Schedule of Events
1. 8AM Sharp we will be at the intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road. Take I-10 to I-19 South and exit West Valencia Road to South Wade Road, Tucson, Arizona. See below.
2. After the march to the home of Vanessa Guerena, we will be attending various Memorial Day events around Tucson. (We will have more details at the March)
3. From 1PM - 6PM we will gather in the Grand Ballroom West of the Hotel Arizona Located at 181 W. Broadway in Tucson. We will have various presentations and speakers including Oath Keeper Founder and President, Stewart Rhodes, and Sheriff Richard Mack. Free admission for everyone.
4. We will be having dinner at a nearby restaurant which has not yet been determined.
5. Please wear shirts that are patriotic, Veteran, Military Branch, Oath Keepers etc.
Please bring a rose to the march and extra if you can.
What - An Oath Keepers muster. Oath Keepers and friends will muster and march to the home of Mrs. Vanessa Guerena for a ceremony of memoriam for her late husband Jose Guerena, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq war.
When - 8:00 a.m. sharp Monday morning Memorial Day, May 30, 2011
Where - The intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road. Take I-10 to I-19 South and exit West Valencia Road to South Wade Road, Tucson, Arizona. See below.
Who - Oath Keepers is calling for all veterans, National Guardsmen, active duty military, current-serving peace officers, firefighters, retired public servants, gun owners, veterans organizations, civic organizations, church groups, student groups, and other patriotic Americans.
Why - To stand with Oath Keepers at a memorial service for Jose Guerena, a war veteran who was killed by law-enforcement gunfire in his home on May 05, 2011. We wish to honor Jose Guerena's service to this nation and ensure that his death lights the spark which shall lawfully undo present-day policies which militarize our local peace officers and violate our veterans' and gun owners' Fourth Amendment rights.
Press contact - Arizona Oath Keepers state chapter President Ray Epps: 480-586-5145 . Backup Press contact - Elias Alias - 406-285-6597 * eliasalias@gmail.com
The public is cordially invited to march and stand with Oath Keepers for this ceremony. All who cannot attend are encouraged to do what you can on Memorial Day in your own communities. A great example of local activity is given us by the Pahrump, Nevada Oath Keepers chapter. Enjoy reading their Proclamation here:
http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/25/pahrump-oath-keepers-issue-proclamation/?cp=1#comment-29725
What you can do - Work with veterans and neighbors and community groups in your respective areas to ensure such Proclamations are brought before your local government officials and State officials. (You can do this anytime, it is not limited to only Memorial Day.)
*Work to establish oversight by your State government, your Attorney General, and your County Sheriffs' offices to protect Fourth Amendment rights at the local level to provide accountability for intrusive police activities. Work to educate your neighbors and friends to the militarization of our local peace officers and help them see how such practices violate our Bill of Rights, including the Fourth Amendment. Recommend to your local government that police actions, especially S.W.A.T. activity, does not mimic the acts of criminals who execute home invasions. Remind everyone of the inherent dangers in accepting Federal funding and Federal training. Work to break the connection between Federal involvement and local control over our peace officer community. Educate everyone to the dangers in militarizing our local peace officers.
What we need from Tucson: Oath Keepers is seeking locally a volunteer drummer for this march, and a bugler for the ceremony. Oath Keepers would love to have a color guard from Tucson or Arizona, but we'll take a color guard from wherever we can find one. If anyone wishes to volunteer to drum for this march, or to play taps on the bugle at the ceremony, please send us your message by going here - http://oathkeepers.org/oath/contact/ or call our Arizona Oath Keepers chapter President Ray Epps at 480-586-5145 . Backup number 406-285-6597 .
Oath Keepers will muster at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, and will march at 8:30 a.m. to the home of Vanessa Guerena, the widow of Jose Guerena. Our procession will not permit late-comers to join after we begin the march, so make sure to be on time. Come early. Our march will begin at our rally point which is less than one mile from the Guerena home.
Our muster will be at the intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road. Out of town marchers can find West Valencia Road by exiting Interstate I-19 just south of Interstate I-10 at the exit for West Valencia Road.
Upon arrival at the intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road, please park on the South side of Valencia. We would like to ask all drivers to park by backing in, instead of parallel parking, so as to reduce the length of parked cars. Thank you for remembering to do that.
Oath Keepers will not permit the carrying or displaying of signs during our march and memorial service.
Flags may be carried and displayed. Those who have Oath Keepers gear are invited to wear Oath Keeper shirts and hats, patches and pins. We are planning a somber and reverent march, respectful of the departed young former Marine and war veteran, with sincere sympathy for his wife and children. There shall be another time and place for political expression.
Oath Keepers will conduct a brief ceremony on the lawn outside Mrs. Guerena's house to honor her husband's military service and all military and police who have paid the ultimate price for this country's continued freedom. We will extend our sympathies to Mrs. Guerena, and then march back to our muster area.
Other activities will be announced when we return to our muster area. There each marcher will be given hand-out fliers with our afternoon schedule, which Oath Keepers will distribute to all who march with us.
Note - It is important that all who wish to participate with Oath Keepers on Memorial Day be present at 8:00 a.m. sharp, for that is how everyone will receive our announcements regarding the afternoon's activities.
There will be afternoon speakers, including Stewart Rhodes, founder and President of Oath Keepers, Major (ret.) Rex McTyeire, U.S. Special Forces veteran and President of Oath Keepers' South Carolina chapter, and Sheriff Richard Mack, former Sheriff from Arizona, among others. A number of Oath Keepers officers will be arriving from out of State.
The afternoon events will carry a political nature as Oath Keepers officially denounces the practice of deploying militarized SWAT teams to serve warrants on military veterans and gun owners who, like Jose Guerena, have no prior criminal record. Oath Keepers will inspire Americans to uphold the Fourth Amendment. Oath Keepers salutes our finest, our peace officers and our soldiers, with sincere gratitude for their service, but Oath Keepers stands against the Policy of using militarized SWAT units for routine law enforcement procedures.
We must take a stand against the use of SWAT or other militarized units against gun owners and veterans who have no violent crime history, and that stand needs to be a firm one. Come make a stand with us. Veterans, here is a place to stand for a righteous cause - bring your veteran groups and friends.
Therefore, Oath Keepers is going to rally to honor this young Marine's military service in war in the morning hours, using this occasion to also honor all of America's fallen heroes, and then move into other locations to express our opposition to the destruction of our liberty, our support of the Fourth Amendment as written, and our opposition to this policy of using SWAT teams to serve mere search warrants on gun owners and veterans who have no violent criminal record.
Here is a closing word from Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers -
"What better way to honor our war dead and veterans this Memorial Day than to defend our Constitution and our God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is what they all fought, bled, and died for? This policy of using SWAT to serve search warrants on veterans and gun owners simply because they are armed, and where there is no long history of violent crime, has got to stop. I think taking a stand over the use of SWAT against this young Marine in Tucson is a good place to start." - Stewart Rhodes
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Check for updates on this information at the "Announcements" section of our front page on our national web site, www.oathkeepers.org/
Questions may be sent online here - http://oathkeepers.org/oath/contact/
The following two links will provide more detailed understanding about our Memorial
Day events in Tucson, Arizona:
http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/21/oath-keepers-to-rally-in-tucson-on-memorial-day-over-death-of-young-marine-veteran/
http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/16/an-empire-strikes-home-_-part-one/
Meet some of our Board of Directors -http://oathkeepers.org/oath/bios/
Sheriff Richard Mack - http://www.sheriffmack.com/
Oath Keepers National -http://www.oathkeepers.org/oath/
Semper Fidelis Jose Guerena!
* * *
National Press Release -- Please forward as needed -
Press Release May 27, 2011
Oath Keepers, Inc. * 5130 S. Fort Apache * Suite 215 * Las Vegas, NV 89148
Press contact - Arizona Oath Keepers state chapter President Ray Epps: 480-586-5145 . Backup Press contact - Elias Alias - 406-285-6597 * eliasalias@gmail.com
Oath Keepers video announcement -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6NOx5Cx8Ws&feature=youtu.be
Oath Keepers national: http://www.oathkeepers.org/oath/
Details online -- http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/25/oath-keepers-muster-_-tucson-info/?cp=2
- Press Release -
OATH KEEPERS MUSTER
Sheriff Mack and Stewart Rhodes To March In Tucson
Oath Keepers is calling for all veterans, National Guardsmen, active duty military, current-serving peace officers, firefighters, retired public servants, gun owners, veteran organizations, civic organizations, church groups, student groups, and other patriotic Americans to stand with Oath Keepers at a memorial service for Jose Guerena, a USMC war veteran who was killed by law-enforcement gunfire in his home on May 05, 2011. We wish to honor Jose Guerena's service to this nation and ensure that his death lights the spark which shall lawfully undo present-day policies which militarize our local peace officers and violate our veterans' and gun owners' Fourth Amendment rights.
Oath Keepers will march to the Guerena home (at Tucson) in Pima County, Arizona and conduct a memorial service. The public is invited. Oath Keepers will afterward move into the city of Tucson for speeches by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers Board of Directors member Sheriff Richard Mack, other Oath Keepers officers, and members of law enforcement and the military.
Statement by Stewart Rhodes -
"What better way to honor our war dead and veterans this Memorial Day than to defend our Constitution and our God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is what they all fought, bled, and died for? This policy of using SWAT to serve search warrants on veterans and gun owners simply because they are armed, and where there is no long history of violent crime, has got to stop. I think taking a stand over the use of the Pima County Regional SWAT against this young Marine in Tucson is a good place to start." - Stewart Rhodes
End press release.
Reference articles
Forbes: http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/05/24/oath-keepers-to-protest-killing-of-jose-guerena/
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/jose-guerena-arizona-_n_867020.html
Reason Magazine: http://reason.com/archives/2011/02/07/an-interview-with-stewart-rhod
Oath Keepers: http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/16/an-empire-strikes-home-_-part-one/
The Blaze: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/swat-video-captures-officers-firing-71-times-on-former-marine/
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