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For Immediate Release
June, 15 2010, 08:48am EDT
Contact:
Jeremy Varon: M: 732-979-3119 jvaron@aol.com
Helen Schietinger: M: 202-344-5762 h.schietinger@verizon.net
Twenty-Four Anti-Torture Activists Acquitted in Trial for Protest at the US CapitolCalling for Guantanamo's Closure and the Investigation of Deaths at the Prison
On Monday, June 14, twenty-four activists with
Witness Against Torture were acquitted in Washington, D.C. Superior
Court of charges of "unlawful entry with disorderly conduct." The
charges stemmed from demonstrations at the US Capitol on January 21,2010
- the date by which President Obama had promised the closure of the
Guantanamo detention camp.
WASHINGTON
On Monday, June 14, twenty-four activists with
Witness Against Torture were acquitted in Washington, D.C. Superior
Court of charges of "unlawful entry with disorderly conduct." The
charges stemmed from demonstrations at the US Capitol on January 21,2010
- the date by which President Obama had promised the closure of the
Guantanamo detention camp.
"With his decision, the judge validated the effort of the demonstrators
to condemn the ongoing crime of indefinite detention at Guantanamo,"says
Bill Quigley, legal adviser to the defendants and the Legal Director of
the Center for Constitutional Rights.
"Our acquittal is a victory for free speech and for the right of
Americans to stand up for those falsely imprisoned and abused at
Guantanamo," says Ellen Graves, one of the defendants. "We tried to
shine a light on the unconstitutional policies of the Bush and now the
Obama administrations. That light shone brightly today."
"We will use our freedom to continue to work for the day when Guantanamo
is closed and those who designed and carried out torture policies are
held to account," says defendant Paul Thorson.
On January 21, activists dressed as Guantanamo prisoners were arrested
on the steps of the Capitol holding banners reading "Broken
Promises,Broken Laws, Broken Lives." Inside the Capitol Rotunda, at the
location where deceased presidents lie in state, fourteen activists were
arrested performing a memorial service for three men who died at
Guantanamo in 2006.
Initially reported as suicides, the deaths may have been - as recent
evidence suggests - the result of the men being tortured to death (see
Scott Horton, "Murders at Guantanamo, March2010, Harpers).
Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo.
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Nebraska Democrat Wins Senate Primary—But Signals She'll Drop Out and Back Working-Class Independent Dan Osborn
"We believe Dan Osborn... represents the best opportunity to defeat Pete Ricketts and deliver real results for working families," said the chair of the state Democratic Party.
May 13, 2026
The winner of the Democratic US Senate primary in Nebraska has no expectation that she'd be able to win the general election in November, and her official website alludes to a plan to drop out of the race—which could ultimately help the party in its goal of wresting control of the chamber from Republicans.
The campaign website of Cindy Burbank, a pharmacy technician who jumped into the Democratic primary race after hearing the Republicans were plotting to place a right-wing "plant" on the ballot, suggests Burbank did some maneuvering of her own to secure a favorable result—even if she has no intention of actually going to the US Senate and instead aims to help Independent candidate Dan Osborn win.
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) "knows he’s losing to Dan Osborn and this is his plan to cheat his way to victory. We can’t let that happen," reads Burbank's website. "Support me—and I’ll make sure Pete Ricketts’ stooge never gets anywhere near our November ballot!"
Osborn, a former organizer who came within seven points of beating Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) in 2024, has been endorsed by the state's Democratic Party, which poured money into Burbank's campaign before Tuesday's primary.
In March, state Democratic Party Chair Jane Fleming Kleeb said William Forbes, an anti-abortion rights pastor who has voted for President Donald Trump in recent elections and attended a training run by a right-wing group, had joined the Democratic Party to "deceive Nebraska voters."
"The Nebraska Democratic Party made a deliberate, principled decision not to field a candidate in the US Senate race," said Kleeb. "We believe Dan Osborn—a veteran, a mechanic, a Nebraskan, and an independent voice—represents the best opportunity to defeat Pete Ricketts and deliver real results for working families."
Forbes has denied being a "Ricketts plant," as Kleeb has called him, and Burbank on Tuesday denied she had joined the race with the intention of dropping out to help Osborn win in a state where a Democrat has not won a Senate race since 2006. She told NBC News that "some people" she had worked with on previous political campaigns had spoken to her about running, but said they were not connected to Osborn's campaign or to the state Democratic Party.
But she added that following her overwhelming win, with 89% of primary voters supporting her, that Osborn is "a great guy, and we have to keep in mind that he might be able to be on [the ballot].”
“For me to stay on the ballot and take votes away from Osborn, it’s not fair,” she told the outlet.
Burbank added that she "will drop out when and if the time comes that I cannot win in November. And I think anybody with any dignity should do that."
David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, said Burbank's resounding victory "suggests a well-educated [Democratic] electorate" and a well-organized push by Kleeb.
Osborn, who has emphasized that he would caucus independently if elected to the Senate, came closer than expected to beating Fischer in 2024, when Trump carried Nebraska by 20 points.
Polling has been limited so far, but Tavern Research found ahead of the primary election that 47% of likely voters were supporting Osborn while 42% backed Ricketts. The same survey found Ricketts 16 points ahead of Forbes, 9 points ahead of Burbank, and 7 points ahead of a generic Democrat. Earlier polls sponsored by Osborn's campaign found Ricketts just one point ahead of the Independent.
Tavern Research said the polls pointed to "an Independent problem in Nebraska" for Ricketts, whose wealth and financial industry ties have earned him the nickname "Wall Street Pete."
The state has long been a stronghold for Trump and the GOP, but Cook Political Report currently rates the state's Senate race as "likely Republican," downgrading it from "solidly Republican," ahead of the November election.
Osborn, a US Navy veteran and mechanic, became president of his union while working at the Kellogg's plant in Omaha and led a successful strike there in 2021, securing benefits for his fellow union workers. He has called his platform the Nebraska Fairness Plan and is vowing to "take on the corporations and their chosen political lapdogs to restore economic liberty and fairness for the working Americans who make this country run."
He has called to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections, refuses corporate political action committee donations, and has demanded an end to corporate practices like "shrinkflation" and surveillance pricing.
"We deserve a government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people," reads Osborn's platform. "But for decades, career politicians in both parties have been bought and paid for by the corporate cronies and lobbyists pouring money into our political process to bend the system to their will. When I’m in the Senate, I will champion the strongest anti-corruption platform Washington has ever seen."
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Condemning 'Corruption' of Susan Collins, End Citizens United Endorses Platner in Maine
"Unlike Graham, who rejects corporate PAC money and refuses to sell out, Sen. Collins has never met a corporate PAC check she didn't like," said the head of End Citizens United.
May 13, 2026
Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic candidate to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, continues to rake in endorsements, and on Wednesday won support from End Citizens United, which advocates for reversing the US Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending in elections.
The oyster farmer and military combat veteran launched his campaign last August with an advertisement declaring that "billionaires" and "the oligarchy" are "the enemy." He has run on campaign finance reform, taxing the rich, Medicare for All, ending "pointless wars" and President Donald Trump's "deportation machine," tackling the childcare crisis, supporting public schools, boosting unions, raising wages, and defending democracy as well as "our air, our water, our land, and our climate."
"Graham Platner understands that people in Maine are fed up watching the same politicians make promises while life keeps getting more expensive and nothing changes," said End Citizens United president Tiffany Muller in a statement. "He's running a campaign rooted in the belief that Washington will never work for working families as long as billionaires, corporations, and special interests are able to buy access and influence at the highest levels of government."
Platner has joined End Citizens United's "Unrig Washington" program, which advocates for a ban on congressional stock trading, refusing corporate political action committee (PAC) contributions, and cracking down on dark money.
"Unlike Graham, who rejects corporate PAC money and refuses to sell out, Sen. Collins has never met a corporate PAC check she didn't like," Muller said of the five-term senator. "She has spent decades rewarding her biggest donors in exchange for campaign contributions. We’re proud to endorse Graham, and we look forward to helping expose Sen. Collins' corruption."
Platner collected $4.1 million from small donors in the first quarter of 2026, and polling has given him an edge over both Collins and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her primary campaign late last month, citing a lack of financial resources.
"The race has never really been about me or any one person," Platner said after Mills' exit. "It's about a movement of working Mainers who are fed up with being robbed by billionaires and the politicians who own them. We are now taking back our power."
The Democrat delivered a similar message about building "a movement to get money out of politics" and "a government that represents working people" in a Wednesday statement welcoming support from a group that's long worked to overturn the 2010 decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
"We don't take a dime of corporate PAC money, and we're going to keep it that way, because our politics has been bought and paid for by billionaires for far too long," Platner said. "It's long past time to overturn Citizens United and take on establishment politicians like Susan Collins, who have enriched the ultrawealthy and themselves on the backs of working people in this country. I'm grateful to be endorsed by End Citizens United and to have their support in this fight."
In addition to taxing billionaires and getting money out of politics, Platner has taken aim at the Supreme Court—which has had some turnover since 2010, and since then faced rising public scrutiny for justices' ethics concerns as well as recent decisions from the right-wing supermajority.
Platner said last month that "if we held Supreme Court justices to the same standards that we held federal judges, there is a compelling case for the impeachment and removal of at least two"—likely referring to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who have come under fire for covertly accepting gifts from billionaires.
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'Hands Off Our Pensions': Belgian Workers Take to the Streets in General Strike Against Austerity Measures
It's the latest of several national strikes over the past year and a half against policies that one union leader said will heighten "inequality" and "poverty."
May 13, 2026
Much of Belgium ground to a halt on Tuesday as tens of thousands of workers flooded the streets of Brussels as part of a general strike against government austerity measures.
Schools closed, public transit operated with reduced service, and flights out of major airports were grounded as workers walked off the job. Instead, they marched through the capital clad in red and green, the colors of Belgium's major labor unions, with some carrying signs that read, "Hands off our pensions" and "We will not pay the price of their wars."
According to Morning Star, as many as 100,000 people took part in the strike, which was called by the nation's three biggest trade unions in protest of measures by Prime Minister Bart De Wever's government that the unions say slash pensions, reduce wages, and attack collective bargaining.
The marchers called on the government to roll back plans to raise Belgium's retirement age to 67 and have called for an end to what the unions have dubbed a “pension penalty” that would cut benefits for those who retire early.
Amid rising costs caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran, the unions are also outraged by a proposed temporary cap on wage indexation, which requires wages to rise in tandem with inflation.
It's part of a broader trend of the government loosening labor rules for employers, which unions say has led to longer, more irregular hours and diminished employees' work-life balance.
"People will have less money left over and will still have to work more flexibly and longer," said Ann Vermorgen, the chair of the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions. "Even the Planning Bureau says that the reform will promote inequality and that poverty will emerge.”
Tuesday's general strike was just the latest over the past year and a half, as the unions have refused to let up on their push to reverse De Wever's agenda.
Gert Truyens, the chair of the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB), said that with the pension penalty and the other labor proposals, the government was displaying “total disregard” for social dialogue by “unilaterally imposing things without discussing them with the trade unions and employers.”
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