United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

Early Monday port militarization resistance (PMR) activists from Tacoma and Olympia issued a press release describing the ongoing resistance to movement of war matériel through the publicly owned civilian Port of Tacoma.[1] -- “Six arrests have taken place at Port of Tacoma, all of which are unjustified and used to intimidate protesters,” the news release said. -- Protests have also spread “to the gates of Fort Lewis.” -- The statement concluded: “Protests will continue through the duration of the use of the Port of Tacoma to transfer military equipment used in the illegal occupation of Iraq. A Unity Rally to Demilitarize Our Ports and Communities is scheduled for Saturday, August 9th, at 4:00 p.m. at Schuster Parkway. More information can be found at www.olypmr.org.” -- Late Monday, the News Tribune posted the police version of an incident which saw a demonstrator Tasered and taken to the emergency room of Tacoma General Hospital before being booked in Pierce County Jail on — ironically — “suspicion of third-degree assault.”[2] -- An Infoshop account of the incident was very different, and identified the Tasered man as “local activist Forrest Student. Student was shocked with the long distance barb TASER for twenty seconds.”[3] -- Monday afternoon Olympia PMR posted an “unconfirmed report that Forest Student has been released. His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow, August 5, at 1:30 p.m. at Pierce County Courthouse.”[4] -- There were also reports of an attack on the military recruiting station at the Tacoma Mall over the weekend....

Jeff Berryhill - 253-334-8781 (Cell)
Patrick Edelbacher - 925-518-9060 (Cell)
Joe La Sac (Videographer) - 253-518-9060 (Cell)
Bethel Prescott (Photographer) - 360-774-0595 (Cell)
Anna-Marie Murano (Unity Rally) - 360-915-6685, ammurano@gmail.com

15 ARRESTED DURING ANTI-WAR PROTESTS AT PORT OF TACOMA AND FORT LEWIS ARMY BASE

With the return of the equipment of the 4th Stryker Brigade 2nd Combat Infantry Division at the Port of Tacoma, Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) and other groups continue to protest the use of civilian ports in the Northwest for the revolving door policy of redeployment. Regionally, the port demilitarization movement, comprising of PMR and others, has brought out hundred of protesters from all over the Northwest and has resulted in over 150 arrests in the last 2-1/2 years. It is the largest and longest sustained direct action movement in the Northwest in opposition to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq -- a war that has resulted in the death of over 4,000 U.S. soldiers and hundreds of thousand of Iraqi civilians.

Anti-war demonstrations are ongoing at Port of Tacoma since Wednesday, July 30th. Protesters and observers have gathered at the port, despite harassment by law enforcement such as the demanding identification, arbitrary detention of pedestrians, and use of physical violence. Six arrests have taken place at Port of Tacoma, all of which are unjustified and used to intimidate protesters from expressing their first amendment rights to oppose the occupation of Iraq.

By Friday night/early Saturday morning protests moved to the gates of Fort Lewis Military Base. A total of nine arrests have taken place at various exits off of I-5, all in an attempt to stop the return of Strykers to the base to ready for redeployment. This was the first time that the port demilitarization movement spread to the gates of a Northwest Army base. Bethel Prescott, a Port Militarization Resistance support and photographer (Freedom Bridge -- see photo link -- olypmr.org/gallery.html), said: “The war is against international law and immoral. It has to be stopped and that is what we are doing. One of these ways is to do what we can to stop the machinery.” On Saturday, three protesters were arrested at Exit 120.

Protests will continue through the duration of the use of the Port of Tacoma to transfer military equipment used in the illegal occupation of Iraq. A Unity Rally to Demilitarize Our Ports and Communities is scheduled for Saturday, August 9th, at 4:00 p.m. at Schuster Parkway. More information can be found at www.olypmr.org.

Anti-war protesters rallied at the Port of Tacoma again Monday night. As of 9 p.m., about 30 protesters were present, but not much had happened, according to police radio traffic.

Since last Wednesday the Port Militarization Resistance group, largely based out of Olympia, has been demonstrating at the port, where Stryker vehicles returning from Iraq have been unloading.

A phone message left by the group said that Monday night was going to be an important night for demonstrators following the Tasering of a protester on Sunday.

According to police spokesman Tom Williams, about 10 protesters, who were part of a larger group, surrounded an officer’s patrol car on 11th Street and taunted him, using obscenities.

(Tensions had been high on both sides. Earlier in the day, a reporter overheard one of the protesters ask an officer whether he was an angry murderer-type or a wife-beater.)

The officer couldn’t move his vehicle or get out and ordered the protesters to move back, Williams said.

He said that according to a police report, the officer felt the crowd’s actions were escalating and that he would not be able to leave the area safely.

The officer gave several orders to move back, and when they weren’t followed, Tasered one of the protesters. The Taser’s probes hit the 20-year-old protester in the chest and he fell to the ground.

The man complained of chest pain and was taken to a hospital for examination before being booked into the Pierce County jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, Williams said.

Rally a Port of Tacoma, Monday 8:00 p.m.
Monday, August 04 2008 -- 04:11 a.m. CDT

While a dozen people lazily stood around the free speech kennel at the Port of Tacoma late Sunday afternoon, a police officer sitting in his car several feet away verbally threatened protest participants with assault by TASER, waving it in several peoples' direction before deciding on local activist Forrest Student. Student was shocked with the long distance barb TASER for twenty seconds before being collected and arrested. He has just been transferred from Tacoma General Hospital to jail. The jail's number is 253-798-4668.

Brutality like this will continue unless we stand our ground and show the establishment that repression will only help our numbers grow. We need as many people at the port Monday night as possible. A strong show of solidarity will make the police think twice about their casual brutality, and larger numbers ensure the safety of everyone (especially those who cannot get arrested and those who are susceptible to chemical weapons).

We have received an unconfirmed report that Forest Student has been released. His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow, August 5, at 1:30 p.m. at Pierce County Courthouse.