The man voted Britain’s most effective environmentalist was barred
from entering the United States Sept 29. John Stewart, who has no criminal
record and qualified for a visa waiver program, had his waiver rescinded while
in flight. Upon landing, he was interrogated by the FBI, the Secret Service and
immigration for six hours. He was then sent on a flight back home.
Stewart was scheduled for a national speaking tour by a variety of
environmental groups on the heels of his successful campaign against a third
runway at London’s Heathrow airport. Stewart stated, “What seemed to concern
them was that I would be discussing, as part of my talk, the role that
peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience played in the Heathrow campaign.”
Another speaker scheduled for the tour, Dan Glass, was effectively
blocked from attending due to alleged delay of the “administrative processing” of his visa. Video
conferencing is being planned so the two activists can still speak at the
various locations across the country.
