Ashcroft's Attack On Greenpeace

Never before in U.S. history has an entire organization been prosecuted for a peaceful protest by its supporters.

Last year, two Greenpeace activists climbed aboard a ship carrying Amazon mahogany wood. They held a banner that said "President Bush: Stop Illegal Logging."

Instead of halting the shipment, the government is prosecuting Greenpeace in federal court in Miami. It has charged Greenpeace under an obscure 19th-century law never intended for this purpose.

From the Boston Tea Party to the civil rights movement, public protest actions have helped bring positive change in the U.S.

But if this prosecution succeeds, non-violent protest may become yet another casualty of John Ashcroft's attack on civil liberties.