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By Toby Blome
Opposing Drone Killing at the "Belly of the Beast”:
6 Activists Arrested Blocking the Gates at "Drone Murder Central”
We were a strong, hardworking, and dedicated team, arriving from 12 different states in the union, from as far away as Wisconsin, New Jersey and Washington State. We were members of CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, Nevada Desert Experience, and other peace groups. We were there for one main purpose: to let the U.S. government, CIA, Pentagon, local police and military and civilian employees know that remote-controlled drone killing is intolerable, illegal, abominable, racist and MUST STOP NOW! We were also there to demand an end to “Endless Wars” and to all war. We got up at the break of dawn each morning, and every afternoon, during each 2 hr. commute rush, to bring our messages to the gates of “Drone Base Central,” Creech Air Force Base.
Media: We had fantastic media coverage, including an unexpected interview on Rising up with Sonali on Tuesday morning. Eleanor and Toby were interviewed by Sonali, and it was aired on most Pacifica radio stations and other radio and tv programs across the country.
Listen and watch here.
AP and Las Vegas Review Journal photographers came on Tues. am, and a short AP story about the protest and 6 arrests was picked up by multiple media outlets in at least 26 different states.
In addition, filmmaker Kari Barber was present much of the week, finishing up on final footage of a documentary that she and her husband Nico Columbant have been working on for many years, telling the story of our ongoing anti-drone campaign at Creech AFB.
This film is expected to be completed within the next year, hopefully.
Large banners and signs we used included: “DRONES KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE,” “DRONES FLY CHILDREN DIE,” “DRONES MAKE ENEMIES,” “BLACK & MUSLIM LIVES MATTER,” “NO to NATO, YES to PEACE,” “DISARM NATO, DEFUND WAR,” “U.S. DRONE WAR IS TERRORISM,” “MURDERING WITH DRONES IS NOT A GAME,” "U.S. Bloody Hands Off Venezuela," and most importantly: “DRONE PILOTS: REFUSE TO FLY!”
Our drone resistance culminated in a very successful nonviolent direct action on Wednesday, April 3, to “SHUT DOWN CREECH.” To demonstrate the barbarism of drone killing, we painted our hands with fake blood, and held a long banner, “DRONES = BLOOD on OUR HANDS,” at the entrance to the gate. Hundreds of cars passed us in the early morning commute, as we shouted out: “No More Blood on Our Hands, Stop the Terror, Stop the Drone Wars” for nearly an hour. Watch here. (41 sec). Ultimately, with our bloody hands held high, we carried the banner out into the entrance road to "stop Creech drone murder” for as long as we could. Many who were not able to risk arrest still joined some of the blockade, until the 2 min. warning was given. Thank you everyone! Watch here. (11min.)
The 6 activists arrested included:
Jade Takushi, (OR), first time “offender,” Thank you Jade!
Michael Kerr (CA), Veterans for Peace
Ray Cage, (NM), Veterans for Peace
Don Cunning, (NJ)
Chris Chase-Dunn, (CA)
Toby Blomé, (CA), CODEPINK
Arrestees were taken to the Las Vegas jail for a short detention, and were cited and and later released, surprisingly, all at the exact same time, in the early afternoon, in enough time to participate in the afternoon peace vigil at Creech the same day! We were all given the same May 16 court date to appear before a judge. Interestingly, this spring's entire arrest and processing experience was entirely different, and much easier, than last fall’s action. During our October 2018 direct action at Creech, there was absolutely no warning given (a first in our 10 years of doing this work). Last fall, after the Las Vegas police read aloud the usual, long “riot act," warning us to disperse and that we may experience “bodily harm," etc, the police then rushed quickly into the street, and even arrested one man who had no intent to risk arrest. The 7 arrestees were then taken to the LV jail and released at completely different times from each other, between 9 and 33 hrs after their arrest! This was the longest detention that we had ever experienced before. One thing is certain: There are no certainties when risking arrest at Creech Air Force Base!
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