Solidarity Statement from Every Church A Peace Church

The Steering Committee of EVERY CHURCH A PEACE CHURCH (ECAPC), Twin Cities Area, joins with other peace and justice groups and progressive activists in condemning the September 24, 2010, FBI Raids on the homes of 14 peace activists in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and other cities.

The vision of ECAPC is “the transformation of war-justifying churches into peace churches, so that the world will be turned toward peace as churches live and teach as Jesus lived and taught.” Following Jesus means turning away from war and speaking out against those government policies that result in division, injustice and killing.

The individuals whose homes were raided are people of conscience who are committed to speaking out against injustice, people who have had the courage to speak out against illegal and immoral wars and occupations and to stand with the poor and the oppressed.

Opposition to U.S. policy is not a crime. When law enforcement and the Grand Jury system are used to declare war on nonviolent dissent, this undermines the very foundation of our First Amendment rights and makes us all less safe. It is crucial to our democracy that our government not restrict our First Amendment right to openly criticize the actions and policies of our government.

Thus, we call on our elected officials, including the President, to end this harassment of peace and antiwar activists immediately, to affirm their commitment to the Constitutional rights of American citizens to freedom of speech and assembly, and to direct their energies toward ending war and the preparations for war.