De Anza College English teacher Mary Ellen Goodwin was arrested in Crawford, Texas Thanksgiving weekend after challenging an ordinance that she and other anti-war activists say violate First Amendment rights.
The ordinance, passed in McLennan County, Texas in September, prohibits parking and camping on the roads surrounding President Bush’s Crawford ranch, where thousands of peace activists flocked in August to join grieving mother Cindy Sheehan in her protest of the Iraq war.
Goodwin was among the thousands who camped out as part of Sheehan’s protest. She stayed at Camp Casey, named for Sheehan’s son who died in Iraq in 2004, for two weeks in August.
Sheehan camped in a ditch along the gravel road leading to the president’s ranch for nearly a month, after Bush did not take time during his five-week vacation to meet with her to respond to questions about the war and her son’s death.
“They say the ordinance is a necessity for public safety,” said Goodwin . “But we feel that this ordinance was put in place because we were there in August, and that it was designed to restrict criticism of the Bush administration and the Iraq war. It infringes on our right to freedom of speech.”
Goodwin flew into Waco the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for a Camp Casey reunion.
About 30 camp veterans spent that night at what was known in August as Camp Casey II – an acre of open space bordering Bush’s ranch, offered by local landowner Fred Mattlege as a second site to the original roadside ditch.
Mattlege has since leased the land to peace activists for the next year.
“We now have vacation property in Texas,” said Goodwin.
The activists moved from Camp II to the original Camp Casey along Prairie Chapel Road at about 5 a.m. Wednesday.
About 30 county sheriffs responded to the group’s deliberate violation of the no-camping ordinance.
Sheriffs gave the group three warnings to vacate the roadside camp before arrests were made at about 9:00 am, according to Goodwin.
Twelve people were arrested including Goodwin, Sheehan’s sister, former U.S. diplomat and Army Colonel Ann Wright and Daniel Ellsberg, the former U.S. military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which led to drastically decreased support for the Vietnam War.
“I wasn’t planning on getting arrested,” said Goodwin. “But it was an honor to be arrested alongside such an American hero,” she said of Ellsberg.
Sheehan was not arrested, and didn’t arrive in Crawford until Wednesday night.
“We were arrested one at a time,” said Goodwin. “Then they took us to the county sheriff’s office in Waco. We were booked, fingerprinted, and had our pictures taken.”
The dozen arrestees, who named themselves the Prairie Chapel Twelve for the road on which they camped at the time of their arrests, have been charged with two misdemeanors: obstructing highway passages and criminal trespassing, the latter of which is a violation of the new ordinance.
“The sheriffs treated us very well,” said Goodwin. “We got the feeling that they didn’t agree with the ordinance.”
Arrestees were released at about 3:30 pm the same day, and returned to Camp Casey II where they stayed for the rest of the holiday weekend.
They held a Thanksgiving dinner of Middle Eastern vegetarian food at the camp.
About 200 people gathered for a peace rally at the camp on Saturday.
The 12 are scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 4, at which time they will plead not guilty, said Goodwin.
The group plans to return to Camp Casey for Easter.
“Prairie Chapel Twelve” Arrestees
1. Charlie Anderson – Norfolk, VA
Member, Iraq Veterans Against the War.
2. Jesse Dyen – Oakland, CA
Musician.
4. Mary Ellen Goodwin – Campbell, CA
English teacher at De Anza College.
3. Daniel Ellsburg – Kensington, CA
leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.
Member, veterans for peace.
5. Em Hardy – Austin, TX
Licensed psychologist.
8. Ann Wright of Honolulu, Hawaii
Former US Army Colonel and diplomat. Resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war.
6. Lauren Sullivan Lawrence, Kansas
Member, Veterans for Peace.
7. DeDe Miller – Bellflower, CA
Member, Gold Star Families for Peace.
9. Tammara Rosenleaf of Helena, MT
Member, Military Families Speak Out.
10. Lee Stanley of Tucson, Arizona
Member, Veterans for Peace.
11. Carl Rising-Moore – Fishers, IN
Member, Veterans for Peace.
12. Hiram K. Myers – Edmond, OK
Member, Veterans for Peace.
