Santa Fe Veteran and Four Others Arrested at Holloman Peace Protest

Veterans for Peace and CODEPINK protested in front of Holloman April 19th, 2023 with arrests made. They were protesting drones. 

 According to a press release by the Otero County Sheriff's Office, deputies were diverting traffic to Holloman Air Force Base through the west gate for 20 minutes because of the protestors. Deputies gave a one-minute warning for the approximately 18 protestors to clear the entrance or face arrest. All but five protestors moved from the main gate.

One of those arrested was Veterans for Peace member Kenneth Mayer. He was one of the five protestors who allegedly blocked traffic and defied the sheriff’s department one minute warning. Mayer was charged with obstructing the road. A bench trial for Mayer was scheduled for Monday, May 15 in front of Judge Michael Suggs.

”Four other protestors were also charged with obstructing a roadway. All five protestors planned to submit a motion asking to extend the date so they may all appear together,”  according to reports by the Alamogordo News. 

Mr Meyers is the contact for Veterans for Peace with a chapter in Santa Fe. Per their website..

Veterans For Peace was founded in 1985 by 10 U.S. veterans in response to the global nuclear arms race and U.S. military interventions in Central America. The organization rapidly grew to more than 8,000 members in the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

VFP now has veteran and associate members in every U.S. state and several countries. VFP has over 120 chapters, including international chapters in Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Ireland. The organization holds a permanent Non-Governmental Organization seat at the United Nations. VFP is also the first military veterans’ organization invited to be a member of the International Peace Bureau based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Members actively work to prevent the spread of militarism in our society, change U.S. foreign policy from endless war to diplomacy and to help our national leaders have a long term vision of peace and justice. Our members believe one of the most important components to ending war is to work for peace.

Veterans For Peace has three integrated program areas that work together to forward our grand mission to abolish war. It is the intent of Veterans For Peace to:

• educate the public about the full cost of war
• be a leading example of resisting militarism through efforts to end current wars and work to change U.S. foreign policy from war to diplomacy
• heal the wounds of war and build a just and peaceful society.

The other protest group was CODEPINK. CODEPINK is a feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs according to their release. 

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