Companions on the Journey

Dear Friends, Last night we received a call reporting on an action
that Peter and other Catholic Workers from the East Coast were part
of at the headquarters of Blackwater USA in the Great Dismal Swamp,
NC. Below are photos of the action as well as their statement. Six
of the group are being held on a $1000. bail, Peter being one of
them. They will go to court on Wednesday where they will be
arraigned and possibly bail will be reduced. Right now they are being
charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, and destruction of
property. They are being held at the

Currituck County Jail:
413 Maple Rd.
Maple, NC 27956

It’s said that a picture tells a thousand words, so instead of a
thousand words
you can see pictures at: www.sandbox.stokeddesign.com

The photos explain the action but for those of you that can’t
access the web… basically the group used an old car donated for the
action, dressed it up with fake bullet holes, put red paint on it,
wrote the words Nisour Square (the site of Blackwater’s latest
massacre) and drove onto Blackwater property to their headquarters
sign. At that point the group got out of the car and a couple of
them put bloodied(red paint) handprints on the signs (one is of a
bear paw, Blackwater’s logo) and “died in”. The “die in” lasted
about 45 minutes before they were arrested by the Currituck County
Sheriff. Meanwhile there were about 50 folks supporting off
property. They stood in vigil while the action took place.

I understand that all in the group are in good spirits. Please hold
them in prayer.

In Peace, Ellen

Blackwater Protest Action Statement

As people of faith who wish to shed light and enkindle hope, we come
today to the headquarters of Blackwater Worldwide in an act of
nonviolent protest, appealing to Blackwater personnel to disassociate
themselves from a corporation which:

• Operates in connivance with the U.S. Military to prosecute the
illegal, unjust, aggressive war against Iraq in order to secure
American imperial objectives in the Middle East;

• Reaps huge revenues amounting to billions of dollars, in effect
robbing the American public of valuable resources needed for the
basic necessities of life: food, shelter, health care, etc;

• Murders innocent Iraqi noncombatants, including children, women and
the elderly;

• Performs these evil deeds without any accountability and operates
with complete immunity;

• Works side by side and colludes with the world’s number one
terrorist, the United States Govenment.

Steve Baggarly
Beth Brockman
Mark Colville
Peter DeMott
Laura Marks
Bill Streit