Alex Darocy Photography

On November 10, peace activists in Santa Cruz protested a book signing appearance by Leon Panetta, the one-time Secretary of Defense and CIA Director. Panetta is currently on a book tour promoting the release of "Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace." Bookshop Santa Cruz hosted the event, which was held in the sanctuary at Peace United Church of Christ, with a crowd of hundreds in attendance. Initially, the book store and the church both attempted, with what little means they had, to prevent individuals from protesting near the actual location of the book signing. They released a set of rules for protesting at the event, which was only lightly enforced until the end of the evening. Eventually five individuals (including this reporter) were "banned for life" from Bookshop Santa Cruz, in retaliation for activities related to the evening's peaceful protest. Three of the four protesters who were "banned for life" from Bookshop Sant...

I was physically assaulted by a security agent who was working for former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta at a speaking and book-signing engagement in Santa Cruz on November 10. The agent intentionally and deliberately grabbed my camera and hit me with it in the face when I was attempting to take a photo of Panetta leaving the event. I was approximately one foot away from him when he struck me. The security guard who assaulted me. The event was hosted by Bookshop Santa Cruz and held at Peace United Church in their main sanctuary/chapel. The purchase of Panetta's book "Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace" was required for admission. I was there to photograph and report on a small protest that was organized to oppose Panetta's deadly war record, as well as his involvement in expanding the scope of drone warfare. Panetta's security group was comprised of four agents as far as I could tell, but there may have been more ...

Two different political demonstrations were held during the first day of Alumni Weekend at UC Santa Cruz on April 25. Members of Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs protested an appearance by former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who spoke at 'Launch', an exhibition of various student projects at the university. At the same time as the Panetta protest, students in support of the UCSC 22 demonstrated at another Alumni weekend event, the Graduate Alumni Cocktail Hour, which was held at the Graduate Student Commons. Panetta Protest At the Panetta protest, individuals held signs with the statements, "Jail Panetta", "What about the drones, Leon?", "Panetta Supports Torture", "Panetta is a War Criminal", and "Drone War is A Crime." Issues highlighted in literature distributed outside of the event included Panetta's involvement with drone warfare as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to ...