After returning from a January presence and civil resistance at the White House in Washington DC, the Minnesota Peaceable Assembly Campaign has continued to pressure Senators Franken and Klobuchar stop funding U.S. wars.
The group met with the staffs of both senators on April 6th, and on April 8th, seventy-five people attended an action at Senator Franken’s office. They began the action by reading the names of soldiers from Minnesota and civilians from Afghanistan that have been killed during the U.S. war and occupation of Afghanistan. A group of about 15 then went into the offices of the Senator while others symbolically ‘threw shoes at the occupation’ and participated in a ‘die-in’ in front of the building.
Thirty or more members of the campaign joined the others upstairs and gathered in Senator Franken’s office and the hallway leading to the office. The group alerted Franken’s staff that they would not leave until they got Senator Franken on the line with an assurance from him that he would vote against the upcoming $33 billion supplemental funding bill for the war in Afghanistan. After some time deliberating with the staff, Senator Franken was reached by speakerphone. The senator said that he would be voting for the supplemental funding, giving basically the same justifications that President Obama has given for continued escalation of warfare in Afghanistan. Six demonstrators were arrested for refusing to leave. Marie Braun, an organizer for the Minnesota campaign, said that Senator Franken’s response was “a big disappointment, even though we expected it.” Despite being disappointed, the group plans to “keep on keeping on” by continuing to organize and assemble at their representatives’ offices to demand alternatives to U.S. militarism.
If you would like to be involved in the Minnesota Peaceable Assembly Campaign’s efforts, contact Marie Braun at .
