Las Vegas -- On Tuesday, September 14, 2010, members of the Creech 14, along with their legal advisors and supporters will hold a rally at Lewis and 3rd Street, at 7:30 a.m. and then proceed to their trial which begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Regional Justice Center at 200 Lewis Avenue. [Four Chicagoans are members of the Creech 14.] Charged with criminal trespass for entering the Creech AFB on April 9, 2009, the activists will argue that, under international law, they are obliged to oppose illegal U.S. usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) to attack people in Afghanistan. They also plan to show the court that by entering Creech AFB they were enacting their first amendment right to assemble peaceably for redress of grievance.

One of the first issues before the court will be their request to include former U.S. Attorney Ramsey Clark, Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights Bill Quigley and Colonel Ann Wright, a former U.S. diplomat posted in Afghanistan as expert witnesses. Clark will demonstrate that “usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles based at Creech Air Force Base to kill ‘high value targets’ constitutes extrajudicial executions and fails to afford all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

A panel featuring these expert witnesses is open to the public at 7:00 p.m. on September 13, at the University of Nevada Boyd School of Law, Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility.
Those arrested included John Dear, S.J.; Dennis DuVall; Renee Espeland; Judy Homanich; Kathy Kelly; Fr. Steve Kelly; Mariah Klusmire; Brad Lyttle; Libby Pappalardo; Megan Rice, SHCJ; Brian Terrell; Eve Tetaz; Fr. Louie Vitale; and Fr. Jerry Zawada.

The group will assemble for trial preparation and reflection, each morning, from September 10 – 13, outside the entrance to Creech AFB, in Indian Springs, Nevada. The morning gatherings will begin at 6:30 to 8 a.m. Vigils will resume from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note Las Vegas, NV is on Pacific Standard Time.
Below is a calendar of additional events being held in support of the Creech 14 and in opposition to drone warfare.

Friday, Sept. 10 through Monday, Sept. 13, 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Daily vigils at Creech AFB. Co-sponsored with Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Some people will walk from the Goddess Temple in Cactus Springs. Others will drive out from Vegas to stand together. Rides will be arranged as needed. Note that on Monday, 9/13 there will not be an afternoon vigil.
Saturday, Sept. 11: "Our Grief is Still Not a Cry for War: A Day of Solidarity and Remembrance in Memory of Civilians and Soldiers." All day event held at
The Temple to Goddess Spirituality, Cactus Springs, NV
Vigil along with the Creech 14 as noted above.

The Eyes Wide Open memorial boots and shoes will be on exhibition all day as a focus for reflection and remembrance. Each U.S. military troop from Nevada who was killed in either Afghanistan or Iraq will be represented by a pair of boots with a name tag. Civilians killed will be represented by pairs of shoes bearing names of Afghan people. The public is invited. All events at the Goddess Temple are free (though donations are gratefully accepted).
10:00 a.m. Reflection and remembrance group or alone time
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Reflection and remembrance group or alone time
5:00 p.m. Pot luck supper
7:00 p.m. gathering for ritual
7:30 p.m. Ritual for Peace in Solidarity and Remembrance of Soldiers and Civilians

Sunday, Sept. 12
Nevada Desert Experience National Council meeting (Pace e Bene office, 1420 W. Bartlett Ave. Las Vegas)
Creech-14 defendants meet and prepare for trial (Goddess Temple in Cactus Springs)
Col. Ann Wright available to meet with groups and interested individuals about the American Ship to Gaza for which she is raising money (Cactus Springs or Las Vegas)
Other expert witnesses and Creech-14 defendants available for interviews (Goddess Temple in Cactus Springs)
To arrange a meeting or speaking engagement, contact Jim Haber.

Monday, Sept. 13 7:00 pm, Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility, Boyd School of Law, UNLV
The Public Interest Law Association (PILA), in collaboration with the Nevada Desert Experience presents, 'The Legal and Ethical Implications of Unmanned Weapons Systems.' Special Guest Speakers include Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Legal Director for the Center of Constitutional Rights Bill Quigley, Former U.S. Colonel and retired U.S. State Department Official Ann Wright, and Co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence Kathy Kelly. Panelist representing the Air Force still pending.
This event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Sept. 14
Trial of Creech 14 defendants, Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave., Las Vegas, 5th Floor (Regional Court, Department 5): 7:30 am rally at Lewis and 3rd St.; 8:30 am trial scheduled to begin.
It is unclear how long the trial will last.

For more information or to arrange a meeting with defendants or expert witnesses, contact Jim Haber, Coordinator of Nevada Desert Experience, 415-828-2506(cell), Jim[at]NevadaDesertExperience.org.

About the Sept. 13 panelists:
Ramsey Clark, a former Marine, earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago. Clark served as U.S. Attorney General under the presidential administrations of Kennedy of Johnson. Throughout his tenure as Attorney General, he focused on social issues and civil rights including prison reform and the elimination of the death penalty. For decades, Clark has consistently condemned American foreign policy and its related military campaigns, from the Vietnam War, to the Iraq War, to the broader War on Terror. His clients have included Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.

Col. Ann Wright, a former United States Army colonel publicly resigned from the U.S. State Department in direct protest of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. During her State Department career, Wright served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan in 2001. In 2008, Ann co-authored the book, Dissent, Voices of Conscience: Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq. She was a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the Gaza flotilla in May.

Bill Quigley is the Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, a national legal and educational human rights organization. He previously taught law at Loyola University New Orleans and has been an active public interest lawyer since 1977 with a wide range of public interest organizations. Bill is the author of Ending Poverty As We Know It: Guaranteeing A Right to A Job At A Living Wage (2003) and Storms Still Raging: Katrina, New Orleans and Social Justice (2008). Among the awards he has received include the 2006 Stanford Law School National Public Service Award and the 2004 SALT Teaching Award presented by the Society of American Law Teachers.

Kathy Kelly co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, (www.vcnv.org) a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. In 2009, Voices formed a small delegation to visit Pakistan, aiming to learn more about the effects of U.S. drone warfare on the civilian population and to better understand consequences of U.S. foreign policy in pressing for Pakistani military offensives to dislodge Taliban fighters. Kathy’s most recent trip to the region, in 2010, included a visit to Afghanistan, focusing on surgical centers serving victims of war. Kelly is one of the Creech 14.