Photos
100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture
Action on the 100th Day of the Obama Administration, April 30, 2009, Washington, DC
Danielle, Donna, and Josie assembling at the Capitol reflecting pool to join the "prisoner march" to the White House
Donna holds the uniform jacket she wore as a member of the Army many years ago. She will hang it on the White House fence as part of the action. Pinned to the uniform is Donna's letter to Obama telling him why she is returning the jacket. 
Josie and Donna bear the names of two Guantanamo detainees. They will join the group who will risk arrest in front of the White House.
A drummer leads the solemn "detainee" procession from the Capitol to the White House.
Rows of "prisoners" step onto the White House sidewalk under orders from their "commander" in fatigues at right (actually a Catholic Worker from New York City). 6 rows of 10 prisoners each stand in front of the White House as if to ask President Obama to release them, an act that is within his power and his alone.
55 prisoners have been cleared for release yet remain in detention and 5 will never be released because they died in detention. Since President Obama has taken office only two prisoners have been released.
Now all 61 "prisoners" stand on the White House sidewalk and the last row unfurls the banner with their message. Although Obama promises to release them, they continue to languish under harsh conditions at Guantanamo. Will the President hear their pleas? They are risking arrest by standing on the section of the sidewalk that the Park Police designate as the photo spot. Stationary protests are not allowed in this section with its picture postcard view. This is where all sorts of groups go to risk arrest. The police give 3 warnings and then they begin the arrest process.
A SWAT team is called in because of the large number to be arrested (61). First they remove all our hoods. Then one by one they place us in plastic cuffs and take us into one of the waiting vehicles: a large bus, and two smaller police vans. Above is an Associated Press photo we found on the Kansas City newspaper website. Josie is second from the right. The photo was taken, no doubt, because the woman being arrested had gone limp. Most of us did not do this, but it does attract the photographers who are looking for a certain kind of image.
The police photographed us, took our ID's, and searched us before placing us in the vans. They took us to the Park Police station in the Anacostia district of DC where we sat in the vans in the parking lot for a couple of hours while they decided what to do with us. Finally they gave us tickets as they took us off the vans. They did not take us into the jail. The ticket was for "Failure to obey a lawful order" and carried a $100 fine. They directed us to leave immediately and did not allow us to enter the precinct office to either pay the fine or request a court date. Each of us must return in person to resolve the matter. Arrangements are being made to go to court as a group.
This video of the action shows Donna standing by her uniform that she has hung on the fence. She is shown at 42 seconds into the video. The police later attempted to return the uniform to Donna, but she repeated her request that it be given to the President. When the police prepared to discard it, the action organizers retrieved it and sought advice from Col. Ann Wright who was in attendance as to how to accomplish Donna's wish. She made several suggestions and Donna will make a choice at a later date.
Read more about the action and find links to media coverage at www.100DaysCampaign.org
Fr. Louis Vitale
Tiffin Area Pax Christi joined Pax Christi of Corpus Christi University Parish in hosting Fr. Louis Vitale who spoke on "The Nonviolent Response to Terrorism" May 5 at Blessed Sacrament Church, Toledo. One of his "Letters from an Imperial Jail" can be viewed here. Photos from the event are compliments of committee member Cindi Ruff:
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