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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Medea Benjamin, 415-235-6517
Dana Balicki, 202 422 8624

Distraught Shrimper Disrupts BP CEO Tony Hayward Testimony Demanding Hayward's Arrest and Permanent Moratorium on Offshore Drilling

Diane
Wilson, a fourth generation shrimper from Texas, confronted BP CEO Tony Hayward
during his testimony this morning, to advocate for his arrest as well as a
permanent moratorium on offshore drilling. She stood up and shouted "Arrest
this man, he is a criminal, his company is stealing the livelihoods of thousands
of us in the Gulf and killing our coasts. Tony Hayward should be arrested."
Instead, Wilson was arrested and it is unclear when she will be released.

WASHINGTON

Diane
Wilson, a fourth generation shrimper from Texas, confronted BP CEO Tony Hayward
during his testimony this morning, to advocate for his arrest as well as a
permanent moratorium on offshore drilling. She stood up and shouted "Arrest
this man, he is a criminal, his company is stealing the livelihoods of thousands
of us in the Gulf and killing our coasts. Tony Hayward should be arrested."
Instead, Wilson was arrested and it is unclear when she will be released. Wilson was also
arrested in Congress on June 9 for dousing herself with oil to protest BP's
dumping on the shrimpers.

Before
the hearing Diane made this statement: I came to DC to confront Tony Hayward
for the devastation his company has brought to the fishing communities along
the gulf. BP is a criminal company that has ignored safety regulations at the
health of our oceans and even its own workers. Tony Hayward and BP need to be
held accountable for their criminal activities as well as paying every last
cent they may have to the families in the Gulf affected by their willful, criminal
neglect. Our message to Obama, and Congress: BP must pay to clean up this mess
and our government must move to end offshore drilling and move us into a new
century of clean energy." She added, "Pouring a jar of fake oil on
myself I can get a year in jail. Tony Hayward's company is pouring millions of gallons of oil into the gulf every day. He should
be the one going to jail."

Wilson
is also a co-founder of the organization CODEPINK Women for Peace. She was in
front of BP HQ in Houston, Texas two weeks ago to protest the oilspill and draw
attention to BP's legacy of negligence. Read her most recent article, "The BP oil gusher is just the
latest in a long line of assaults on the Gulf of Mexico" published on
Grist.com.

CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.

(818) 275-7232