FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 8, 2013

Contact: Alli McCracken, CODEPINK Organizer, 860.575.5692, Alli@codepink.org

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder, 415.235.6517, medea@codepink.org

CODEPINK Activists in High Gear Pressuring Congress to Reject Attack on Syria

What: Peace Insurrection encampment, intensive lobbying, call-in party, and vigil calling on Congress to vote “no” to war on Syria

When: Lobbying starts at 7:30 am on Monday, September 9, and lasts all day; nighttime vigil begins at 7:00 pm

Where: Across from Longworth Congressional Building, at the corner of New Jersey and Independence Avenue, Washington DC

Washington, DC -- Beginning at 7:30 am on September 9, 2013, CODEPINK peace activists and allies will be outside leafleting Congresspeople and their staffers as they go into work on Capitol Hill. They will also be inside visiting their elected representatives with literature calling for no military intervention in Syria. Activists have set up an outdoor camp known as the ‘Peace Insurrection' outside of the Longworth House Building at the corners of Independence and New Jersey Avenues where they are spending 24 hours a day until the House votes on Syria. They will also have an "office" at the cafeteria of the Rayburn building, where they will direct citizen lobbyists.

All day long, activists will be calling and visited elected representatives, especially those who are "undecided." They will also be making a group visit to the offices of Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Boehner, expressing their outrage that contrary to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Americans, these leaders support the attack.

At 7:00 pm hundreds of peace advocates will converge for a nationwide coordinated vigil organized by the groups CODEPINK, MoveOn, CREDO, and the Win Without War Coalition. The vigil will mourn the innocent victims of the bloodshed in Syria, with hope for an end to the violence through a ceasefire, negotiations, and aid for the refugees, not military intervention.

“Our Congresspeople need to see the grassroots opposition as they return to Washington DC to cast their vote on Syria,” said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. “There's already an insurrection in the heartland of America, with people rising up at their Congressional offices and in town hall meetings, saying no to this war. Now we're bringing this insurrection to the heart of Washington DC.”

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