For
Immediate Release April 3, 2002
Contact:
Yuri Koslen (720) 563-0485
Amy Johnson (720) 290-8199
Wage Peace Six Found Not Guilty Pro-peace Action Sent
Strong Message of Reconciliation
Denver, April 3 A Denver jury found six nonviolent activists
not guilty today of trespassing on private property. The Wage Peace
Six ascended a crane to unfurl a massive banner last fall in the
first high profile pro-peace direct action following September 11th.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Jesus Christ,
the icons of nonviolent resistance pictured on the banner, spoke
for themselves in the effort to send a message of peace and reconciliation.
The Wage Peace Six originally faced felony criminal mischief charges,
which were later dropped to misdemeanor trespassing. Even after
the Judge granted motions from the prosecution to throw free speech
out as a defense, a jury of six Denver residents found that based
on the definition of second degree trespassing, the defendants were
not guilty. Members of the jury also expressed support for free
speech and the message of the action.
This case signifies a shift in public sentiment towards re-evaluation
of war as an answer to tragedy. With the world in crisis, and violence
begetting ever more violence, now more than ever is the time to
protect civil liberties and struggle for peace.
PHOTOS of the banner drop and the Wage Peace Six are available online
at: www.wagepeacenow.org
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