Luke Rudkowski on 9/11 First Responders - Hours before being Arrested for advocating for their Health



On March 28th, while on location in New York City, we had the opportunity to speak with Luke Rudkowski, founder of We Are Change, about his thoughts on 9/11 First Responder health issues. Luke and the other members of We Are Change NY regularly gather at Ground Zero to speak about a number of 9/11 related issues. One of those issues is the health care crisis which now faces tens of thousands of 9/11 First Responders.

There is no question that Luke Rudkowski is a passionate advocate for 9/11 First Responders and his organization has raised tens of thousands of dollars to benefit them. While considered "extreme" by some in his efforts to raise issues about 9/11 related issues, their is no doubt that Rudkowski has had a broad reaching effect through his activism. We Are Change has grown from a single small grassroots organization in New York to one with membership chapters across the United States and many foreign countries. Through their ongoing efforts to educate and inform the public at large, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have learned about the health issues now facing 9/11 First Responders.

The excerpts of our interview above were shot just hours before Luke Rudkowski and two additional members of We Are Change were arrested for attempting to question NYC Mayor Bloomberg about his position on 9/11 First Responder health care and related legislation now pending before the Congress of the United States. Rudkowski is a regular contributing reporter to a number of web based media outlets and had intended to release his interview findings for broadcast on those outlets thereby reaching a potential audience of millions. For his efforts at exercising his First Amendment Rights, Rudkowski and the others were arrested on charges of criminal trespass and impersonating reporters. The cameras and video evidence they had gathered to document their press related efforts were confiscated at the time of their arrest.

You can find out more about Luke's arrest and what lead up to it by tuning into his Live Web cast at http://www.wearechange.org/ on Sunday, April 5th, at 4pm Eastern Time. Among several topics on the show, he plans to discuss the latest developments related to the March 28th arrest.

We will also continue to follow this story and update regularly on new developments.

Until later and with warm regards,

Brian Johnson
Filmmaker

Posted by Three Weeks In September at 4/5/2009 1:36 AM
Categories: uncategorized

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  • 4/6/2009 7:40 AM Maria wrote:
    I cannot believe that Luke and his colleagues were arrested for trying to ask a question to Bloomberg??! What country are we living in? this is not supposed to happen in America! It's outrageous! They have a right to ask questions. What these sick responders and others are facing is a horrible situation. My brother-in-law Vito, a NYPD detective and 9/11 responder /recovery worker, luckily is not as ill as these victims, but some of his colleagues from the documentary I made about him are now. I can't believe how long it's taken to get this bill passed. These people do not deserve to be treated this way by our government. Unbelievably, most of these brave men/women say they would do it again, they're "just doing their job." Their humble, heroic nature is inherent. Also, what is being done to protect first responders in the future? They need to be protected! Is anything being done to enact -- and enforce -- stricter regulations to protect responders who are working in toxic conditions? Rcovery workers' lives should not be put at risk to recover the deceased. VITO AFTER is a rare look into the heart and soul of an everyday hero as he and his colleagues cope in the aftermath of their 9/11 rescue and recovery work. for more info: www.vitoafter.com
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  • 4/8/2009 1:02 AM Brian Johnson wrote:
    Maria,

    Thank you for your comment. It is unfortunate that this seems to have been the case in Luke's arrest.

    I too have found that most of the First Responders I've spoken to would also "Do it again". This unshakable spirit and remnant of all that was once right in our nation is yet another reason we must not fail in carrying this message forward about the nature of these brave men and womens' continuing sacrifice. Thank you for your important work on this issue, and I pray that Vito continues to remain in good health.

    Truly,

    Brian Johnson
    Filmmaker
    Reply to this
  • 6/9/2009 6:33 AM Income protection wrote:
    Hey I can't believe how long it's taken to get this bill passed. These people do not deserve to be treated this way by our government.
    Income protection
    Reply to this
  • 6/15/2009 5:25 PM Brian Johnson wrote:
    Dear Visitors,

    Due to recent entries in our blog that are purely being made for the sake of harassment, I have decided to add comments only after approval for their content.

    This website has been designed to help promote 9/11 First Responder health issues. It is not a conspiracy website, and we are not interested in discussing those issues in this venue. There are plenty of other sites around the web where one can do that.

    Thank you for your understanding.

    Until further notice, comments will be posted only after they have been reviewed, so please keep those comments on the issues related to responder health.

    Thank you,

    Brian Johnson
    Filmmaker
    Three Weeks In September
    Reply to this
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