Statements to the Judge at the trial for The Seattle Six

Statements to Judge Tsuchida prior to sentencing:

Jennifer Gosar:

Your honor, officials for the prosecution, and people here in attendance.

As a graduate student, a certified medical interpreter, and a human being who has worked in immigrant and refugee communities for over 20 years, I have little legal experience, but considerable experience interpreting for people who have experienced intimate partner abuse, child abuse, systemic abuse, violence, political persecution, hate crimes and more. Those people and their stories have and will continue to mark my life.

I stand here before the court with the imagination to believe it is critical that every day, ordinary people, even students, have an obligation to peacefully challenge systemic abuse, if all other lawful means have, and in this case, repeatedly result in the continuation of that abuse to this very moment. My imagination extends to the impact of Senator Cantwell. I am sorry I and the others were not allowed to present that case. The complicit silence and refusal of elected officials to acknowledge constituents, much less have them arrested, weighs heavily on my conscience.

So with my knowledge, my ordinariness, my tens of thousands of dollars in debt, for the first time I stand here to face your decision and the punishment. The power is clearly in your hands.


Jessie Yadlowsky:
The actions I took on August 6th were in accordance to my moral standards, my right to petition my elected officials and my duty as a human being to oppose oppression. When I learned of the offenses against human rights suffered by immigrants and asylum seekers being held in our country’s detention centers, I was obligated to take action not only in public protests of peaceful activism, but also in petitioning my elected officials to avidly combat this crisis. I’m disappointed that instead of responding to the long- standing petitions of constituents, senator Cantwell allowed the six of us to be brought to court.