Drop the peace protester cases

Letter and article

Joseph Birkett, States Attorney
503 N County Farm Rd.
Wheaton, IL 60187

Dear Mr. Birkett,

I urge you to drop the cases against Sarah Hartfield and Jeff Zurawski, the peace protesters, who were arrested after they raised a sign over Route 355 calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

This is a case of DuPage County Sheriffs using the authority of their position to suppress free expression over a political matter they disagree with.

This is unconscionable.

Gene Tenner

2888 Windsor Drive - 109

Lisle, IL 60532

-----------------   (The article below is from the Daily Herald)

Peaceful Protest Nixed in West Suburbs
      By Sergio Barreto; 6/22/07

      On May 6, Jeff Zurawski ripped up three large cardboard boxes and taped
them together to make a 12-foot banner saying "IMPEACH Bush and Cheney - LIARS."

      He and a friend, Sarah Hartfield, then headed to a pedestrian bridge over
the Illinois North-South Tollway (I-355) in an unincorporated area of DuPage
County. They placed the banner, along with an upside-down American flag, inside
the bridge's fencing.

      Zurawski, who operates a home inspection business in Downers Grove, said
they were there for about an hour and a half when a state trooper stopped by.
"He politely asked us to remove our display. He said he was concerned it might
distract motorists and increase the risk of an accid ent."

      Zurawski said they took down the flag and banner, but when they were about to leave three DuPage county sheriff's deputies
showed up - one of them with a chip on his shoulder.

      "The first words out of his mouth were that he got a report that we were
throwing things from the bridge," Zurawski said. When he and Hartfield denied
the allegation, the deputy took issue with the upside-down flag.

      "His face got blood red," Hartfield said. "He was yelling that he was a
veteran and we were disrespecting his son who was in Afghanistan .. I told him
that I lost my cousin in Iraq, that our protest was aimed at the [Bush]
administration, not at the troops."

      According to Zurawski, the deputy said he "wasn't going to let his
personal opinion affect his professional duty," but before leaving he stated
that he w as going to do "everything in his power to have us arrested."

      The protesters said they offered no resistance, gave their contact
information to the officers, and were told they were free to leave.

      On the morning of May 25, Zurawski walked out of his house just as a deputy was heading toward his
door to serve an arrest warrant. Informed that the charge was related to the May
6 incident, a startled Zurawski tried to argue his innocence. "The deputy said,
'We can do this one of two ways. You can be a gentleman and come peacefully, or
I can call for help and take you in.'"

      Zurawski surrendered and didn't get out of jail for about seven hours. He
then called Hartfield, who lives in Naperville but works as a nurse and spends
most of her time providing in-home hospice care to a Chicago woman.

      After calling N aperville police and verifying that there was a warrant out
for her arrest, Hartfield considered turning herself in. "I didn't want [the
police] coming to my lady's house and scare her," she said.

      Afraid that she might sit in jail for days if she surrendered over
Memorial Day weekend, Hartfield waited until after the holiday. "Then I walked
myself into the Naperville police station, against every fiber of my being," she said. A deputy handcuffed her, walked her to a police
car, and drove her around to the back of the station. She had better luck than
Zurawski and got out in two hours.

      The complaint accuses Hartfield and Zurawski of disorderly conduct and
states, in part:


     [.]knowingly without a county permit, staged a war protest on the Great
Western Trail overpass in unincorporated DuPage Co unty, Illinois causing the
vehicles on the highway (I355) to swerve causing a traffic disturbance because
unknown objects were being thrown on the expressway, as well as the American
flag being displayed in an upside down manner from the overpass.


     Flying the flag upside down is permitted by the U.S. Code of Laws as "as a
signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."
Some activists feel the stipulation is applicable to the Iraq war, and no court
has yet disagreed.

      Hartfield and Zurawski flatly deny the allegation that they threw objects and caused a traffic hazard. They retained attorney Robert Heap, who
hasn't returned a call for comment.

      "It's ironic," Zurawski said. "I peacefully protest against our criminally
dishonest leaders and wind up in jail fals ely accused of a crime that doesn't
exist because of someone else's lies." On the bright side, he said he has
received numerous e-mails from well-wishers and expects to see a large support
group at his first court date next week.

      Hartfield said she was initially "devastated" and concerned that the case
may affect her future chances of employment because background checks are
standard in her line of work. "Then I thought, 'Forget it. The right employer's
gonna hire me.' This is a hassle, but it's nothing compared to the more than
600,000 civilians who've died in Iraq. The truth is on our side."

      Zurawski is due in court on June 27 at 8:30 a.m. in the DuPage County
Judicial Center, 421 N. County Farm Rd., Room 2800, in Wheaton.

      Hartfield's first court date will be at the same location on July 25 at 8:30 a.m.

    The DuPage County State's Attorney's office has not replied to a request
for comment.

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