First court appearance of the "Manchester 9 since arraignment

[jaqeboy]

Join us on Thursday, July 26 at 8:15 am in Manchester District Court, 
35 Amherst Street, for the first court appearance of the "Manchester 
9" since arraignment!

As midnight approached on May 9, nine peace activists were arrested 
at Senator Sununu's Manchester office after occupying his office 
office for nine hours with the message that the Senator's eleven 
votes in support of the Iraq war have had devastating consequences. 
The purpose of the action was to shine light on Senator Sununu's 
continued support of the war, and urge him to change his position. 
The nine people arrested were Mary Lee Sargent, Karen Barker, Tom 
Barker, Pat Wilczynski, Nellie Grant, Chris Hobby, Jordan 
Butterfield, Jon Hutchinson, and Anne Miller.

On Thursday, July 26 at 8:15 am, the nine activists will make their 
first court appearance in Manchester District Court since their 
arraignment.  The nine activists were arrested on criminal trespass 
charges and were charged with an "A" misdemeanor. An "A" misdemeanor 
carries the possibility of thousands of dollars in fines and the 
possibility of one year in jail - however, it also gives defendants 
the right to a jury trial in New Hampshire Superior Court.

The group's attorney Barbara Keshen negotiated the charges down to a 
"B" misdemeanor (that includes several hundred dollars in fines, no 
jail time, and restrictions from entering Sununu's Manchester office 
for a lengthly time ) for those who want to plead guilty in District 
Court on Thursday.  It looks like several of the defendants may 
choose this option.

The rest of the defendants anticipate asking that the case be sent 
directly to Superior Court to be judged by a jury.  Their case will 
then be heard in several months in New Hampshire Superior Court. 
Below please find an article about five protesters who were found not 
guilty of criminal trespass at Senator Grassley's Des Moines office.

We hope you can join us for the court proceedings.

Peace,

Anne Miller
Director
New Hampshire Peace Action
4 Park Street Suite 210
Concord NH 03301
anne@nhpeaceaction.org
(603) 228-0559
www.nhpeaceaction.org

[Kat Kanning]

Sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes hours....depends on when they'll called.  I suspect that if there are a bunch of protesters outside, they'll want to get rid of them quick.

[jaqeboy]

8:15am....how long do these things usually last?

I will go and show support unless you think it will end up being very very long...I do have to get to the office sometime! I spend way too much time here and not working!

1. How long do you think I'll be there?
2. Is there anything I could wear or bring that would help, will we sign hold before the court appointment?

Thank you.

You'd have to ask Anne Miller at Peace Action - I was just passing on her email.

Thought this would be of interest to CD folks. There's a group of NHPA people and Quakers who have a ton of experience in this area that Porcupine CDers ought to tap into.

[George_Vreeland_Hill]

I don't think I can be there.
I will call Anne and Jon Hutchinson today.
They wanted me to join them at this protest.
I thought the chances would be high for me and them being arrested, and since I may run for office, it was not a good idea at that time.
Run for office first, then get arrested by those who want the war to continue.
It sends a much bigger message.
I am with the "9" 100%!

George Vreeland Hill 

[Kat Kanning]

Anyone know what happened?  We arrived too late this morning.

[error]

I was in bed sick as a dog.