Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evan’s attempt to make a citizen’s arrest of former Bush political advisor Karl Rove made national headlines for Code Pink’s sheer audacity in disrupting Rove in Beverly Hills Monday night. I asked Jodie if Rove was surprised. She replied in an email:
“Yes, he was very surprised. Shocked I would actually attempt the cuffs. I had a legal arrest complaint and felt quite confident in my rights. Next to me was Dede Miller with a photo of her nephew Casey [son of Cindy Sheehan] – the anniversary of his death is in 3 days. She was quite emotional being near one of the men responsible for the death of her nephew. She was shaking in her tears.
We must hold those in power positions accountable for their crimes, if Congress and law enforcement won’t – we citizen’s must. [Code Pink has] a whole War Criminal campaign – we disrupt Yoo everywhere he goes including his home.”
Jodie described the experience for Alternet, including this:
“He wanted to do a book signing and she wanted to arrest him,” was the lead on KCBS TV in Los Angeles. Dozens of activists attended the book signing in Beverly Hills of Karl Rove and his new book, Courage and Consequence. After almost an hour of his lies I leapt up with a set of handcuffs and my full page arrest complaint followed immediately by the event security. I managed to get very close to Rove, even tricking the security to let go of me, causing Rove to dash away while I reached for his wrist with the hand cuffs. My words followed him. But he only went a few steps and was greeted by Dede Miller, her nephew Casey Miller, son of Cindy Sheehan, was killed in Iraq 6 years ago April 4th. She told him his lies killed her nephew while holding up a photo of Casey. Patricia Foulkrod, director of the Ground Truth stood by him with an Arrest the War Criminal banner as the event unraveled and he announced to the organizers it was over.
We at CODEPINK could not allow this war criminal to tout his book around the country and get away with describing anything tied to Bush as courageous. Not to mention that there has been no consequence for his constant lies. Serious lies. Lies that led the US to invade an innocent country at the cost of over 100,000 US casualties and an estimated million Iraqi lives and another 4 million displaced. Not to mention the two elections he shamelessly stole. We can’t sit back and allow him to continue to spread more lies; we heard many more of them last night. Until these war criminals face justice, until they are held accountable for their crimes, the lies continue to spread creating an unreality that is at the root of the teabaggers’ anger.
Everyone should treat these criminals the same, the courts may not try them, but the courts of public opinion must. Without the rule of law it is all darkness. We can’t let these war criminals continue to collect $30,000 to $300,000 speaking fees while spreading more lies. This is CODEPINK’s 6th attempt to arrest Rove and we invite you to join in as he continues with his book tour. Check to see when he will be near you, and can get helpful citizen arrest tips at codepinkalert.org/warcriminals. Or get a deck of our war criminal cards and find one of the 52 war criminals near you.
We at CODEPINK refuse to stop working for accountability, we cannot turn our back on Justice, by doing so we empower more liars. Government, politics, Wall Street, the media are flooded with them.”
LGBTs are no stranger to protests and disruptive behavior – the whole reason for the antigay military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is premised on our very presence being disruptive. However, Since the demise of ACT UP, LGBTs have only been able to muster one-time, issue-specific demonstrations such as the recent spontaneous protest by Lt. Dan Choi at the White House.
I wonder if there might be something LGBTs can learn from Code Pink about direct action. On their website, they say they want to “wage peace….With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.”
Perhaps those among us who also wish to hold the former Bush Administration officials accountable might considering joining Code Pink and seeing if and how their direct action techniques might apply to the LGBT movement’s constant battle for equal rights.
Here’s a KCAL news report about Jodie’s confrontation with Rove:
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Great work, women! I see Rove is too chickenshit to come to Portland, Oregon – instead going to the conservative center of the state. Ahhh…but he will still need to land at PDX…. (she begins to plot her protest…)
The man is a criminal, as well as Dick Cheney, George W. and Rumsfeld. They deserve to be arrested, but my government will no do it. Hurray for Jody Evans!