They try to lock up Robert Mulford, but their system collapses on itself.

Back in February and March, a group of non-violent war protesters went to different Senator’s and Congressmen’s offices and read the names of those who’ve died in the Iraq war. When the offices closed Rob Mulford was moved to continue reading non-violently and they arrested him and charged him with three counts of criminal trespass and one count of refusing to depart premises.

I’m going to go off on a total tangent here, but then I’ll come back to Rob, so stick with me, k?

I’m down with non-violent protesting. I feel some solidarity. It would be wonderfully cathartic and I would feel like I was really doing something if I did something like this. But in reality I know that it would be a symbolic action, and to expect that this symbolic action would have some affect on political people and that that might have some trickle-out effect on what’s actually happening in Iraq is almost as far-fetched as to expect that the states symbolic paperwork and trials would end up with Rob in jail. I don’t know what the effective way to stop the military in Iraq is, and I suspect that I don’t personally have the means to do it. So I’m not slamming non-violent protesting, I’m just saying I don’t think it’s particularly productive, especially when weighed against the risk of jail and police violence.

Anyways. They did a lot of paperwork on Rob. In the end they went ahead with one trespass charge and one refusing to depart charge. The trespass charge was weak, because people do have a right to visit the senator’s office. The refusing to depart charge was for real serious, though.

They met for the very serious charge first. The State, in all it’s wisdom, thought that it was the trespass trial and accidentally dismissed it. Then they were confused, so they had to reschedule the second trial. By the time they got to the second, much weaker, trial they just dropped those charges.

Yep, folks, these are the same systems that are in charge of the whole lives of dependent children and adults, prisoners, and military people. They can’t even keep their paperwork straight to lock up a non-violent protester.

Like everything that happens here, I’m about two degrees of seperation from all the people involved.

More info at: http://www.trialthewar-notrob.info/