Drop All Charges Against UA Protestors

Student Activists, Iraq Vet Arrested in "Mock Raid"

Four protesters were arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" after members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) staged a mock-raid with Jason Hurd, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

Hurd, along with members of Tuscaloosa- SDS and Asheville-SDS, were detained for over four hours on Friday, Feb. 29th, before being taken away in handcuffs to Tuscaloosa City Jail. During interrogation, UA-PD insinuated the protesters were terrorists and threatened to hand the case over the F.B.I. They bail was set for a total of $2,500. The non-students were also charged with trespassing and are now banned from university property.

The University has already released a statement condemning the action, claiming it "may have been alarming to those in the area" and that they "will not tolerate behavior that mimics a true emergency on our campus." Several news sources have reported that the University plans on launching an investigation against the Tuscaloosa chapter of SDS, a officially registered student organization.

"If you are one of those people who was frightened, you had a glimpse of what it feels like to be an Iraqi man, woman or child who experience things like this and worse everyday," said J VanBolt, a UA student who witnessed the mock raid. "I think the one thing everyone- whether you agree with what SDS did or not- can take from this is that people don't like to be scared and have their lives interrupted! Try and imagine what it would be like if things like this happened to you everyday, and instead of just watching you were actually involved. That is life for people in Iraq."

We, Tuscaloosa-SDS, condemn the actions of the University, which we feel was not only exaggerated, but politically motivated. We demand that all charges be dropped. We want an apology from the University for their attempts to equate protesting with terrorism and violence. We refuse to be intimidated and harassed on our own campus.

We are urging supporters to contact the University, to let them know their will not be tolerated! We have a right to protest the unjust and illegal occupation of Iraq. We have a right to make students aware of the immense suffering the U.S. occupation is causing the Iraqi people. Please help us put pressure on the University to DROP ALL CHARGES NOW!

PROTEST IS NOT A CRIME! U.S. OUT OF IRAQ!!!!
In solidarity,
SDS-Tuscaloosa

For more information, contact
Jenae Stainer, 661.477.4333, [email protected]
Chapin Gray, 251.605.7780, [email protected]

To show support for the four arrested, you can call the University President, Dr. Robert Witt, at (205) 348-5320 and demand that all charges be dropped. You can also contact Tim Hebson, Dean of Students and Director of Judicial Affairs [email protected] or Todd Borst, Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs [email protected]