BREAKING: Lt. Dan Choi chains himself to White House fence during DADT protest-Update: Choi Arrested

Source: Pams House Blend

Breaking: Lt. Dan Choi chains himself to White House fence during DADT protest;
arrested



by: Pam Spaulding
Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 13:17:47 PM EDT

UPDATE (2PM): Just amazing. Several bloggers are on the ground at the DADT events today and the demonstrations have reached the White House. @JoeSudbay from the scene:

Lt. Choi and Capt. Pietrangelo have been put into the police van. The crowd applauded. These guys are HEROES.

Dan Choi has chained himself to the WH fence, and yellow police tape is being put up around Dan --- Secret Service agents are standing with him. Follow @DCAgenda, @getequal, @JoeSudbay on Twitter.

DC Agenda says it "seems to be a standoff" between Dan Choi and security. No effort is being made to arrest Choi.

Two secret service officers are now interacting with Choi and Pietrangelo. It's not clear exactly what's happening.

Read more: http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/15573/lt-dan-choi-chains-himself-to-white-house-fence-during-dadt-protest

---

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/03/18/Dan_Choi_Protests_in_Front_of_WH/

Breaking: Choi Arrested at White House Gates
By Kerry Eleveld and Advocate.com Editors
DAN CHOI WHITE HOUSE X390 (KERRY ELEVELD) | ADVOCATE.COM
Photos By Kerry Eleveld

UPDATE: Both Lt. Dan Choi and Jim Pietrangelo have been arrested after they handcuffed themselves to the White House gates on Thursday afternoon to protest "don't ask, don't tell."

Story developing...



In what appears to be an unscripted act of civil disobedience following a Human Rights Campaign rally for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in Washington on Thursday, Lt. Dan Choi has led a group of protesters to the White House, where he has handcuffed himself to the front gates along with former Army infantryman James Pietrangelo.

Police officers are blocking the gates of the White House with yellow tape and are pushing back about 100 protesters, who are chanting DADT repeal slogans and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Awesome. K&R.

I am in awe of, and overwhelmed with gratitude for, the principle and commitment this man demonstrates day in and day out.

:applause:

WTG, Lt. Dan!

:applause:

Figures.

peace, kp

the lame ass thing it was before he chained himself to the fence would have been a 2 second blurb..now it will make the news and demands attention....from the White House for certain.

Smart guy..love him.

He still maintains his commission, right? This will be enough for him to lose it, for "conduct unbecoming an officer." There goes a DADT challenge.

... of standing up for our nation's ideals despite any personal costs.

Choi's Back .. looks like the attempt to bring him back into the fold was met with some contention.

He is a hero. And who are you to judge his "idea"?

It's one of the disadvantages of having a brain. I get to think for myself.

The fact that you entered into a thread about Dan Choi's courageous actions and great personal sacrifice on behalf of an oppressed minority (my GLBT community) and the first and only comment you could muster was one that it wasn't a "good idea" was a very cheap shot and makes me wonder why that was the ONLY thing you could find within yourself to comment on.

A clever lawyer can use this to enhance the DADT court challenge. Would an officer normally lose his commission for an act of peaceful civil disobedience/exercise of free speech? If not and he loses his commission over this then the argument will be that he was discharged under false pretenses to cover up an expulsion for being gay.

It's an unfortunate problem that they can kick him out for conduct unbecoming. Because this is actually appropriate conduct for a citizen.

Bravo!

This man is a national treasure!

My kid and I could watch "Iron-Jawed Angels" again and again, although there were some artistic liberties taken with the film.

What's sad is how few know about these two amazing women. And yes, Ken Burns did them proud, didn't he? :)

We homestudy; we'll be covering Choi's courage tomorrow (I'll see to it).

That picture of him chained to the fence is so inspiring.

Kindred spirits indeed. :)

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/h?ammem/mnwp:@field(NUMBER+@band(mnwp+160029))
Item Title
The day after the police announce that future pickets would be given limit of 6 mos. in prison, Alice Paul led picket line with banner reading "The time has come to conquer or submit for there is but one choice - we have made it." She is followed by Mrs. Lawrence Lewis . This group received 6 mos. in prison.

Notes
Summary: Photograph of Alice Paul emerging from National Woman's Party headquarters holding banner, followed by Dora Lewis (with no banner). Unidentified women stand with a banner in doorway of building. Banner Paul carries reads: "The Time Has Come to Conquer or Submit, For Us There Is But One Choice. Have Made It. President Wilson." Paul is leading picket line from headquarters to the White House.
Title transcribed from item.

The spirit is, indeed, alive.

Jeebus Lawd.

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

in COMPLETE SOLIDARITY with Lt. Dan Choi!!!!!!

:sarcasm:

10 U.S. C. 12305, Mr. President. Suspend all DADT discharges now.

I admire this man!

what it looks like for someone to fight for what he believes.

:patriot:

K&R!

Why is he just doing this now?

:crazy:

The comfort in which this sort of homophobic posting is done now is becoming a hallmark here.

Nothing anti-gay in my post.

including if they want to serve our country.

I never said I'd chain myself to the WH fence.

I TOTALLY missed that!

Thanks, Brickbat! :)

I'm asking why Choi didn't say anything about DADT when Bush was President?

Because it was clear to everyone Bush would not have repealed it. Obama made noises like he would. He didn't, Choi is mad and protesting.

nt

I would hesitate to describe the motives of another, even if my reasoning were solid and seemed self-evident.

Hell, I don't even always know all my own motives, let alone those of another.

Maybe he just finally had enough

But leave it to a Dittocrat to question his progressive agenda.

Dittocrats are doing a lot of that these days.

Unless you are faced with something like this, I doubt you could understand. Coming out is a big deal, and you seem to question somebody else's timing for doing so. Shame on you.

he wishes to serve his country, which he obviously does.


Meanwhile, human rights trump partisanship.

and now he knows he might be able to help make some changes... I'm, of course, just guessing here.

with the courage of his convictions.

Respect.

attempt by many in power to make the plight of GLBT citizens go away.

THIS is a brave American hero - and he should be commended by our president.

we need about 1000 more people to chain themselves to the Whitehouse. Thanks Dan & Jim!

Anything to push this through

I don't mean to be crass, but if you are interested in Nat Security you want DADT gone

You are losing the brightest and best by not repealing it

And Lt Dan - he was a translator. Something we are really short on. Give him a MEDAL for this shit! Give him a promotion and have him find the best translators he can.

Trust me - that problem will be SOLVED


BTW: He wouldn't do this if he didn't want to SERVE

A true patriot who serves his country. God bless him!!!

Fresno gay-rights activist arrested at White House
Posted at 01:14 PM on Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010
The Fresno Bee

A Fresno gay rights activist was arrested today in front of the White House during a protest against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, according to a national magazine's web site.

Robin McGehee was taken into custody after she had apparently helped two discharged soldiers handcuff themselves to a White House fence, The Advocate site reported.

Following a rally earlier in Washington, D.C., Dan Choi and Jim Pietrangelo led about 100 protesters to the White House, where the two handcuffed themselves to the fence, the web site said.


Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/03/18/1863983/clovis-gay-rights-activist-arrested.html#ixzz0iZDQWXJb

It is time to end don't ask don't tell. Allowing gays in the military is fine with me. No more dishonorable discharges.

:patriot:

I salute them both!

:kick:

Thank you for standing up for what is right and good.

Thank you Lt. Choi and Capt. Pietrangelo...

Principled and dignified and willing to put his personal freedom on the line for something he believed in.

Reminded me of folks on the opposite end of the military spectrum who were peacefully jailed years during World War II and earlier, before the conscientious objector status was legally recognized - willing to sacrifice personal freedom for something they believed in.

My feelings about the military align far more with the latter than Choi - but I have absolute respect for his principles and the way he acted on them.

:thumbsup:

:patriot:

also..
ck out:
www.couragetoresist.org

that even excludes potentially constructive members like Choi, who could translate ARABIC for crying out loud!

So it's noble to sacrifice national security and intelligence collection just to keep the military morally pure? Awesome. :sarcasm:

Let's hope that Choi gets out of jail, and the police pursues more important things than this one bold incident.

Reports he's being held in undisclosed location, without his being allowed his phone call.. :(

Hoonah Alaska Police Chief John Millan, under the profile name chiefmillan, posts these disrespectful remarks in the policelink website about President Obama

"This is the kind of "community activist" Presidency we can expect for the next 3+ years. High taxes, gun control, gay agenda, retreat and defeat abroad and cop-bashing. Well news flash sports fans, this is the same ACLU lefty who refused to apologize for porta-potties on the police memorial, so what do we expect? Any sworn LEO who voted for this man, all I can say is SHAME."

http://policelink.monster.com/topics/63414-should-obama-have-criticized-the-cambridge-police-department-without-knowing-all-of-the-facts/posts?page=7

My question to Chief Millan is, What is wrong with a gay agenda?

I'm sorry but I am a military vet, a police officer. I am also gay. Guess what Chief? I voted for Obama. You need to take your hatespeech off policelink.

& welcome to du!:patriot:

:thumbsup:

American "Jailed for Freedom" pin with heart-shaped lock, awarded by the National Woman's Party to all women jailed for picketing the White House for the right to vote.

Or maybe someone can design a new one, with proceeds going to help them and to show support.

Reminds me very much of this.

This brought me to tears!

Found this article - don't know if it has been posted on DU yet but thought it was very much worth sharing:

West Point grads form gay support group
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 18, 2009 6:30:25 EDT

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_westpoint_knightsout_031609w/

Thirty-eight graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., came out of the closet Monday with an offer to help their alma mater educate future Army leaders on the need to accept and honor the sacrifices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops.

“Knights Out” wants to serve as a connection between gay troops and Army administrators, particularly at West Point, to provide an “open forum” for communication between gay West Point graduates and their fellow alumni and to serve in an advisory role for West Point leaders in the eventuality — which the group believes is both “imminent and inevitable” — that the law and policy collectively known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” are repealed by Congress.

“We’re publicly announcing our sexuality, our orientation,” said 1st Lt. Dan Choi, a National Guardsman with the 1st Bn., 69th Infantry, based in Manhattan. “It’s just one part of who we are in saying that we are standing to be counted.”

In forming Knights Out, its 38 members are following the example of similar support and education groups formed by graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy, known respectively as USNA Out and Blue Alliance. Most if not all of these groups’ members also belong to the Service Academy Gay and Lesbian Alumni social network, a group that Knights Out claims includes some active-duty commanders serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(More at link)

.....................

This is the time for our country to acknowledge these brave men and women for what they are, heroes! Without question!

:patriot:

seems to appear at this early hour. Hopefully in the morning we'll find out whether they did detain him or not - but initial reports are he has vanished. So that would mean the military has whisked him away for being in uniform protesting at the fence of the WH. I still commend him, greatly!!! There is NO guarantee at this point that DADT is going to be gone - so this peaceful action, even if deemed illegal on 1st view - is still socially conscionable! I hope if he's in a military cell, that the president stays on top of the situation and tells them to show leniency considering what it's for!

private talk with Lt Choi discussing the issue, and understand that without the Dan Chois of the world, we wouldn't be this far along with the military potentially removing DADT. Much like how people stood up against social injustice in the past!

Since Pres. Obama is a self-proclaimed, "fierce advocate", of GLBT people - I'm hoping he handles this himself. The president, after all, understands it's something that needs to be removed, and since he is taking a couple of years to (hopefully) get rid of it in the military, maybe he'll pursue a short court martial punishment for Lt Choi based on the fact he was not being permitted to serve his country merely because he is Gay. It's no different if the military found out you were Christian, Jewish, or atheist and kicked you out for being one of those - it's wrong.

I hope the president does the right thing. I support Choi in doing this, even if it appears to go against the grain of what APPEARS to be going on at the Pentagon/Congress/WH regarding DADT - but, you cannot assume DADT will be gone.

fucking AWESOME :thumbsup:

Are you listening President Obama? Do you hear these brave Americans?

Release Lt. Choi!

I wish that didn't have to happen.

:patriot:

sending Love & Light to these brave Ones,
& ALL the PEACE-makers gathering now.

He was very impressive.