Peter Gelderloos (born ) is an American
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
activist and writer.
Biography
In November 2001,
Gelderloos was arrested with 30 others for trespass in protest of the American military training facility
School of the Americas
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defens ...
, which trains Latin American military and police.
He
represented himself in court and was sentenced to six months in prison. Gelderloos previously organized a student rally against the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and was a member of a
copwatch
Copwatch (also Cop Watch or Cop-Watch) is a network of activist organizations, typically autonomous and focused in local areas, in the United States, Canada and Europe that observe and document police activity while looking for signs of police mis ...
program in Harrisonburg.
In April 2007, Gelderloos was arrested in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and charged with
disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
and illegal demonstration during a
squatter
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
s' protest. He faced up to six years in prison.
He claimed that he was
unfairly targeted for his political beliefs. He was acquitted in 2009.
He is known among anarchists for his 2005 book, ''How Nonviolence Protects the State''.
Works
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See also
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Anarchism and violence
Anarchism and violence have been linked together by events in anarchist history such as violent revolution, terrorism, assassination attempts and propaganda of the deed. Propaganda of the deed, or ''attentát'', was espoused by leading anarchist ...
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References
External links
2021 archive of official websiteInterview with Last Hours Zine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelderloos, Peter
American anarchists
American essayists
American male essayists
People from Harrisonburg, Virginia
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)