Could it be the U.S. government thinks peaceful, civilian protest against government is fine
on the streets of Cairo, Egypt but not on U.S. soil?
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech at George Washington University yesterday
condemning governments that arrest protestors and do not allow free expression - and lauding
freedom of speech on the Internet - 71-year-old military veteran Ray McGovern was grabbed
from the audience in plain view of her by police and an unidentified official in plain clothes and
hustled out of the building and, according to McGovern and his supporters, was "brutalized
and left bleeding in jail."
What McGovern did was simply remain standing silently in the audience and turned his back on
her as Secretary Clinton began her speech.
That was it.
McGovern, a veteran Army officer who also worked as a C.I.A. analyst for 27 years, was wearing
Veterans for Peace t-shirt.
Blind-sided by security officers who pounced upon him, McGovern remarked, as he was hauled out
the door, "So this is America?"
According to Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, attorney with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, "For this
peaceful expression of dissent, he ended up
bruised, bloodied, arrested, and jailed. Secretary Clinton
never paused, continuing her speech lecturing other countries about the need to allow freedom of
expression and dissent, while Mr. McGovern was hauled out in front of her."
McGovern was later found to have his
arm covered with bruises. The metal handcuffs were fastened
so tightly that his wrists were cut and some blood flowed from the cuts.
After being held by local police, McGovern was told he was being charged with disorderly conduct.
Watch the incident in the video below.
Hillary Clinton interrupted by protester heckler 15.02.2011http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/BREAKING-NEWS/VETERAN-S-GROUP-DEMANDS-APOLOGY-FROM-SEC-OF-STATE-CLINTON-BR-Claims-vet-was-manhandled-for-silent-protest-596038
