School of Americas Demonstration Posted by John Reese, on November 22, 1998

7000 gathered at the School of the Americas today. The crowd was diverse in age - from toddlers to 93 years old and many parents with children. There was also a large number of colleges competing to have the most students at the protest–Warren Wilson won with 80 students but many other colleges from across the nation had almost as many. Almost every state was represented among the crowd. Over 2300 risked arrest and for many this was the first time. 75 of those crossing the line were risking 6 months in jail and a $5000 fine for crossing before and receiving a 5 year ban and bar letter. But the numbers were too much for Fort Benning to handle and all 2300 plus were eventually released. It took 27 buses two trips to take the protesters to a park in Columbus, GA, 1.2 miles from the gate the where they crossed into Fort Benning. After being detained for several hours, protesters were given a 24 hour ejection letter but names were not taken, no one was booked and all were released. On the return hike Columbus police stopped traffic until all the protesters crossed streets, blocking traffic for 15 minutes or more. Everyone returned to the rally site at the main gate of Fort Benning for a raucous welcome from the crowd. By this time the gate had been completely blocked and all traffic through the gate was stopped. Organizers hope that next year that the numbers will increase and there is talk of some added tactics to make next years event even more exciting. There will also be more protests around SOA in Washington, DC, on May 1st to May 4th.
Contact: School of the Americas Watch, P.O. Box 3330, Columbus, GA 31903-0330, (706) 682-5369