David Swanson: US Military Vet On Trial Wednesday

Testimony in the trial of a U.S. military veteran and national officer of Veterans For Peace begins tomorrow, Wednesday, January 9th, at 11:00 a.m. ET, in District of Columbia Superior Court, room 313.

Mike Ferner, who served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman during the Viet Nam war, was arrested September 20, in the the visitors' gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives when he and another activist stood up and loudly addressed the members of Congress, "Funding the War is Killing Our Troops!"

Ferner was arrested by Capitol Police and charged with disorderly disturbing Congress, a charge that carries a maximum 6 months jail sentence.

"The government says I was disturbing Congress, but that is not the case," said Ferner, a freelance writer from Toledo, Ohio. "I stood up in the House Gallery to sound an alarm, and you don't knock quietly on the door when your neighbor's house is on fire. You pound and raise your voice as if lives depend on it--and that is exactly what's happening in Iraq. Thousands of lives are being lost, the war is causing untold suffering, and Congress keeps throwing gasoline on the flames."

"We have politely petitioned, called and written Congress to demonstrate we want this war ended, and they keep voting more billions for the war. Clearly we need to ring an alarm to get the point across to these people so far removed from the consequences of their votes," Ferner concluded.

ENDS

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