2009 Prisoners of Conscience: Jailed for Justice!

READ ABOUT THE JANUARY 25TH TRIAL OF THE "SOA 4"

Nancy Gwin (to read Nancy's court statement, click here), 63, is an accomplished peace, justice and solidarity activist in Central New York, and a member of the steering committee of Witness for Peace Mid Atlantic. She has been to Latin America a number of times with Witness for Peace.

Early in the morning of November 22, 2009, she crossed the line onto Ft. Benning property to carry her witness closer to the School of Assassins.

"I feel strongly connected to the people of Latin America and the Caribbean -- the people of this hemisphere. For over 50 years the School of the Americas, now referred to as WHINSEC, has trained militaries with tax monies -- to commit atrocities in their homelands. I cross the line today to say, "No More!" Close this place that has been a literal and metaphorical symbol of the United States' government policies toward the people of Latin America."

Gwin said the school’s closure would send a powerful message to Latin America. “To say, ‘We are closing this school to make an equal relationship with you,’” she said. “It’s a small step, but it says we’re looking for a new future.”

Read more about Gwin and her arrest in an article by the Syracuse Post Standard, here.

Nancy will be serving 6 months in federal prison for her act of nonviolent civil disobedience

Ken is pictured in the center, in Washington, DC, before a 2007 delegation to Palestine/Israel.

Ken Hayes (to read Ken's court statement, click here), 60, is a long-time peace and justice activist from Austin, TX. He is a leader in the local Austin SOA Watch group as well as a member of the SOA Watch grassroots council representing the South.

On Sunday, November, 22, 2009 he crossed the line at the SOA and faces up to a 6 month prison sentence and a $1000 fine. He will put the SOA on trial January 25, 2010 along with co-defendants Nancy Gwin, Fr. Louis Vitale and Michael Walli.

Ken will be serving 6 months in federal prison for his act of nonviolent civil disobedience



Louis (Louie) Vitale, 77, from Oakland, CA, is a former Air Force veteran who became a Franciscan priest, pastor, and peacemaker. He co-founded the Nevada Desert Experience – a movement to end nuclear testing -- and Pace e Bene, an organization which transforms lives through education, resources, and nonviolent action for social change. Louie travels extensively throughout the United States speaking on Nonviolence; The moral dimensions of torture and drone warfare; and Living as a Peacemaker.

Louie has a PhD is Sociology, and has taught classes at colleges and universities throughout the Western states. For more than a decade he served as Pastor of St. Boniface Catholic Church, in a low-income neighborhood in San Francisco, CA, where he opened its doors to the homeless so they could sleep in the pews during the day.

Father Louie has engaged in civil disobedience for nearly four decades in pursuit of peace and justice. He has been arrested an estimated 300 times standing up against war, nuclear weapons and drones.

While protesting U.S. policy of training Latin American soldiers in torture techniques, Louie was arrested for trespass at the SOA Vigils in 2001 and 2005 for which he served prison terms of three and six months. After protests of U.S. complicity in torture at Fort Huachuca, AZ in 2006 and 2008, Louie served a five month prison term after his first arrest. The torture manuals used at the School of the Americas came from Ft. Huachuca. Ft. Huachuca is the home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and interrogation training school. Visit Torture on Trial to learn more.

When not in prison or traveling, Louie has been an active member of SOA Watch groups in the Bay Area. Louie’s indefatigable spirit, rootedness in nonviolence, and friendly personality are a continuing source of inspiration.

Fr. Louie will be serving 6 months in federal prison for his act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Letters of support written to Fr. Louie would be much appreciated and can be sent to the following address:

Louis Vitale
Crisp County Detention Center
196 South Highway 300
Cordele, GA 31015

If your letter is for some reason returned, please send it to:

Louis Vitale
C/O The Nuclear Resister
PO Box 43383
Tucson, AZ 85733



Michael Walli, 61, of Washington DC has dedicated his life to working for peace and justice. Inspired by the philosophies of Dorothy Day and Mahatma Gandhi, among many others, Michael has been arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience approximately 40 times, addressing a variety of interconnected issues. These actions include crossing onto Fort Benning in protest of the School of the Americas/WHINSEC four different times, and participating in one Plowshares action in 2006 for which Michael served eight months in prison. After being arrested at Fort Benning this year, Michael refused to post bond. Judge Faircloth ordered his release, but Michael is expected to return for a January trial with his co-defendants.

Grounded in a theology of human rights, and an opposition to torture, militarization, and violence, Michael’s dedication and passion for creating a more just world is inspirational and humbling. He takes the steps that the majority of us are too scared to take and asks questions that challenge those in power. Michael truly lives out his convictions and his belief that “hatred is not our calling.”

Michael currently lives out his convictions at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, DC.

Michael consciously did not return for his trial, Judge Faircloth issued a warrant for his arrest

2007 Prisoners of Conscience: The SOA 11

Joan Anderson, 65, of Casper, Wyoming





Joan was sentenced to serve 30 days in prison and pay a $500 fine. She was released on May 1, 2008.

Ozone Bhaguan, 33, of Duluth, Minnesota


Ozone crossed the line at the SOA for the second time in 2007, and was again sentenced on January 28, 2008 to serve 90 days in prison.

Le Anne Clausen, 29, of Chicago, Illinois


"I am a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian church & a former human rights worker in Iraq, working to uncover abuses such as those at Abu Ghraib. I also have family in the military and I care about them. I believe that the only path to peace and security in our world is through human rights. For all those things, I have chosen civil disobedience today."

Le Anne was released in early May.

Art Landis, 74, of Perkasie, Pennsylvania


"The SOA is a terrorist camp, and terrorism and torture and killing are things I don't approve of, whether we do it or our friends do it or it's done in other parts of the world."

Art was released on May 8, 2008.

Ed Lewinson, of Newark, New Jersey



Ed has crossed the line at the School of the Americas protest four times, and the state has refused to prosecute him until now, because he is blind.

Chris Lieberman, 54, of Albuquerque, New Mexico



"This action is to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world. For me this is an act of obedience to the Lord who calls me to love as Christ loved us."

Diane Lopez Hughes, 58, of Springfield, Illinois

"It is an honor to follow those who've acted on their convictions in years past and it is a blessing to be able to act on my faith, to witness to the injustice of the School of the Americas, to witness to hope for an end to torture."

Diane was released from Muscogee County Jail on March 11, 2008.

Tiel Rainelli, 25, of Ohio

"To my slum livin' young people search'n for meaning in a society that isolates and oppresses us, I call upon your critique, your lived experience, and your participation in the struggle. No longer should we allow others to speak for us, it is indeed time we spoke and organized for ourselves. Oppression has left us with a sickness that disrupts and perverts our capacity to love and resist and we have an undeniable responsibility to ourselves and each other to decolonize our minds and rebuild our communities."

Gus Roddy, of Chicago, Illinois




"I am a prisoner of my conscience."

Gus was released in early May 2008

Stephen Schweitzer, 45, of Binghamton, New York



"There's just too much misery in this world and this HAS to change."

Michelle Yipé, of Argonia, Kansas
"I want to leave a legacy for my niece and nephew, that I stood up for peace, and stood up for what I believed in. I did my best so that I could provide a better world for them. I believe the SOA is a threat to our national security and that we're making more enemies than we are friends."

Michelle was released on April 30, 2008.

Support those Facing Prison for Speaking Out Against the SOA

Prison witness has been a core element of the SOA Watch movement since its beginning. In the tradition of Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Aung San Suu Kyi and countless others, SOA Watch activists have used peaceful, nonviolent resistance to expose the horrors of the SOA/ WHINSEC and to express solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Latin America.

As a result, 226 SOA Watch human rights defenders have collectively spent over 95 years in prison. Over 50 people have served probation sentences. Their sacrifice and steadfastness in the struggle for peace and justice provide an extraordinary example of love in action and have given tremendous momentum to the effort to change oppressive US foreign policy and to close the SOA/ WHINSEC.

Click here for actions to take in solidarity with those in prison and on probation.

Read the chronology of past SOA Watch prisoners of conscience.