Blackwater Protesters Tried in Closed Court

[blackbear]

Blackwater Resisters Tried in Closed Court
by Marcus Melder
December 19, 2007

On December 5th, District Court Judge Edgar Barnes found 7 peace activist guilty for a political theater action performed at Blackwater headquarters in Currituck County, North Carolina.

The action, which took place on October 20th, was a theatrical re-enactment of the September 16th Nisour Square massacre in Iraq. Using a gray car riddled with bullet hole decals and red paint, the group drove onto Blackwater property. The actors then proceeded to perform a die-in by laying on the grass and shrubs, as well as one "dieing" in the driver seat. Another actor put red hand prints on the Blackwater company sign. In addition, an inspired supporter crossed onto Blackwater property, knelt down and prayed. All were arrested and subsequently charged, depending on participation, with trespassing, resisting arrest, and destruction of property. A YouTube video of the action is available on the internet.

The seven arrested were Bill Frankel-Streit of Louisa County, Virginia; Steve Baggarly of Norfolk, VA; Mary Grace of Madison, VA; Beth Brockman of Durham, NC; Laura Marks of Ayden, NC; Peter DeMott of Ithaca, NY; and Mark Colville of New Haven, CT.

It was a cold, cloudy day when the seven defendants and about thirty supporters gathered for the trial. A pre-trial vigil was held near the street in front of the courthouse. Many held signs, while some were interviewed by the local news media. Before entering the courtroom the group formed a large circle and prayed for peace.

There was a relaxed atmosphere in the courtroom. Peter read a book while waiting for his trial, and Mary Grace worked on her quilt. Some of the supporters lounged in the hallway at various times throughout the day. It was a long slow day sitting through the court proceedings. The most sleep inducing case of this once a week court concerned the extent of the odor of a family's 37 cats.

Finally, in the afternoon, the judge called the first Blackwater case. He denied a motion to consolidate the defendants into one case. The first to be tried was Steve Baggarly. One of the prosecutor's witnesses, the Director of Operations for Blackwater, clearly perjured herself by stating that when she arrived people (implying the defendants) were kicking and spitting on cars. Later in her testimony she claimed that police had the situation under control and all was calm when she arrived. During a later testimony she stated that she never saw anyone kicking or spitting, only heard that it had happened.

Soon afterward Steve took the stand. The prosecutor asked him a question in regards to his state of mind at the time of the action. Steve responded by talking about the Nisour Square incident, which the prosecutor objected and the judge sustained. Steve attempted to continue but was interrupted by the judge. Steve informed the judge that it was relevant to his state of mind because, "if they were making popcorn I wouldn't have been there". As Steve persisted, the judge stated that he was the authority of the court and mockingly asked Steve if he understood the English language. Judge Barnes found Steve guilty of trespassing and resisting arrest with a 20 days suspended sentence, $100 fine, and one year probation. Steve was taken away, but returned to the courtroom when he informed the clerk that he would not pay the fine.

Next up was Beth Brockman. She asked the judge to reconsider consolidating the remaining cases for the sake of time, and the judge agreed. Once the 5 remaining defendants made their way to the front of the courtroom, Judge Barnes told them that they could each state that they were against the Iraq War only in order that the court could move on with important matters. Beth was then given her turn which she used to speak about Blackwater's role during in the Nisour Square massacre. Despite a quiet court audience, Judge Barnes interrupted her and in an unconstitutional move cleared the courtroom including the press. Supporters of the peace activist were clearly upset. One supporter read to the guards from a pocket copy of the constitution that the defendants were entitled to a public trial. The guards then closed the doors between themselves and the crowd.

The defendants reemerged about two and a half hours later. Each made an attempt to speak out against the private mercenary corporation during the closed trial. Each was interrupted and silenced. Mary Grace, who had trespassed to pray during the October action, received a 10 day suspended sentence, probation, and a fine. The remaining five received 30 - 45 days suspended sentence, probation, and a fine. All seven defendants appealed the decision and await a jury trial in the future.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=14543