The 28 were arrested November 16 along with nearly 600 others as they marched into Fort Benning in a silent funeral procession in an attempt to deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures calling for the closing of the infamous US Army school. The SOA has trained nearly 60,000 Latin American soldiers. Critics maintain that one in every 100 SOA graduates has been involved in human rights atrocities, drug trafficking, or other criminal activity. Over two thirds of the Salvadoran officers cited in a UN Truth Commission report for murder, rape, and torture during El Salvador's civil war were trained at the Fort Benning school. Four of those who will appear in court Wednesday have served federal prison terms from past demonstrations at the SOA and are likely to get the maximum sentence of six months in prison.
Justice is turned upside down.