Hawaii activist joins Washington D.C. protest of British Petroleum

WASHINGTON>>A Hawaii woman was among a group of protesters who disrupted a House hearing just as British Petroleum Chief Executive Hayward began his testimony this morning. 

One protester, identified as Diane Wilson, shouted from the back of the room, “You need to be charged with a crime.” Capitol police grabbed her and took her from the room. Wilson, 61, a fourth-generation fisher from Seadrift, Texas, and other protesters then milled in the hall. Wilson’s hand was stained black. 

Ann Wright, 63, of Honolulu, wore a BP hard hat, overalls and sunglasses adorned with dollar signs. “BP doesn’t really care about this,” she said, pulling out an oil-stained rubber ducky.

Wright recently returned from  Israel, where she was among a group of activists released from prison after participating in a flotilla of eight boats carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Israeli defense forces boarded the boats at sea. Nine people died aboard one of the boats during the Israeli raid, prompting an international protest.