twelve months
Fr. Jerry Zawada Cedar Lake, IN, 65, Sentenced to six months in federal prison (in custody now)
Janice Sevre-Duszynska Nicholasville, KY, 52, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Ralph Madsen Newtonville, MA, 68, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Palmer Legare Springfield, MA, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Rev. Charles Booker-Hirsch Ann Arbor, MI, 41, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Maxwell Sadler Edwards Waterville, ME, Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $2500 fine
Summer Nelson Missoula, MT, 26, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine (in custody now)
Tom Mahedy Wall, NJ, 39, Former Navy ROTC. Sentenced to three months in federal prison
Linda Holzbaur Ithaca, NY, 45, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Rae Kramer Syracuse, NY, 55, Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $5,000 fine
Laura MacDonald Syracuse, NY, 23, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine (in custody now)
Mike Pasquale Syracuse, NY, 33, Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine
Chani Geigle Salem, OR 19, Sentenced to six months in a federal prison, $1000 fine
Shannon McManimon Philadelphia, PA 26, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Rev. Erik Johnson Maryville, TN, 57, Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine
Kenneth Crowley Houston, TX, 60, Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine
Niklan Jones-Lezama Blacksburg, VA, 38, Sentenced to six months in federal prison
David O¹Neill Elkton, VA, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Lee Sturgis Elkton, VA, Sentenced to six months probation, $500 fine
Peter Gelderloos Harrisonburg, VA 19, Sentenced to six months in federal prison (in custody now)
Abi Miller Harrisonburg, VA, 23, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Sue Daniels Pembroke, VA, 41, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Nancy Gowen Richmond, VA, 68, Sentenced to three months in federal prison, $500 fine
Lisa Hughes W. Hartford, VT, 36, Acquitted
John Heid Luck, WI, 47, Sentenced to six months in federal prison
Kate Fontanazza Milwaukee, WI 53, Sentenced to six months in federal prison, $1000 fine
for immediate release Contact: Dorothy Pagosa, 202.903.7257 Eric LeCompte, 253.988.4927