There was a development today in the curious case of Mary Anne Grady Flores, a central New York grandmother charged with violating an order of protection.
The basics of the original charge against Grady Flores were spelled out in this article on Syracuse.com, originally posted on July 11.
DeWitt, N.Y. -- A grandmother of three was sentenced to one year at the Onondaga County jail Thursday in DeWitt Town Court after she was found guilty of violating an order of protection while protesting at Hancock Air Base.
Today's development, as per
The Ithaca Voice, is that she was released from jail pending appeal.
Ithaca, N.Y. — The Ithaca woman sentenced to a year in jail for her involvement in an anti-drones protest has been released as her appeal is considered, according to her attorney.
Mary Anne Grady Flores, 58, was charged with second-degree criminal contempt for violating an order of protection to stay clear of the mission support group commander at the 174th Attack Wing of the New York Air National Guard.
I had been unaware of this story until it showed up on my Facebook page. I am AdirondackForeverWild after all, so I am plugged in to happenings in Upstate NY :-). My initial thought was that she was harassing this "group commander" at his house or something. Not so.
My curiosity was further piqued when I learned of Grady Flores' family history. Her father was John Grady, a leader of the Camden 28 of anti-Vietnam War fame.
Follow me below the fold for the details.
UPDATE: I redacted the word "Grandma" from the title and replaced it with activist after community feedback.
This case has been the subject of some controversy in Central NY, as laid out in this op-ed piece and this mention at Crooks-and-Liars, but I haven't seen a post here at DK.
It seems that Grady Flores was issued an order to stay away from Col. Earl Evans, the mission support group commander at the 174th Attack Wing of the New York Air National Guard. Grady Flores was later arrested for violating that order by setting foot on Hancock Air Base property. I would have assumed that the base itself would have offered Col. Evans adequate protection from a 58 year-old grandmother, but the civilian courts still felt compelled to intervene. That doesn't inspire much faith.
Scary! Where is the remorse?!?!
She doesn't look too upset about the whole thing. This may be where her father, John Grady, and the Camden 28 comes in.
The Camden 28 were, apparently, pretty famous in 1971. They were a group of "Catholic-left" activists who broke into a draft center in 1971 and caused all manner of mayhem. The ultimate goal of the raid was to destroy draft records, particularly those of Class 1A registrants.
One of the 28 (or maybe it was originally the Camden 29) sold them out and tipped off the FBI. The agents were on the scene when the activists broke in. They let the activists make a mess for a while and then arrested them.
When the whole thing went to trial, it became a referendum on the Vietnam War itself. In what none other than Supreme Court Justice William Brennan called “one of the great trials of the 20th century”, they were acquitted. Jury-nullification in full effect.
It looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree here, as Mary Anne is still out there doing her thing, carrying on the family tradition.
Hopefully, things will get sorted out to her benefit during the appeal. Either way, I wanted to put it out there what she is doing.