Dear John,

Whistleblower Daniel Hale was just sentenced to almost four years in prison for telling the truth about U.S. military drone strikes.

Tell President Biden: Pardon Daniel Hale! 

Today, drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was sentenced to 45 months in prison in violation of the Espionage Act. Daniel was accused of leaking secret documents detailing the U.S. drone program to a journalist.

His prison sentence is dangerous for everyone who values freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Sentencing Daniel to prison for speaking the truth is in direct violation of the Bill of Rights and threatens to have a chilling effect on future reporting about what the U.S. military does in our name around the world.

Call on President Biden to protect free speech and pardon Daniel Hale! 

In 2013 Daniel spoke at CODEPINK’s drone summit. Watching him speak was surprising and moving. He seemed shy, a personality trait you may not expect from someone who blew the whistle on the most powerful military in the world. He did something so simple, but so meaningful at the time: he apologized to drone victims and their families. 

“To the people in the audience who are victims or who are families of victims or have families who live in countries where U.S. militarism, specifically unmanned systems are conducting kinetic strikes, I’m sorry,” he said. “For a short period of time during my military career as an analyst, I worked with unmanned systems and deployed to Afghanistan. And at the very least, you all deserve an apology” Hale said. Daniel does not deserve to go to prison, especially when there has not been a single ounce of accountability for the war criminals that authorized the use of drones. 

Tell Biden to stand up for freedom of speech and the free press by pardoning Daniel Hale! 

In 2009, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for diplomacy. He, like presidents before and after him, killed countless civilians with drones. Our courts are holding the wrong people accountable when we send whistleblowers to jail. Daniel, who saw first-hand how brutal drone strikes were, had the courage to tell the American people what was really being done in our name. He deserves our gratitude, not prison. 

Toward peace,
Medea, Danaka, Ally, Ann, Ariel, Carley, Ciara, Emily, Farida, Jodie, Kelly, Leila, Leonardo, Madison, Mary, Marcy, Michelle, Moses, Nancy, Paki, RJ, Sana, and Teri

P.S.- Remember to join Rep. Pramila Jayapal and CODEPINK for our Tuesday night Capitol Hill calling party at 8PM ET tonight! RSVP here!