Code Pink Promising to Dress Up Like Drones for Conference Protest

Code Pink is planning to protest in drone costumes outside the world’s largest drone expo in D.C. tomorrow.

The convention center event, AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2013, draws more than 8,000 attendees from more than 40 countries to share the latest unmanned systems technology. Seminars this year include privacy issues, risk to the homeland, intelligence, use of drones by the BLM and public safety agencies, and even using drones to make movies.

The conference also features more than 600 companies showcasing their drone technology across more than 350,000 square feet of exhibit space. I will be reporting from inside the conference this week.

Code Pink blasted the attendees as “manufacturers of some of the world’s most terror-inducing killing and spying machines,” decrying the “rapid proliferation” of drones to use in more than 75 countries.

“The companies that the drone lobby represents are some of the top campaign contributors to many politicians, especially those who are members of the ‘Drone Caucus’ in both the Senate and House,” said Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin. “As long as the weapons manufacturers are buying off our elected representatives, we can expect to be stuck in a state of perpetual war and violence. The American people deserve to know about the driving forces behind our foreign policies, which include dangerous lobbies like AUVSI.”

It’s unknown if Benjamin will be in drone costume, but the activists promise a “creative” protest.

The group is holding an anti-drone conference in November at Georgetown Law in conjunction with The Nation. The keynote speaker will be Cornel West.