| Trespass trials set for today; Demonstrators face up to six months federal time if convicted |
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BY S. THORNE HARPER, Staff Writer Thirty-seven protesters arrested last November during a demonstration against Fort Benning's Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation face federal court trial today in Columbus. "It's going to be our biggest trial ever," said Eric LeCompte, outreach director for SOA Watch, which conducts annual protests at the post targeting U.S. policy toward Latin America. This year's defendants include three Catholic priests, two Presbyterian ministers, three school teachers and a 45-year-old mother of 4. The 37 demonstrators range in age from 18 to 72. They are charged with trespassing on a federal military installation and face up to six months in federal prison. Last year, 26 demonstrators -- including an 88-year-old Franciscan nun -- were convicted of trespassing on post. LeCompte said SOA Watch expects "several hundred supporters" to arrive for this year's trial. Last November, 31 protesters -- arrested by city and county law enforcement officers outside Fort Benning's gate during the protest -- pleaded guilty in a Muscogee County Municipal Court to obstructing a public road and entered no contest pleas to obstructing the officers. They spent two days in county jail. |
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