Thirty of 38 drone protesters arrested in April begin series of trials

[The Northerner]

A group of defendants known as the Hancock 38 began a series of trials at the DeWitt Town Court on Tuesday evening. The protesters, many who are senior citizens, were arrested in April for lying across the entrance of Hancock Air National Guard Base in Mattydale. Approximately 30 of the original 38 will stand trial.


"There shouldn't be a trial. We should not have been arrested," said Ed Kinane, a defendant and 1967 graduate of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. "We were involved in behavior protected by the First Amendment."


Those arrested were protesting the MQ-9 Reaper drones remotely piloted from Hancock. They wrapped themselves in red-spattered sheets and lay down, blocking the gate to represent innocent civilians killed by the unmanned intelligence and armed aircraft, according to an article published in The Post-Standard on April 22.


Kinane said the issue is personal for him, as he is a Syracuse resident.

Read more: http://www.dailyorange.com/news/thirty-of-38-drone-protesters-arrested-in-april-begin-series-of-trials-1.2678745