and Reserve as she quietly exited the House Judiciary committee
hearing on the "FBI's Use of National Security Letters." Retired
Colonel Ann Wright voiced opposition to the committee's lack of
oversight before being asked leave by Rep. John Conyers, House
Judiciary Chair. As Wright left the hearing room, Conyers asked
Capital Police to escort her out. Despite orders from Conyers not to
arrest her, Capital Police officers arrested her for exercising her
first amendment rights. She is being processed at the D Street
Station but has not been notified of any charges.
This is the second times in less than a week that a citizen opposing
the Iraq war in Congress was subject to a random arrest. Last
Thursday, CODEPINK Co-Founder Gael Murphy and two other CODEPINK
members were arrested outside the House Appropriations Committee
hearing. As documented on YOUTUBE, Capital Police aggressively
arrested Murphy and prevented citizens from attending the hearing on
the Supplemental Funding for the Iraq War.
Retired Colonel Wright served for 26 years in Army and the Army
Reserves and served 15 years in the Diplomatic Corp. She received the
State Department's Award for Heroism as Charge d'Affaires during the
evacuation of Sierra Leone in 1997. She resigned from her post as
Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in 2003 due to her
opposition to the war on Iraq. In her letter of resignation to then
Secretary of State Colin Powell Wright explained, "I have served my
country for almost thirty years in the some of the most isolated and
dangerous parts of the world. I want to continue to serve America.
However, I do not believe in the policies of this Administration and
cannot defend or implement them. It is with heavy heart that I must
end my service to America and therefore resign due to the
Administration's policies".
To learn more about CODEPINK's campaign to pressure Congress to cut the war funding,
please go to www.dontbuybushswar.org or codepinkalert.org
