CPTnet

January 25, 2005

CHICAGO: CPTers pray at Boeing; four arrested

Police arrested four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) praying for
an end to war and injustice outside Boeing's World Headquarters on the day
of President Bush's inauguration (January 20, 2005.)

The arrests followed an hour of vigiling and leafleting at Boeing, which is
the world's #1 exporter of weapons and the second largest defense contractor
supplying the Pentagon. U.S. forces used Boeing's Apache helicopters and
unmanned aerial drones heavily in the leveling of Fallujah last November.
Boeing was also a significant donor to the Republican Party in the recent
election campaign.

CPTers formed a "human banner" with one person dressed as "Bush," one person
dressed as "Death," and three others bearing coffins representing casualties
of the Bush administration's policies at home and abroad: "Iraqi Moms, Dads
and Kids," "Soldiers," and "Affordable Housing, Education, Health Care."
Another banner read: "Inauguration of 1; Funeral for 1000s; Pray! Resist!"

CPT Training participants who planned the vigil chose inauguration day in
response to a call from CPT's Iraq team to "publicly demonstrate the pain
that mothers, wives, and children of Iraqi civilians, Iraqi resistance
fighters, and U.S. soldiers carry because of this ongoing conflict."

"We wanted to stand prayerfully on behalf of members of the Iraqi human
rights organization, Women's Will, who have been denied permission by the
U.S. and interim Iraqi authorities to hold a such a vigil in Iraq," said Jan
Benvie, one of those arrested.

Around thirty people participated in a prayer litany of resistance,
repentance and intercession near the entrance to Boeing. After sharing
communion in the midst of a heavy snow fall, four members of the group took
their prayers toward the doorways on Boeing property to "stand in the gap"
(Ezekiel 22:30) and intercede on behalf of the nation for an end to war and
weapons production. The four remained kneeling in prayer, surrounded by
singing supporters, for more than thirty minutes until police arrested them
shortly before 9:30 a.m. They were released from jail at 11:00 p.m. and
will stand trial for criminal trespass on March 2, 2005.

Those arrested were: Jan Benvie (Fife, Scotland), Noah Dillard (Tempe, AZ),
Amy Knickrehm (Chicago, IL), and Kimberly Prince (Carrollton, GA.)