Biography
James Ricks is a peace activist from Ithaca, New York who participated in the October 2012 protest at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base near Syracuse, where activists trespassed to protest the U.S. drone warfare program. Hancock trains MQ-9 Reaper drone pilots responsible for lethal strikes in Afghanistan and other countries. Ricks was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 15 days in Onondaga County Jail in 2013.
Initial Hancock custody, October 25, 2012
The Upstate Coalition statement dated October 25, 2012 named James Ricks among thirteen people still held in jail late that afternoon after a blockade of Hancock Field near Syracuse. The statement reported trespass and disorderly-conduct charges and bail between $250 and $1,000. Four other named participants had already been released on their own recognizance. It does not establish the physical release day for the thirteen still held. This initial October 2012 custody must not be extended through later 2014 sentencing or conflated with other protest cases. No new release date or measured days imprisoned are inferred from this report.
