Occupation Project Court Case

By Bill Johnson
Rocky Mountain News
December 7, 2007

They had, in the end, absolutely no chance for acquittal. You don’t need a fancy law degree hanging on the wall to see that.

Indeed, a Denver County Court jury of four women and two men on Thursday convicted all three after less than an hour of deliberation on charges of trespassing. They were quite obviously guilty.

What was even easier to figure after two days of trial was that trespassing, alone, was never once the sole point for Rafael Eggers, Sue Gomez or Merrill Carter.

Their trial before Judge Claudia J. Jordan, besides being great theater, was a sometimes-riveting lesson in the responsibility of the governed to hold accountable those elected to govern, and on the price that is paid when the effort falls on deaf ears.

By Rob Mulford
Aug 1, 2007

Rob Mulford, member of Northstar Veterans For Peace in Fairbanks, Alaska, organized the Alaska Occupation Project in February and March.

Last Friday, July 27, 8:30 a.m. at the Fourth Judicial State Courthouse in Fairbanks I entered into oral argument with the District Attorney for my motion for the defense of necessity concerning my arrest, along with Don Muller of Sitka, on Feb. 20, 2007. We were charge with “criminal trespass II” for taking part in a direct action event, the Occupation Project, at the Fairbanks Alaska office of Senator Ted Stevens. We had remained in the office after the official closing time reading Iraqi and American war dead names after being ordered to leave.

Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center ALERT
July 28, 2007

Related — Carolyn Bninski in her own words: A redress of grievances By Carolyn Bninski

[VCNV Note: Carolyn Bninski is an organizer with the Occupation Project in Colorado. After receiving word of three acquittals in Occupation Project trials, we received news that Carolyn received by far the harshest sentence to date. The judge sentenced Carolyn to 365 days in jail, with 330 days suspended. Carolyn will begin serving the remaining 35 days in August, with work release privileges. The judge will retain the right to return Carolyn to jail to serve the 330 days suspended should she engage in other “unlawful” activity. Don Muller and Rob Mulford of Alaska also received lengthy suspended jail sentences for their participation in the Occupation Project in Fairbanks, Alaska and each also served 7 days in jail. Let the examples of these social advocates serve as an invitation to each of us to deepen our own commitment to nonviolent civil disobedience and civil resistance to end the Iraq war.]

Before a packed courtroom yesterday, a municipal judge in Westminster, Colorado sentenced long-time peace activist Carolyn Bninski to 365 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for actions stemming from a March 8th, 2007 visit by her and others to Colorado Congressman Mark Udall’s office.

By Bruce Finley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 07/27/2007 07:30:11 PM MDT

A war protester who occupied U.S. Rep. Mark Udall’s Colorado office and refused to leave was sentenced Friday to a month in jail.

A jury found Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center activist Carolyn Bninski, 57, guilty of trespassing but not-guilty of unlawful assembly.