Grandma repeatedly protested drones at base, now faces a year in jail
Mary Anne Grady-Flores, a 58-year-old Ithaca, NY grandmother of three, faces a one-year county jail sentence after being charged with second-degree criminal contempt. The punishment comes after her repeated participation in peaceful anti-drone protests at the Hancock Air Base in DeWitt, NY.
In October 2012, Grady-Flores was taken into custody after a drone protest. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, 16 people from the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars (UCGDEW) blocked three gates at the New York National Guard Hancock Field during the demonstration. They were charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, and a protection order was eventually issued to prevent Grady-Flores from going near Col. Earl Evans, the mission support group commander at the 174th Attack Wing of the New York Air National Guard. Boing Boing notes that protection orders are at times given to non-violent stalkers, and this one was valid for one year, according to the paper.
