Eighteen Grandmas Plead 'Not Guilty' to Disorderly Conduct

WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010

New York, NY —

Eighteen anti-war protesters who call themselves the "Granny Peace Brigade" went on trial today for disorderly conduct charges, for an anti-war rally they staged in Times Square last October.

The defendants, some supporting themselves on canes and walkers, entered the small courtroom packed with about 75 supporters. They are being tried as a group in a nonjury trial before a Manhattan criminal court judge. Prosecutors say they sat in front of the Army's recruitment center, blocking the pedestrian traffic and refusing to leave. But the attorney for the grandmothers says they were orderly and did nothing wrong.

Earlier today, the women rejected a plea deal that would have adjourned the case and dismissed it in six months if there were no further violations of the law. They pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct and vowed to keep agitating against the war.

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