Charges have been dropped against a career CIA officer-turned-peace activist who held a silent protest against U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month. Ray McGovern was accused of disorderly conduct after he stood up and turned his back to Clinton during a speech in Washington, D.C. McGovern was seized by government agents who assaulted him as they removed him from the room. McGovern spoke to Democracy Now! about the incident last month.

Ray McGovern: “I was standing up in silent witness to the fact that Hillary Clinton is responsible, partly responsible, for countless thousands of Iraqis, Americans, Afghans and, God help us, Iranians—I hope not—and that she should not get the idea that everybody is going to sit down and applaud politely when there are so many of us that are usually excluded from these sessions who are feeling very, very, very sad and very angry at the foreign policy of our government.”