John Bolton, the former DOJ official and ambassador to the UN who was instrumental in taking America to war in Iraq, may face a citizen’s arrest when he speaks at literary festival in Wales tonight.
George Monbiot, a columnist for the Guardian newspaper, plans on using Bolton’s appearance at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival to detainee the well-known neocon. “Many people accept that the launching of the Iraq war was an international crime, but no one has yet been prepared to act on it by arresting one of the perpetrators,” says Monbiot.
The director of the festival is having none of it. “The Hay Festival has sought the advice of both police and lawyers, and has been unequivocally assured that a citizen’s arrest, or an attempt to instigate a citizen’s arrest, would be completely unlawful in these circumstances,” he says.
Here’s Monbiot’s list of charges. Considering John Bolton thinks attacking Iran is America’s “most prudent” foreign policy option at the moment, it might make sense for somebody to detain him before he (har har!) strikes again. Okay, maybe that isn’t funny.
It is unclear what will happen after Monbiot makes the citizen’s arrest, if he is able to make it at all. We’ll keep you posted.
