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Saturday, December 17th 2011, we’re organizing Free Bradley Manning Protests against the outrageous charges against him which would make acting on one’s conscious and revealing war crimes and government lies punishable by life in prison. All across the country, we will organize rallies in prominent public locations. The actions will help show the U.S. Military and State Department the breadth of the growing movement to support Bradley Manning and the public’s faith that embracing government transparency, truth, and democracy are key to creating a more perfect union. Over-classification of government documents must be a thing of the past if the United States is to remain a democratic world leader.

This guide will help you plan your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest, and it provides you the resources you’ll need along the way. If you have questions, contact a Bradley Manning Support Network campaign organizer at [email protected]

This guide is divided into a few simple sections:
1. What does the ideal Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest look like?
2. Before the Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protests
3. During the Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protests
4. After the Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protests

1. What does the ideal Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest look like?

The goal of the Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protests is to bring to light the public value of the documents Bradley revealed and the unacceptable way he is being scapegoated by embarrassed government officials. “Aiding the enemy through indirect means” is a vague yet serious charge intended to discourage future inconvenient truth-tellers. Additionally, U.S. officials are alienating the international community by repeatedly refusing to allow the UN Chief Investigator on Torture to conduct an official visit with Bradley to investigate allegations of his mistreatment at the Quantico military brig.

Bradley is to be tried by the military, and one of the military’s top concerns is public relations. At a time when the US Military budget is at an all-time high and the percentage of Americans who believe Congress represents their interests is at an all-time low, Bradley Manning Supporters must remind officials that they represent the people, and the people demand accountability and truth. The ideal Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest will gain enough media attention that government officials will feel the heat.

The core of the event is a sizable turnout of supporters with eye-catching visuals showing support for Bradley. You should think about what will make your event most successful in your community –we recommend having a diverse program, including some or all of the following: community leaders speaking about the importance of government transparency, truth, and democracy, musicians singing songs and leading chants, and activists engaging in civil disobedience.

To attract media, events should be scheduled during the day–no earlier than 9 am and no later than 3:30 pm on December 17th.

2. Before Your Free Bradley Manning Pretrial Hearing Protest

A) Nail down the key elements of your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protests

Here are the most important decisions you need to make to prep a successful event.

Line up your Speakers
You should prep between three and five speakers with compelling statements about the importance of government transparency and truth, and the impossibility of a fair trial as evident in PFC Manning’s treatment at Quantico and the government’s attempt to cast a whistle-blowing action as an attempt to aid the enemy. By choosing diverse speakers who are well-known and well-liked in your community, you can draw a larger crowd and more media attention. Examples of types of people to ask:
• A leader of a religious congregation known for its social justice work
• A local government official who is sympathetic to the cause
• An executive director or campaigner for a human rights organization
• An Iraq or Afghanistan veteran who is interested in promoting critical discussion of our foreign policy
• A labor organizer who is concerned about secret corporate influence on foreign policies

Pick a Location
Choosing the location is a crucial decision, which can determine the visibility of your rally and set the tone.

The ideal location is an easily accessible and highly visible location in the center of your city. Potential locations include:
• If possible, in front of a federal building
• A city park next to heavy foot traffic
• Near a busy highway
• In front of a military recruiting center

We encourage you to contact your city hall to investigate the process of obtaining a demonstration permit for your desired location, if possible. When contacting them, be sure to emphasize that it is a peaceful demonstration for a not-for-profit, free speech issue.

Pick a start-time for your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest
Every event should be held during business hours (starting no earlier than 9 am and no later than 3:30), when we have the best chance of getting media attention. The best time is usually around mid-day. That’s a good time for reporters to come. And for people who work on the weekends, there’s a good chance that some of them can participate by coming on their lunch break.

Register your event online
Please make sure your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest is registered in the Bradley Manning Support Network’s online system as soon as possible. We’ll then send more materials and an email to other supporters in the area connecting them to your event.

Visit events.bradleymanning.org to register your event if you have not already.

B) Prepare the materials you’ll need

Make sure you’re prepared with all the materials and resources you’ll need. Here’s the list of what you’ll need:
• Event Registration page for your rally
• Media materials (check out our Organizing Toolkit for some ideas)
• News advisory
• Core beliefs of the Bradley Manning Support Network (page 16 of our Organizing Toolkit)
• Reporter call script
• Signs/banners/exciting visuals
• Example rally chants
• Petition sheets and clipboards

C) Recruit, recruit, recruit

If you know volunteers willing to help you recruit, now’s the time! There are several major roles that you will need to fill to pull off a successful event. Although one person could potentially fill more than one of these roles, ideally the team would include at least one person for each:
• Location/target point-person: responsible for researching, scouting, and choosing the target and location for the event.
• Media point-person: responsible for pitching media in advance of the event, distributing press advisories, and greeting media at the event.
• Speaker point-person: in charge of recruiting and prepping speakers at the rally.
• Member-greeter: in charge of greeting all the rally attendees, having them sign our petition so they can receive future campaign updates, and, if appropriate, giving them a sign.
• Sign-maker: in charge of making signs for the event.(again, at larger events you may want a team)
• MC: master of ceremonies at the event. This person will be responsible for speaking in front of the assembled crowd, introducing speakers, and keeping the program on time.
• Cheer-leader: leads chants and cheers at the rally.
Hit the phones: The best thing to do is to have a recruitment call party — or at least, to give out a list of names for your recruitment team to call. Make personal invite calls to friends, neighbors, and leaders of organizations who you think may be able to help in recruiting their contingents to come to the event.

Some top places to recruit/find organizing help
You local Occupy Protest (find info at http://www.occupytogether.org/actions/)
Local chapters of Bradley Manning Support Network allied organizations:
-Veterans for Peace: veteransforpeace.net/chapter_contacts.html
-Iraq Veterans Against the War: ivaw.org click on the “Chapters” button
-War Resisters League: warresisters.org/localchapters
-Code Pink: codepink4peace.org/groups.html

Emails: You can also invite people over email. Make sure to include relevant details such as time, location, event description, and recommendations for sign-making.

Other places to advertise your protest:
facebook.com
craigslist.org (Look in the “community” section)
meetup.com (anti-war, computers, LGBT, veterans groups are some suggestions for outreach)
Local free weeklies (event calendar listings often require 3 weeks notice)
Community radio stations

D) Prepare a plan in case of right-wing protestors

• Defuse conflict. We want our events to be peaceful and respectful. Our message has a better chance of getting media coverage if we refrain from confrontation with any opposition. We will have the greatest success if, rather than engaging with protestors, we honor the serious tone of our events.
• Designate a spokesperson and make sure he/she talks to reporters. Some of these events will be super jam-packed, and it’s important to make sure that reporters get a chance to talk to articulate people who can make the case for a strong public option. A great way to do this is by proactively seeking out members of the press (note people with cameras or notepads) and offering up designated spokespeople.
• Show that we want what is best for our country. There have been a few instances recently where protesters on either side of the aisle started singing “patriotic” songs such as “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America.” In one case, both sides were even singing together across the protest lines. Obviously, it’s always great for us to show how much we care about our country. This is also a great way to defuse or avoid confrontation with the other side.

E) Be sure to prepare a back-up plan

• In general, your rally location should be held outside a building on a public sidewalk, lobby or parking lot where you are allowed to gather. However, should you have difficulty obtaining a permit, see below
• If a police or security officials asks you to leave, please remember to be professional and polite. Let them know your plan for a short peaceful gathering outside. Often times, they’ll be okay with your event once you let them know what to expect.
• But, if the police/security still won’t let you proceed, stay calm and follow their instructions. See if you can move to a nearby public space, there is often one only a few yards away where you can move forward with your rally. Or, there may be a sidewalk nearby where you can break up into smaller groups and hold a honk and wave that will reach people walking/driving by and generate media coverage.

F) Reach out to the media.

The media is a really important part of this event. Use the media guide and other media outreach resources to contact members of the media and invite them to come to your event. Use our media materials to help you.

G) Hold a “run-through”– or at least a final check-in call

It is a great idea to actually hold a dry-run day a few days before the event, to make sure everyone knows their part. Whether or not you can do a dry-run, though, you should definitely get all speakers and key volunteers to hold a final check-in call to go over what’s going to happen.
It’s very important that you prepare your speakers well. Make sure you’ve had a “prep call” or meeting with every single speaker who’s appearing at your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest

Optional: contact your local target

If you are organizing an event outside of a Federal Building, it’s a good idea to call representatives directly to request a constituency meeting the day of the protest. A few congress people have spoken out already in support of Bradley Manning, and each additional official who can be persuaded to take a stand sends a powerful message. You can then include the result of your request in the press release.

H) Make final preparations, including reminder calls

In the last 24 hours before your event, make sure you’re ready! Read all your materials linked above, and re-read this guide once more. Also, be sure to check in with all local coalition partners the day before the event to finalize any logistics items and talk through any questions.

3. During your Rally

Make sure you’ve given out copies of the talking points (also linked at the top) to anyone who may be making speeches or talking with media.
Here’s a sample agenda for your Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest, assuming a 12 noon start:
• Starting at 11:15: As the crowd arrives, ask rally attendees to sign the petition (click here for a printable version). It’s best if one person is tasked with this responsibility, and if you expect more than 40-50 people you will want several people circulating with clipboards. Appoint a separate person to carry an “I am Bradley Manning” sign and digital camera, and ask people to have their photo taken for our photo petition (iam.bradleymanning.org).
• Starting at 11:45: greet reporters as they arrive. You can usually identify reporters as people with notebooks who aren’t participating in the rally. TV reporters usually arrive in vans with TV station logos on them and will have large cameras. Radio reporters often have visible recording equipment also. Again, it’s best if someone is set up to do just this task and nothing else.
• 11:45-12:10: Lead the crowd in cheers and chants (example rally chants here). Again, it’s best if someone is set up with a megaphone or other sound projection system to do just this task and nothing else.
• 12:09: Announce to the crowd that the spoken presentation is about to begin.
• 12:10: Welcome, introductory statement from a protest organizer (1-2 min.)
• 12:12: Speaker #1, introduced by MC (5 min.)
• 12:17: Speaker #2, introduced by MC (5 min.)
• 12:22: A musician performs a song for Bradley (5 min)
• 12:27: Speaker #3, introduced by i rep (5 min.)
• 12:33: A protest orgamizer wraps up prepared statements and takes questions from media (5 min.)
• 12:38: Protest organizers lead a march with continued chanting and cheering. Delegation attempts to meet with government representatives/recruiting officers inside building to demand Bradley’s freedom (20 min.)

4. Free Bradley Manning: Pretrial Hearing Protest

Send links to any press coverage to [email protected]. Fill out the survey we send you, and send any photos from the event to [email protected].