by Frank Cordaro
Des Moines Catholic Worker

On February 3rd, Elton Davis, of the DMCW community, Brian Terrell, the Director of the Catholic Peace Ministry and member of Strangers and guests CW community in Maloy IA, Patti McKee, Director of the Iowa Peace Network and former DMCW and Wendy Bobbit Vasquez, former Community for Creative Nonviolence and former DMCW were summoned to appear before a Federal Grand Jury in Des Moines on Tuesday, February 10th. Drake University and the National Lawyer’s Guild, Drake Chapter, were also summoned. All were summoned to answer questions regarding their roles in a Peace Making Conference and Demonstration which took place November 15 & 16th, 2003.

For seven intense days, the world was focused on Des Moines, or so it seemed. No sooner did the four get their summons than e-mails began to crisscross the country, going to various peace groups and progressive media outlets. The story got national mainline media attention within days after an Associated Press story hit the wires.

The Grand Jury investigation received daily front page coverage in the DM Register. US news paper accounts flew all over the country and abroad. On Sunday, the New York Times reporter arrived in Des Moines to cover the Tuesday hearing.

We in the local Des Moines Peace Community had our lives disrupted, as did the friends and supporters of Brian, Elton, Patti and Wendy. We placed our routines on hold and began struggling with the risk and consequences that come when dear friends are called to a Federal Grand Jury to answer questions about their fellow peace makers and peace-making efforts.

Many came together in a very short time to make sure the necessary tasks of securing lawyers, rearranging work and family obligations, attending added meetings, working extra hours to create a networking effort, to reach untold numbers of people throughout the world. This could not have been done without a strong community who made it happen.

The threat of the Grand Jury tested the local peace community commitment to each other and we did well. I was never so proud of our local peace community than I was this past week.

Disrupted lives are one thing, being summoned to appear before a Fed Grand Jury is something entirely different. Our love and affection go out to Elton, Brian, Patti and Wendy. They did a super job under a great deal of pressure, standing their ground for peace. The convening of a Fed Grand Jury is a threatening process for any witness. When the purpose is to secure testimony against friends and associates, it is even more so. Non cooperation in these secret hearings can mean months of jail.

Then there was the added burden of talking to the media, a daily event leading up to the Tuesday appearance. In this, all four of our dear friends were great spokespersons for peacemaking and the importance of nonviolence. Collectively, Elton, Brian, Patti and Wendy have done over 75 years of peace and justice work. And I might add with glee, they are all Catholic Workers. Elton, Brian, Patti and Wendy did us all proud.

Our Iowa Congressional delegation also did their part. Senator Harkin wrote a personal letter directly to USA Attorney General Aschroft raising his concerns about the Grand Jury. In addition, the Feb 10 Register lead editorial challenged the legitimacy of using the Grand Jury process to stifle dissent against the war.

The results of our collective efforts created a ground swell of concern and pressure on the Federal District Attorney’s Office. After a number of shifts in the official rationale for convening the Grand Jury, the Fed Attorney’s Office finally dropped the whole case one week after serving the subpoenas.

I knew Tuesday morning, Feb 10th, was going to be a special day in the memory of our Catholic Worker Community. That morning, US Senator Tom Harkin’s office called Elton personally to say the subpoenas summoning him and his friends to court were quashed. We don’t get a lot of calls from US Senators around here, let alone calls to inform of the quashing of subpoenas to a Grand Jury. It was a red letter day, indeed!

Nearly two hundred people showed up in below freezing weather for the noon Victory Rally outside the US Courthouse. Lots of good speeches and testimony were given. The case touched a lot of people from the local community with a wide range of concerns. Beyond the regular peace community types, members of the legal community, the social justice and advocacy communities, labor, Church and students communities were present.

The Des Moines Peace Community showed its solidarity and the Feds backed off. Free speech and civil liberties won the day. The real measure of our success will depend on whether this intimidation stops our voices and our dissent.

The US is still involved in an unjust, immoral and illegal war & occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Our voice against these atrocities must still be heard. We must continue to exercise our political rights, through protest and civil disobedience. If our efforts in this regard are thwarted in any way, then the warmakers have won.

Please come join us in Des Moines, March 20 and 21, for a weekend of activities to mark the one year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. On March 21st, come because we need to return to the STARC Armory, because we need to take back NW Beaver Dr (the street the STARC Armory is located), because we need to reclaim our free speech rights on public streets.

We need legions of individuals fully trained in the practice of nonviolent direct action, who are willing to risk arrest for the sake of peace.

The whole world will be looking again to Des Moines come March 20-21, to see if the threat of the Grand Jury accomplished its task. Let’s not let the Federal Government’s heavy handed attempts to intimidate our peace making efforts hold sway over our planned efforts at the STARC Armory. March 20 - 21 is the time to come to Des Moines and show your opposition to George Bush’s criminal war. It is time to join us at the gate of the STARC Armory and get busted for peace!

*From the Feb 2004 issue of the DMCW news letter via pacis
The Phil Berrigan Catholic Worker House
713 Indiana St, Des Moines IA 50314
Ph (515) 282-4781 E-mail: cordaro@mchsi.com
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