New Rochelle peace, anti-torture activist makes point, dodges clink
Mike Levinson, a New Rochelle resident who describes himself as a “local peace activist,” was convicted of unlawful conduct last week but spared a stint in jail.
Levinson, 53, belongs to several human rights and peace organizations, including the War Resisters League and Witness Against Torture. He and 13 others were arrested June 23 of last year when they spoke out in Congress against torture at the military’s prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The federal judge handling Levinson’s case waived his two-day prison sentence and allowed Levinson to steer his $150 to the charity of his choice.
In an email, Levinson wrote that he repeated in court the cry he’d hollared in Congress six months ago: “Torturing human beings is never acceptable.”
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Advertisements
! Some MNRR folks are unaware (it was two railroads before...
I did NOT shout, scream or yell my words in the House of Representatives Chambers. I simply spoke the words loud enough so that people sitting in the rows of seats around me could hear it. Perhaps the members of Congress would have heard me if they hadn’t been jeering and booing us from the floor. Our presentation was respectful and dignified, as the Judge’s ruling obviously reflected.