http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-972162.mp3
Leavenworth, KS – Protesters marched to the gate of Fort Leavenworth calling for release of, aguably, the best known inmate of a military prison on the post. Army PFC Bradley Manning is locked up while military courts decide what to do with him.
Manning is suspected of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WiKiLeaks. KCUR's Dan Verbeck followed the protest.
Some 200 people streamed along sun heated sidewalks from a Leavenworth city park to the Fort's main gate. There were rude gestures from passing cars and derisive shouts in this town where the Army is king. But all orderly, no confrontations.
Before the march, a leader of a veterans antiwar group, Leah Bolger, said Manning is no villain-- "I think it's an embarrassment for the military to pursue this, really, they should cut their losses and drop the charges."
Some speakers potrayed Manning as an anti-war hero, exposing military corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Manning's father, Brian, disagrees that his son was on a mission to correct fault in the military. The senior Manning thinks his son is a fall guy for somebody else who really sent documents to WiKileaks.
In the father's words, "You know, so many things are wrong if you read them on the internet. Bradley was never interested in politics. He never talked about politics."
Manning supporters have raised what they figure to be a hundred fifty thousand dollars to hire him a civilian defense lawyer, against whatever the military decides is the next maneuver.