Milwaukee: On Saturday, April 2, about twenty-five people gathered at noon on the cold, snowy, and very wet corners of the Brady and Farwell intersection to STAND WITH ASSANGE. While this was the latest “Stand for Peace” anti-war protest executed weekly on street corners in Milwaukee over the past twenty years by Peace Action Wisconsin, on April 2 the focus was on Assange in collaboration with Assange Defense MKE. See WisPolitics.com for the press release announcing the event.

As the busy traffic slowed at times to listen, Milwaukee musician and podcaster jamxs premiered his new song, When That Whistle Blows, in honor of publisher, Julian Assange, and the whistleblowers Ed Snowden and Chelsea Manning.
In their remarks, both James Oldenburg (known as the artist jamxs) and Ann Batiza, organizer with both Peace Action WI and the national and Milwaukee chapters of Assange Defense, referenced an increasingly soggy copy of the new book by Nils Melzer, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, called The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution. Jamxs tweeted out the video below covering some of his remarks:

People coming from a retirement community to freeze in the snow for Assange is more badass than anything most people will ever do. Much respect ❤✌

— jamxs #FREEASSANGE (@jamxsofficial) April 3, 2022

Speakers also included the Milwaukee peace and justice activist, George Martin, and Milwaukee Veterans for Peace leader, Mark Foreman. Both hailed the need for a free press to provide truth as the basis for democracy, especially in war. They both noted how WikiLeaks’ Collateral Murder video provided that truth. It shows the gunning down of a dozen Iraqis walking in a Baghdad neighborhood, including Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, and Reuters fixer/driver, Saeed Chmagh. This video provided evidence of potential war crimes the U.S. covered up until WikiLeaks exposed its lies.

At least three women from St. Rita’s Retirement Community joined the group, standing in the cold. As the musician jamxs tweeted out, “People coming from a retirement community to freeze in the snow for Assange is more badass than anything most people will ever do.” Much respect “

Much respect, indeed, to them and to all the concerned citizens, including longtime supporters of Peace Action Wisconsin and new members of Assange Defense MKE, who stood up for Assange and press freedom on Saturday.
To learn more about what you can do to help defend Julian Assange, please go to AssangeDefense.org or peaceactionwi.org/assange_defense_mke or contact Ann Batiza at [email protected].