FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2012

Contact:
Rae Abileah, (415) 994-1723
Follow @codepink

PRELIMINARY PHOTOS.

PRELIMINARY VIDEO HERE.

Charlotte, NC—At 4:15pm today, Thursday, September 6, hours before President Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, five CODEPINK activists dropped a 40 foot giant pink slip banner that read “YES WE CAN END WAR” off of a parking garage at S. College and 3rd Street near the Democratic Convention.  CODEPINK national organizer Alli McCracken, 23, from Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for “attaching a banner to private property without permission.” 

"When the war in Afghanistan started I was only 12 years old, and for my entire adult life the US has continued to squander precious tax dollars on war, while young people like me can hardly afford college or healthcare, and many can't find jobs,” said McCracken.  “Both the Republicans and Democrats continue to pour money into the bloated Pentagon budget instead of addressing people's real needs.  I'm sick and tired of the huge amount of corporate and super-PAC money going into elections that keeps our politicians funding war, killer drone strikes, and weapons to Israel.  Let's put people before profits!”

"There were 34 police officers involved in arresting this one peace activist, clearly a huge waste of taxpayer money," said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK.  "At a convention that is supposed to be the most open convention in history, it's tragic that a young activist would be arrested for peacefully expressing her desire to end war, a position that the overwhelming majority of Democratic delegates support."

CODEPINK has demonstrated at both the RNC and DNC, including speaking out every night at the RNC and Wednesday night, September 5, when CODEPINK co-director Rae Abileah unfurled a pink banner inside the convention that read “Bring Our War $$ Home” during Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer's speech. 

In the wake of the Citizens United case, with corporate and super PAC money in politics polluting democracy and drowning out the will of voters, CODEPINK will also be calling for money out of politics. “We want people-powered elections that prioritize human needs over war and greed,” said CODEPINK co-director Jodie Evans.  “And we'd like the police to go after the real war criminals instead of nonviolent protesters."

CODEPINK, founded in 2002, is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities. www.codepink.org