UUA Staffers To Go On Trial for Civil Disobedience

Laurel Albina and Mimi LaValley

On February 10, Albina and LaValley will return to Georgia for trial and face the possibility of fines and up to six months of imprisonment for their acts. Albina has written a journal about her experiences, and recalls the November weekend which changed her life:

"From November 15th through 17th I helped facilitate a UU convergence in Columbus, Georgia at the School of the Americas. My primary role in this event was to act as a liaison between the Columbus UU Fellowship [whose members helped organize, but did not sponsor, the protest] and the guests staying at the church.

Located at Fort Benning, the School of the Americas (SOA), now renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," is a training school for Latin American soldiers. For 56 years, Albina writes, "the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. Graduates of the school have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, 'disappeared,' massacred, and forced into refuge by those trained at the SOA."

Albina recalled details of the vigil:

"On Sunday November 17th we participated in the SOA vigil. For five hours the names of the massacred and disappeared were read aloud. This is the heart of the SOA vigil, it is not an angry protest, it is a somber and sad affair. It is a time to hear the names of those no longer with us and bear witness to their lives and deaths. At approximately 1:00pm that day Mimi LaValley, Jason Lydon [another UU young adult] and I crossed through the gates of Fort Benning and were arrested under a Class B Federal Misdemeanor charge. The remaining members of our affinity group, [UUs] Megan Tideman and Helen Harris, remained on the other side of the line to participate in the rest of the vigil and await the outcome of our arrest."

SOA fence

Following their arrest, those who entered federal property were fingerprinted, had their personal property removed, and were shackled and jailed. The next day they were arraigned in front of a federal judge and each defendant save one released on recognizance was required to pay bail of $500 to $1000 bail and instructed to return on January 27th for trial.

Albina notes that the treatment she and LaVallee and others received is different from past practice: "This year all 86 of the people who crossed the line spent at least one night in jail, and every single person is being prosecuted. Clearly this crackdown is because of our political opinions, not the crime committed. In light of this crackdown it is becoming a very real possibility that all of us arrested may well face prison time as well. The maximum sentence for a federal misdemeanor is 6 months in federal prison And a $5000 fine. I believe that this year we are being made an example of, not only to scare future SOA protestors but also for every person that engages in civil disobedience."

In 1999, UU minister Nick Cardell was arrested and jailed for civil disobedience as he demonstrated at the School of the Americas. His experience, and information on the School of the Americas, was related in two companion stories in UU World Magazine.

SOA protesters

Further information on the School of the Americas can be obtained from SOA Watch. Local fund raising events are being held to aid LaValley and Albina. If you wish to contribute to their legal defense fund, you may do so by writing a check to:

SOA Watch with the notation "UU Legal Defense" in the memo line
and send it to:

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100