Sheehan Found Guilty of Trespassing, Fined

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and three co-defendants were convicted on charges of trespassing Monday, according to AP reports. The women were acquitted on counts of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing government administration, which carried penalties of up to a year in jail. A Manhattan Criminal Court judge fined each defendant $95 to cover court costs.

Sheehan, 49, of Vacaville, C.A.; Melissa Beattie, 57, of New York; Susan “Medea” Benjamin, 54, of San Francisco; and Patricia Ackerman, 48, of Nyack, N.Y. were arrested in March for blocking the entrance to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations while trying to deliver an anti-war petition with over 72,000 signatures.

Sheehan has been an outspoken force for peace since her son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004. The four co-defendants, who call their campaign, “Women Say No To War,” delivered their petition after the verdict was announced.

-Heather Corcoran

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer