The Delivery of 253,512 Arrest Warrants to the State Department

On January 11, 2010, Jason Russell, Laren Poole, and Ben Keesey of Invisible Children traveled to Washington, D.C., to  hand over 253,512 Citizens Arrest Warrant Petition Cards to the State Department. Over the course of three months, Invisible Children had collected these signatures from citizens all around the world.

On each card was this declaration:

We, the citizens of the world who have witnessed the suffering of the abducted child soldiers in Central Africa, sign this Citizens Arrest Warrant for Joseph Kony. This Arrest Warrant calls on President Obama to lead the international effort to stop Joseph Kony, rescue the child soldiers and commit to the recovery of war affected areas.

The hand-off ceremony took place at 11am in the George Marshall Reception Room in the Suite of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In attendance were Under-Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero; Assistant Secretary of State Johnny Carson; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Deborah Graze; Ambassador At Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp; Special Advisor to the Vice President Yael Eisenstat; Ugandan Desk Officer James Liddle; and Special Advisor Nicole Goldin.

Assistant Secretary Johnny Carson opened the event by welcoming the participants and speaking about the U.S. Government’s policy to support the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) in the current effort to find and apprehend Joseph Kony. He then turned the floor over to Under-Secretary Otero who commended the young people of America for actively choosing to tell the world about the crimes of Joseph Kony and the LRA. She voiced the United States’ commitment to stopping Kony and assisting in the long-term recovery of the war-affected areas.

Jason then shared the story of why Invisible Children was founded in 2003 after he, Bobby, and Laren visited northern Uganda and observed, first hand, the plight of thousands of night commuters. Laren then spoke about Invisible Children’s role in the failed Juba peace process and how that experience informed our conviction that Kony is now the largest impediment to peace. Because of this, we now need to focus our efforts on apprehending him. Laren also reiterated our goal that President Obama be the first United States president to speak directly and publicly about Kony, the LRA, and the U.S. policy towards them. Laren then introduced Cathy Kaplan, a Schools for Schools trip winner from Highland Park High School. Cathy spoke passionately about her experience with IC at her high school and how it had empowered her and her fellow students. As an 18-year old, Cathy’s testimony was the most powerful moment in the ceremony. I concluded the ceremony by thanking the officials for their time and formally delivering the Arrest Warrant Petition Certificate. Under-Secretary Otero formally “accepted” the certificate along with photos that represented all 253,512 Arrest Warrant Petitions.

This event was the most publicized statement to date from a U.S. public official about Joseph Kony and the LRA. Yael Eisenstat from Vice President Biden’s office said that the video-request that Invisible Children sent to the vice president to ask for his presence at the meeting was the first of its kind that their office had ever received. She said that the VP’s entire staff watched the video and that Vice President Biden is engaged with the issue.

The event was filmed by the State Department’s media crew and a copy of the footage will be given to IC.

Thank you and congratulations to all 253,512 people who made this event possible.

Ben Keesey
Executive Director and CEO, Invisible Children