Contact: Tom Walsh: 773-784-8065
For Immediate Release

On Wednesday, October 8th nine human rights activists will stand trial for criminal trespass and resisting arrest after they were detained at Boeing Corporation’s World Headquarters in downtown Chicago on March 13, 2003. The defendants were protesting the imminent loss of human lives, only days before the “Shock and Awe” campaign was commenced by the United States military against Iraq.

The “Boeing 9″ will hold a press conference on Wednesday, October 8th at 8:15 a.m. before their 9:00 a.m. court appearance in front of the Cook County Circuit Court Building (1340 S. Michigan Avenue).

The defendants were arrested during a sit-in while giving testimony from their personal experiences in Iraq and other countries where Boeing weapons are used. During the 2-hour action, hundreds of Boeing employees gathered from throughout the building to observe and listen to the activists’ testimonies.

“We call on the city of Chicago to stop subsidizing Boeing so long as its tax breaks fund weapons and war machines. We call upon Boeing officials to travel to Iraq and other parts of the world where their weapons are killing civilians to witness the horror and devastation their weapons have wrought.” (Angela Garcia, Boeing Nine Member)

Boeing is America’s second largest weapons contactor, making approximately half of its profits from war contacts. Boeing’s weapons are used against civilians in Iraq, Palestine, Colombia and elsewhere. The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago offered Boeing Corporation an incentive package of over 60 million dollars to relocate to Chicago, trading tax money that could have be spent on schools, heath care and other social services for Boeing’s war profits.