Victory Declared for Iraq Vets and Supporters as Nassau County Drops Charges

In a significant move for the Hempstead 15, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office has agreed to drop the charges of “disorderly conduct” and “failure to obey a lawful order” against 10 Iraq War veterans and 5 of their supporters when what is known as a six-month “Adjournment to Contemplate Dismissal (ACD)” is finished.
The charges brought forth will be completely dropped after the “ACD” period is over, meaning that no criminal action related to the Oct. 15 anti-war demonstration in Hempstead, NY will be taken against members of the group for six-months as long as none of the protesters get arrested again.
The news was hailed as vindication for the Hempstead 15 in a message put out to supporters on Facebook, and comes after over a month’s worth of grassroots pressure on
After the first court date, in which the
Chiroux, who along with Kristofer Goldsmith of IVAW organized the action outside the Hofstra campus, said, “this is a decisive victory for activists and veterans everywhere, and for the Constitution.” In a Facebook message to supporters of the
A CONTINUED FIGHT
But the battle is not over for IVAW member Nick Morgan, who had his face trampled on by a horse’s hooves as he and other demonstrators were standing on a sidewalk near the entrance to Hofstra. Morgan and his lawyer, Jonathan Moore, who is an adjunct professor at CUNY School of Law and whose firm specializes in police misconduct, are working on a civil suit seeking compensation from
Morgan, who served in
The letter, whose signers included representatives John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, and Tammy Baldwin, said, “we, the below signed Members of Congress, voice our support for current, present and future members of the United States Armed Forces who oppose the war in Iraq and who are working to bring it to a safe and speedy conclusion.”
“I…refute [the claim] that soldiers can’t refuse participation in things we believe are illegal,” Chiroux wrote in an online exchange with the Indypendent.
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