This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2008) |
Camp Casey was the name given to the encampment of anti-war protesters outside the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, during US President George W. Bush's five-week summer vacation there in 2005, named after Iraq War casualty US Army Specialist Casey Sheehan.
Arriving on a bus that departed the Veterans for Peace National Convention, Cindy Sheehan walked with the support of Camilo Mejía and other veterans who helped Cindy gain passage when multiple officers of the law attempted to persuade her from advancing beyond the Crawford Texas Peace House Sheehan failed to get a second meeting with President Bush for an explanation of the cause for which her son, Casey, died. Having been turned away, she pitched a tent by the side of the road and announced her intention to stay, day and night, for the full five weeks or until such a meeting is granted. She also promised that, if she were not granted a second meeting, she would return to Crawford each time Bush visited.[1]
Other members of Gold Star Families for Peace and other anti–Iraq War activists joined them, camped in public land, such as ditches by the road.
A local property owner provided them with a place to camp, which became known as "Camp Casey II."
Two weeks after the establishment of "Camp Casey," counter-protestors established their own camp nearby.