Fort Benning protesters ready to go to prison for beliefs

WOOSTER, OHIO - Three Ohioans arrested during a protest of a military school in Fort Benning, Ga., say they are ready for the consequences. <br> <br> Dave Tarbell starts his three-month prison term on Tuesday. Marie Salupo is awaiting word from the court on when she must begin her three-month sentence. Caitlin Harwood goes to a mass trial on Monday. <br> <br> They were among 85 protesters arrested Nov. 17 when they crossed a fence and entered the base while protesting against Fort Benning&#39;s training school for Latin American soldiers. <br> <br> Tarbell, 21, and Harwood, 19, are students at the College of Wooster in northeast Ohio, 50 miles south of Cleveland. Salupo, 24, is a Wooster graduate. <br> <br> Supporters had a send-off party Friday at the school for Tarbell, a Cincinnati native who had to withdraw despite attempts to continue his classes while in prison. <br> <br> Tarbell initially refused to cooperate with authorities and told them his name was ``Peace.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A group called School of the Americas Watch demonstrates outside the post each year on the anniversary of the 1989 killings of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador. Some graduates of the School of the Americas were linked to the killings. <br> <br> Protest leaders vow to continue the demonstrations until the school closes. Military officials deny the school, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in 2000, is responsible for abuses. <br> <br> The school trains soldiers and also focuses on civilian and diplomatic affairs. <br> <br> Those arrested were divided into two groups for trial. <br> <br> Tarbell will serve his sentence at a minimum security federal prison in Ashland, Ky. <br> <br> ``My dad thinks I should fight battles at home before championing the causes of someone in the southern hemisphere,&#39;&#39; Tarbell said. ``He has a point, but the thing is, it&#39;s all connected to our lifestyles here, so I just couldn&#39;t sit back and do nothing.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A judge said Salupo, 24, of Euclid, could show up on her own to serve her sentence. <br> <br> ``I knew full well what the consequences were when I crossed that (fence) line,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> ``Before I went through, I closed my eyes, and I could see the faces of the people I had talked to while in Latin America. I promised them I would convey their message of wanting to end the violence in their communities.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Harwood, 19, of Cleveland Heights, hasn&#39;t decided how she will plead to the trespassing charge. <br> <br> ``If I get prison time, that&#39;s fine. If I get probation, that&#39;s fine. If I&#39;m found not guilty, that&#39;s fantastic,&#39;&#39; Harwood said. ``But I know whatever happens, it&#39;s all happening for a reason.&#39;&#39;