Mary Anne Grady Flores is an outstanding example of a person who has devoted her life to nonviolent resistance to war and killing. She is a good friend of Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace.
There are two letters below. The first calls for volunteers to attend a press conference in DeWitt, NY this Tuesday, at 4:30 PM. The second letter explains in more detail the absurdity of the charges against Mary Anne. In fact, although she had done civil disobedience many times, at the particular incident in question she didn’t mean to violate any law. She was just taking photographs. Nonetheless, she has been sentenced to six months in prison.
Even if you can’t be in DeWitt on Tuesday, I’m sure that there will be more information from her support team soon, giving us details of how we can help.
Peace,
Arnie Matlin for GVCP
Dear Friends of Mary Anne Grady Flores:
Please come to DeWitt Town Court house in Syracuse this coming Tuesday, January 19th at 4:30pm to attend a press conference and to support Mary Anne Grady Flores as she is taken into to Janesville Penitentiary for violation of an Order of Protection to not harm the base commander. Mary Anne Grady Flores has lived a life of respect and nonviolence toward all humans.
The base commander of Hancock 174th attack wing orders his pilots and crews of the 174th attack wing of the US Air Force to assassinate suspected dangerous people in far off lands. We know that assassinations are immoral, illegal and pragmatically stupid. We know that the so called crime—‘breaking an order of protection”—is for stepping slightly over the middle of the road outside of the killer drone base. For this step as she photographed protestors asking for the killing to stop, Mary Anne was charged and convicted of putting the base commander and other operatives in danger. Mary Anne was charged with breaking an order of protection (historically used to protect people from physical and psychological abuse) . We know the truth of the phony order is to keep protestors away from objecting to the killing going on inside of Hancock. Mary Anne’s first amendment rights have been violated by a trumped up legal cabal…a devious scheme.
Mary Anne, a nonviolent grandmother, will be ordered to prison next tuesday. The assassins will continue their ‘work’ days spying on and quite often killing people thousands of miles away from Hancock 174th attack wing. Then, the assassins will return to their families or quarters after their job is done.
Mary Anne, is a prime caretaker for her mother, Theresa. Theresa broke her hip last month, and will need to be placed in Hospice care.Yesterday, I visited Mary Anne. Then, and again today when she called, Mary Anne asked that we treat judge Gideon with dignity and respect.
A team of lawyers are appealing MaryAnne’s case on behalf of our movement to stop the killing. Focus will be on denied appeals, Hancock 17 case and Maryanne’s Order of Protection appeal.
Please think of media contacts nation and international wide. Google for email addresses for specific contacts.
Think about specific women in the media. Maureen O’Dowd of the NY Times? There are many voices. Please help.
It would be good to pack the courtroom this Tuesday, january 19 at 4:30pm.Jack Gilroy
Dear GVCP Member,Mary Anne Grady Flores is a superb
Grandma Drone Protester Remanded to Jail for 6 Months
Mary Anne Grady Flores to be taken into custody Tuesday, January 19
Ithaca, NY. On January 12, the National Day of Action to Stop Killer Drones, grandmother and drone resister Mary Anne Grady Flores learned that she is to go back to jail for six months starting Tuesday, January 19. She is to report to the Dewitt Town Court (5400 Butternut Drive, East Syracuse, NY) at 5pm to be remanded to Jamesville Correctional Facility, East Syracuse NY.
Mary Anne had been out on appeal of a lower court convicting her of violating an order of protection. It had been given on behalf of Col. Evans of the Hancock Air National Guard Base 174th Attack Wing (in Syracuse, NY), to “protect” him from nonviolent anti-drone activists. She had been charged with violating the order while taking pictures of eight Catholics protesting the US drone assassination program at Hancock on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Onondaga County Court Judge Miller upheld the lower court conviction. Of note is that all eight Catholic drone resisters were acquitted because they went to uphold law, not break it.
Orders of protection, typically given in domestic violence situations, have been used by the Court and the Base in an attempt to deter protest and suppress free speech. Judge Miller also upheld a lower court ruling on the Hancock 17, seventeen nonviolent drone resisters given orders of protection, jail time, and fines.
Mary Anne, a grandmother of three, has been a part of The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars <http://upstatedroneaction.org/> , resisting the drone assassination program since 2011. According to leaked military documents called the Drone Papers <https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/> sent to the Intercept <https://theintercept.com/> , 90% of drone assassinations target and kill civilians, including children. On the National Day of Action, drone resisters were arrested at Creech Air Force Base (Nevada), Beale AFB (California), and Volk AFB (Wisconsin), and Ramstein AFB, Germany and in Pakistan, all a part of the worldwide resistance to drones.
Mary Anne received the verdict and sentence by mail, even though she was originally told to appear in County Court on January 22 to hear the court’s decision. This may have been an attempt to prevent a full courtroom and press with cameras from attending, as occurred at the time of her original sentence.
www.upstatedroneaction.org <http://www.upstatedroneaction.org>
RAW has a number of online resources. They are listed, along with instructions
about how to use them.
— RAW Website: http://www.RochesterAgainstWar.org
— Contact RAW: contact@rochesterAgainstWar.org