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