Download PDF of this full issue: v55n2.pdf (41.4 MB)

I Was Arrested for the First Time in My Life … And It Was Worth It

By Chet Hill

When I learned that Veterans For Peace was organizing a protest in Washington DC on the day of the orange taco's ridiculous parade, I was immediately all in. Tell me more! I wanted to participate, as did over a hundred veterans from around the country. Many from as far away as California. Our group was joined by About Face: Veterans Against the War for this protest.

Everything was extremely well organized. We were instructed to wear camo shirts (or "blouses" as they are now referred to) so we would present a united front at the protest sites. All protest signs were prepared in advance; we were told not to create any homemade signs, as they would be provided for us. We were all given protest t-shirts as well.

The plan was for an organizational meeting to take place on Friday, in advance of the parade on Saturday. My wife and I drove to DC on Thursday, expecting to arrive in time for an organizational meeting on Friday. Upon arrival, we learned that the Saturday protest, in advance of the parade, had been cancelled and rescheduled for Friday—I presume for security reasons.

As it turns out, this was a good thing. The new protest locations, were the Supreme Court Building and the Capitol Building. Given that most of the attention was focused on the Saturday parade, our protest received considerable attention. CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, and all local news stations, etc. As such, it was a very successful protest.

On Friday morning, we all met at the Palestine Freedom House to receive instructions, prepare for our protest activities, hand out the shirts, and grab a bite to eat. Emphasis was placed on this being a nonviolent protest. And it was. We simply wanted to make our points.

From there, we walked to the Supreme Court building for a press conference. Several veterans spoke about the reasons they were participating in this event. Many shared their stories of the emotional battles they faced between what they had been ordered to do and what their conscience told them to do.

After the press conference, we made our way to the Capitol Building for a photo-op. Barricades had been erected to keep us from advancing to the Capitol itself; however, there was an opening in the barricades at the very center. So we went for it. We didn't need to move anything, but in the rush, the barricades came down.

Once a couple of us got through, the rest flooded after. There were definitely more of us than Capitol police, but after we got through, they immediately sprang into action. Within minutes, a dozen or so police cars arrived along with many police officers. In retrospect, I'm guessing that they were concerned that this might be the beginning of another January 6 Capitol attack, so they responded in force. Obviously, it was not, and it didn't take them long to realize this.

I would like to emphasize that, for the most part, the Capitol Police were very professional. They didn't manhandle us. They didn't deride us for doing what we were doing. They helped us when we needed help getting in and out of their vehicles, etc. They were simply doing their job. I actually got the impression that they understood, and maybe even supported, our mission.

After sitting on the steps and chanting slogans for an hour or so, we were lined up, zip-tied with our hands behind our backs, frisked, stripped of all items that we had on us, and ultimately transported to a holding warehouse to be processed. One officer was assigned to keep a grip on us at all times. One of the items that they removed from me was my belt. It was tough to keep my pants up with my hands zip-tied behind my back! We ended up being zip-tied for the next 12 hours or so, and believe me, those things are really uncomfortable over time. We had been advised to carry only an ID and $50 in cash for bail. No phones.

When they snatched our banner and our flags and began to take us into custody, I went along without a fight. Our objective had been met. The mission was done.

At the processing location, we were frisked again (for the fourth or fifth time) and then waited forever. After they finished processing us, we were sent for mugshots and fingerprinting. All told, we were arrested at approximately 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, and I didn't get released until the sun was coming up the next day.

In summary, I am very proud to have participated in this protest. What's happening right now in this country is not good. Trump and his administration are out of control. Our goal, our purpose, had nothing to do with violence. We simply wanted to share our message with the world.

What we did on Friday night was our patriotic duty. I'm not sorry for what we did. Our action was very different from what took place on January 6, and anyone who tries to compare these two events is willfully deceiving others. Because of what happened on January 6, our protest was even more important. We were there to challenge everything that the insurrectionists and their leaders stand for.

Using our bodies and our voices to confront and challenge what is happening in our country peacefully is perhaps the most American thing that a person can do, and I'm proud that I was part of it.

Chet Hill was in Vietnam in 1971 and joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War while he was still stationed in Vietnam. He has been a member ever since.