Seven Protesters Arrested at Blackwater’s Headquarters
Oct 21st, 2007 by admin2
Seven Protesters Arrested at Blackwater’s Headquarters by Bill Sizemore
Seven people were arrested Saturday at Blackwater Worldwide’s front
entrance after protesters re-enacted the Sept. 16 shooting incident in
Baghdad involving Blackwater contractors in which 17 Iraqis died.
It was the first protest at the 10-year-old private military company’s
headquarters, a reflection of its heightened profile since the Baghdad
shootings stirred Iraqi anger and created a diplomatic crisis for
Blackwater’s client, the U.S. State Department.
The protesters drove a small gray station wagon, covered with simulated
bullet holes and smeared with red paint, onto Blackwater’s property. One
lay back in the driver’s seat and five others got out and lay on the
ground, as if they had been shot.
The scene was intended to mimic that in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, where an
Iraqi doctor and her son died in a fusillade of gunfire as their car
approached a Blackwater diplomatic convoy.
The protesters also smeared red handprints on two Blackwater signs.
Currituck County sheriff’s deputies, called to the scene by Blackwater
guards, told the protesters they were on private property and asked them
to leave. When they didn’t respond, they were handcuffed and placed in a
sheriff’s van. Some went limp and had to be dragged.
A crowd of about 50 more protesters who had gathered along the adjacent
public road cheered as the seven were driven away. The group carried signs
with slogans such as “Bring Blackwater to Justice,” “Security Contractors
are Unlawful Combatants” and “Blackwater: Shoot First, Ask No Questions.”
The six re-enactors arrested were Steve Baggarly of Norfolk; Beth Brockman
of Durham, N.C.; Mark Colville of New Haven, Conn.; Peter DeMott of
Ithaca, N.Y.; Laura Marks of Ayden, N.C.; and Bill Streit of Louisa
County, Va. They were charged with second-degree trespassing, injury to
real property and resisting arrest.
A seventh protester, Mary Grace of Madison County, Va., was arrested after
the re-enactment when she walked onto Blackwater’s property and knelt on
the pavement. She was charged with second-degree trespassing.
The protest was organized by the Norfolk Catholic Worker and Blackwater
Watch, an activist group based in Durham, N.C. Christian Stalberg, a
spokesman for Blackwater Watch, said the group’s aim is to “shut down
Blackwater.” “It’s an unmitigated disaster,” he said. “They’re
irresponsible and totally unaccountable.”
DeMott, who described himself as a Vietnam War veteran, said he was
willing to risk arrest because “not to raise my voice would be to tacitly
condone Blackwater and its murderous activities.”
Blackwater has said its security contractors reacted appropriately to an
insurgent ambush on Sept. 16. The Iraqi government says the shootings were
unprovoked and that those killed were innocent civilians.
Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman, said of the protest: “People who
haven’t seen any findings from the FBI investigation that’s under way are
rushing to judgment and doing so, apparently, in violation of some laws.”
After the protesters dispersed, the station wagon was towed away and the
red handprints on Blackwater’s bear-claw logo sign were painted over. The
other defaced sign was taken down.
We understand that all seven arrested are being held in lieu of $1,000
bail and that they will not appear in court until Wednesday, October 24.
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