A small group of protesters conducted a demonstration against drone warfare outside of L3Harris, a local defense contractor, Oct. 1.
Approximately thirty-five protesters gathered on the crosswalk bearing photographs of children killed by an American drone strike on Aug. 29, 2021. Protesters handed out flyers explaining the role L3Harris plays in manufacturing surveillance equipment for drones. The protesters, organized by The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice, stood in solidarity with anti-drone actions at Creech Air Force Base.
Several Amherst College students led chants, which included “Occupation is a crime, from Iraq to Palestine!” and “L3Harris, you don’t scare us!”
The local protest focused on the role of L3Harris in propagating drone warfare abroad. Pamphlets distributed at the event called for UMass Amherst to refuse to host L3Harris at career fairs, and for Senator Ed Markey to decline future L3Harris donations, a rebuke of a $1,000 campaign donation in 2018. In a speech, one of the protesters remarked that L3Harris could shift from engineering surveillance technology to working on addressing climate change. Several people called for an end to war and “war profiteering.” Most of the protest signs addressed various dimensions of drone warfare: off-target killings, civilian casualties and foreign policy ramifications. Members of the Ban Killer Drones campaign brought a six-foot long model drone, making the purpose of the protest legible at a glance to passing cars. The Sophian reached out to L3Harris for comment, but they did not respond.
The local branch of Raging Grannies International performed anti-war protest songs, including, set to the tune of “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” a song with the lines:
There’s no business like drone business
Multinational profit going through the sky
They multiply while children die.
New among this round of anti-drone protests was a call to free drone whistleblower Daniel Hale. Hale released classified documents to The Intercept revealing the statistical sleights of hand the Obama administration used to obscure the number of civilians killed in drone strikes. In July, Hale was sentenced to 45 months in prison for violating the Espionage Act, a law targeted at spies that has become weaponized against national security whistleblowers.
The organizers of Shut Down Creech and protests in solidarity with Shut Down Creech have integrated a call to free Hale among their anti-drone demands. At the Northampton protest, a representative of The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice expressed outrage at Hale’s conviction, alleging that Hale’s prosecution amounted to the U.S. government abdicating responsibility for off-target drone strikes.
The protest concluded after about an hour. Protesters exchanged handouts and urged ongoing commitment to opposing drone strikes.
“I’ll be here every week until we end all wars,” declared a protester donning a hat slathered in pins.
[Image: Amherst College students led chants and brought anti-war banners. (Photo by Cody Bloomfield ’22)]
