Trial of army recruiting protestors begins in federal court News
Trial of army recruiting protestors begins in federal court

[JURIST] Four protestors [protestor profiles] who threw blood on the walls of an army recruitment office in 2003 will face trial in a federal court in Monday on charges of damaging government property and conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States, after a New York jury deadlocked when considering charges of felony criminal mischief. The trial marks the first time the federal government has pressed conspiracy charges against civilian Iraq war protesters and is also the first federal conspiracy trial of anti-war protestors since Vietnam [St. Patrick's Four press release]. The Irish-Catholic protestors, who call themselves the St. Patrick's Four [support website] because the protest took place on St. Patrick's Day, poured vials of their blood onto the walls, windows and American flag in an army recruiting office in suburban Ithaca, to encourage new recruits to think about the Iraqi people and American soldiers who shed blood. If convicted in federal court, they could face six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The New York Times has more. The Ithaca Journal has local coverage. Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin has a statement from the protestors.