THE MASSACRE CONTINUES; OUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD;
THERE ARE NO INNOCENT BY-STANDERS.
THE FEAST OF THE INNOCENTS FAITH AND RESISTANCE RETREAT

Twice in as many days, members of a faith-based community of activists breached security at 2 of the most heavily guarded buildings in the country during nonviolent anti-war protests.

On December 28th, about 75 people gathered outside the metro entrance to the Pentagon at 7:00 a.m., to protest the continuing slaughter of innocents in Iraq . While 17 activists blocked the entrance, a banner appeared over the side of the Pentagon roof: "BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW." As supporters who'd been pushed behind metal barricades encouraged employees to recognize that "there is blood on our hands," guards debated how the banner had arrived. Those blocking the doors were arrested and have court dates of April 1st and 14th.

The next day, close to 100 people filed across LaFayette Park , past the newly constructed inaugural viewing stands and formed a semi-circle in front of the dignitaries' entrance to the White House. Eight people held a long banner in front of the entrance. It read: THE MASSACRE CONTINUES; OUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD; THERE ARE NO INNOCENT BY-STANDERS. In front of the banner lay a black coffin labeled "US and Iraqi war dead." For an hour they read the names of dead US soldiers and Iraqi civilians, each name followed by a solemn gong and the refrain: "Our hands are full of blood." The names were then placed in or on the coffin.

During the presence, two of the resisters, Susan Crane and Gary Ashbeck , both of Jonah House community in Baltimore , followed a man through the pedestrian entrance and into the White Housed compound.

When guards realized Susan and Gary had not been cleared to enter they insisted the two leave immediately. Susan and Gary demanded to speak to a White House official about the situation in Iraq . "We've been waiting outside for years," said Susan . "We want someone to deal with us now.” The two were arrested, held overnight and charged with "unlawful entry."

Melinda Smael of Washington , DC wrote the names of several Iraqi civilians and two American military killed in Iraq on the black entrance gate with chalk. She, too, was arrested by angry White House security and held overnight. She was charged with "defacing government property." All three have a status hearing on January 31st.

The eight people holding the banner in front of the entrance were also arrested for refusing to move. This group - Sue Frankel-Streit, Nancy Gowen, Ellen Naney , Mary Anne Grady-Flores, Art Laffin , Bill Wylie-Kellerman , Ken Crowley, and Steve Kelly - was charged with "demonstrating without a permit" and given a court date of March 16, 2004 (impossible without ability to engage in time travel).

At both sites, passers-by, including Pentagon soldiers, thanked the protesters for being there. The Atlantic Life Community, a close-knit group of resisters from Maine to Florida, gather in DC three times a year to reflect, pray, play and perform acts of nonviolent resistance at sites of institutional violence. This week they had come together to remember and reflect on the Massacre of the Holy Innocents, a Christian commemoration of the children killed by Herod after the birth of Jesus . They have been doing this for more than 27 years.

Sr. Anne Montgomery , RSCJ, active with Christian Peacemaker Teams and frequently part of the team in Hebron and Baghdad , opened the gathering with a presentation on the theme of the retreat. During the reflection sessions – integral to the three day gathering - participants heard from Richa rd Heinberg , author of THE PARTY'S OVER, who explained that fossil fuel production will peak by 2010, and that a radical change in our fuel-based economy and lifestyle is inevitable. The group also heard from Grace Ritter, just back from Darfur, Sudan; from Kathy Boylan and Bill Quigley who've visited both the poor and prisoners in Haiti; and from Kim Lamberty, part of the Christian Peacemakers' Team in Palestine, who was beaten by Israeli settlers while escorting Palestinian children to school several months ago. Each of these reflection sessions helped to enlarge our understanding that the massacre continues; our hands are full of blood; there are no innocent by-standers.