Stand With Daniel Hale
Daniel Hale, drone whistleblower, is now in solitary confinement in Alexandria, Virginia. Hale is a veteran of the US Air Force. During his military service from 2009 to 2013, he participated in the US drone program, working with both the National Security Agency and the Joint Special Operations Task Force at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. After leaving the Air Force, Hale became an outspoken opponent of the US targeted killings program, US foreign policy more generally, and a supporter of whistleblowers. He publicly spoke out at conferences, forums, and public panels. He was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary National Bird, a film about whistleblowers in the US drone program who suffered from moral injury and PTSD. Hale based his criticisms on his own participation in the drone program, which included helping to select targets based on faulty criteria and attacks on unarmed innocent civilians.
In May 2019, Daniel Hale was arrested and indicted on allegations that he disclosed classified documents about the U.S. military’s assassination program, believed to have been the source material for a series in The Intercept called “The Drone Papers”. On March 31, 2021, Hale pleaded guilty to a single count under the 1917 Espionage Act, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. Sentencing is currently scheduled for July 13, 2021.
Learn more about Daniel Hale, his case, and how you can help. Most important now is letters written to the sentencing judge before his sentencing (coming up on July 13.) See instructions here. A helpful statement from a member of his legal defense team can be heard on this recent webinar beginning at 38:48.
The importance of Daniel’s efforts to expose the USA assassination drone program can be compared to the work of Edward Snowden in exposing the USA surveillance network. To learn more about weaponized drone, check out www.bankillerdrones.org.
