On Veterans' Day, 2007, members of Veterans for Peace protested their exclusion from the official event sponsored by the American Legion. Photo: Paul Rifkin

The charge of disturbing a lawful assembly has been dismissed
with no payment of court costs in Boston Municipal Court against
fifteen veterans, members of Veterans For Peace [4], and three supporters,
who were arrested on Veterans Day last November.

"It was a travesty that veterans were arrested on Veterans
Day for attempting to exercise their First Amendment right of
free speech," said Nate Goldshlag, a US Army veteran and
co-coordinator of the Smedley D. Butler Brigade, Chapter 9 of
Veterans for Peace. "Our messages of peace and against
the Iraq war were silenced by the American Legion, which runs
the Veterans Day events. The city needs to take control of the
parade and allow all veterans to speak, regardless of their political
views.

The Veterans Day 18 were standing silently, with gags over their
mouths and with signs that said "American Legion Silences
Messages of Peace From Veterans" in front of a raised podium
on City Hall Plaza on November 11 when they were arrested. A request
to have a speaker at the event was denied by the American Legion,
in spite of a City Council hearing called by three city councilors
called "Isn't Veterans Day For All Veterans?"
In addition, Veterans for Peace was relegated to march behind
the street sweepers in order not to appear to be in the official
Veterans Day parade, even though it was the single largest contingent
of veterans.

"The charges were absurd, and we view this as a victory
for anti-war people everywhere. The police claimed we were "loudly
chanting" when we had gags on. We disturbed nothing except
perhaps the leaders of the Legion. The event could have gone on.
People could see the podium above us," Goldshlag said. We
are not going away. Veterans for Peace and its message must be
heard.