 Br. MikeO'Grady, S.J., Prisoner of Conscience |
School of the Americas |
Information on the preliminary session and the trials
Provincial Statement in Full Support of Mike O'Grady, SJ
Letters from Muscogee County Jail
We have now set up a page with links to transcriptions of letters from the three men who refused bond and are being held in the Muscogee County Jail, Columbus, GA, until the trials begin January 26, 2004.
Update Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Mike is now out of jail. He phoned the Claver Jesuit Community and talked with all four members of the community. He sounds great. Joe Folzenlogen will be driving down on Wednesday, and Tim Hipskind will fly down on Thursday.
Fr. Ben Jimenez, SJ, Gary Ashbeck of Jonah House, Br. Mike O'Grady, SJ. Photo by Fr. Jack Dister, S.J.
Br. Mike O'Grady, S.J.
Around 12:20 p.m. on Sunday, November 23, 2003, Br. Mike O'Grady of the Society of Jesus climbed a chain link fence topped by barbed wire at Ft. Benning, Georgia, home to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC, formerly School of the Americas--SOA). Mike's action was the result of several years of careful discernment. As one of the African American children in our neighborhood put it: "Br. Mike's going to jail. But he's going for doing something good, not something bad. He's kind of like Martin Luther King." Mike is currently in the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, Georgia, completing his 90-day sentence.
Until around February 28 Mike O'Grady, SJ |
After February28 Mike O'Grady, SJ |
Important Note: When writing the jail, write out or type out any return address. Do not use a return address label. All stamps and labels are removed from mail before it is given to a prisoner.
There are restrictions on anything involving a package. Please contact one of us at the Claver Community (claver@fuse.net) for alternative methods of getting things to Mike.
Links:
National Catholic Reporter article with quotes from Brebeuf Jesuit, Indianapolis
Alice Gerard's Reflection on crossing the fence at Ft. Benning
SOAW page on those arrested this year at Ft. Benning
SOAW page on prisoners of conscience
Brebeuf Jesuit article on SOA participation.
Cleveland Universe Bulletin article on Fr. Ben Jimenez, S.J.
Linda Panetta's Saturday SOAW Photos on the SOAWNE site.
Stephanie Beck Borden's Photo Journal from the SOAW protest.
Linda Panetta's Saturday SOAW Photos on the SOAWNE site.
Jesuit Brother Travels Prayerful Road to Arrest
SOAW Photo Journal by Garth Liebhaber, Chicago Independent Media Center
Statement by Mike and the others in his affinity group sharing the reasons for their action.
Prisoners of Conscience Poem by Fr. Frank Reese, S.J.
Article about the beginning of the civil disobedience.
Video clip of procession and the scaling of the fence.
Jesuit Crossings at the SOA Protest
Jesuit House of Prayer, North Carolina, reflections on the SOAW
Media coverage by the Atalanta Independent Media Center.