expose, denounce, and end US militarization, oppressive US policies and other forms of state violence in the Americas. We act in solidarity with organizations and movements working for justice and peace throughout the Americas. Non-violent demonstrations Protest demonstrations are staged by SOA Watch at the main gate of Ft. Benning in November each year, in commemoration of the anniversary of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador. The growing annual protest has remained a major focus for SOA Watch and the grassroots movement to close the SOA/WHINSEC, which likewise has grown throughout the Americas since the first protest in 1990. The original band of ten resisters who marched onto Ft. Benning and splashed blood upon the School of Americas to commemorate the first anniversary of the UCA massacre has grown in recent years to a community of 10,000. People come from across the country and around the globe to honor victims of crimes committed by students of the School of the Americas, as well as their survivors, with music, words, puppets and theatre. Traditionally the legal vigil and memorial service concludes with a mock funeral procession, using the Presente! litany, onto Ft. Benning, with all who choose to march onto the post trespassing on federal property and subject to arrest. Subsequent to 9/11 and the erection of a security fence at the main gate of Ft. Benning in 2001, protesters who wish to take their mourning onto the post need to go over, under, or around that fence, as opposed to the simple marching of the past. At the 2002 protest, the city of Columbus began requiring all attending the event to submit to a metal detector search at the designated entrance. After a lengthy legal battle, however, in October 2004 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the forced search was unconstitutional. In 2004, the Army added a second fence topped by razor wire, and erected a third fence in 2005. On November 20, 2005, roughly 20,000 protesters attended the Ft. Benning vigil, "remembering those who have been silenced by SOA violence". Forty protesters climbed over or under the fence and were arrested by military police. Columbus police also arrested bystanders, including some who lifted the fence. Since protests against the school began, 183 people have cumulatively served over 81 years in prison for their civil disobedience. On November 19, 2006, over 22,000 protesters attended the