Good news from Down East

May 6th, 2008 by jfl

May 01, 2008 By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News

BANGOR, Maine - Six longtime anti-war activists arrested last year for refusing to leave the Federal Building when it closed for the day were found not guilty Wednesday of criminal trespass.A Penobscot County Superior Court jury deliberated for 2½ hours after a two-day trial. 

The defendants, who live in communities from Wells to Bangor, were arrested along with six others on March 8, 2007, at a protest at U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ office in the Harlow Street building.They said they were protesting President Bush’s proposal to increase the number of U.S. combat troops in Iraq to support a military strategy known as the surge. Members of the group also were urging Collins to vote against continued funding for the war. 

After the verdict was announced about 1:45 p.m., the defendants, their attorneys and their supporters celebrated on the steps of the courthouse in between interviews with reporters.Jonathan Kreps, 57, of Appleton, Henry Braun, 77, of Wells, James Freeman, 59, of Verona, Dudley F. Hendrick, 66, of Deer Isle, Douglas Rawlings, 61, of Chesterville, and Robert Shetterly, 61, of Brooksville, chose to go to trial. The other six pleaded guilty and paid fines. 

“To be honest, I’m a little incredulous,” Freeman said after the verdict. “I thought there was a remote chance that we’d have a hung jury, but I didn’t expect this. The fact that this was a not-guilty verdict says something about the way the wind is blowing in this state. 

“People have had enough of this war, enough of corruption and enough of high oil prices,” he said. 

“We can’t continue to spend $12 billion a month on the war and not be affected at home.” 

Freeman, Hendrick and Shetterly represented themselves.Attorney Philip Worden of Northeast Harbor represented Rawlings.

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Comments

That is good news - can we expect more?

Submitted on May 6th, 2008 by arpidoodle

 

We can build on things we trust, but - we must be careful not too expect too much ...

 

Representative government as it once existed - as a tool for expansion - has to rid itself of the dinosaurs that roam its' ivory towers.

 

There is a very deep rift between public and private sectors - sometimes it seems insurmountable.

More often than not sides have to be taken - there certainly isn't a lot of sync between the two,

 

I think the time has come for representative government to go the way of the dinosaur - I think it's way overdue - there must be many dinosaurs among us yet.