An American woman has been fined $6,000 for going to Iraq to serve as a human shield in a futile attempt to stop the US invasion.
The Department of the Treasury said in a letter to Ms Faith Fippinger, 62, that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war.
Her travel to Iraq violated US sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq."
She and others from 30 countries spread throughout Iraq to try to prevent the war. She spent about three months there, including time at an oil refinery.
Only about 20 of the 300 human shields were Americans, she said.
Ms Fippinger, of Sarasota, Florida, who returned home in May, has been fined at least $6,000, but has refused to pay and could face up to 12 years in prison.
"If it comes to fines or imprisonment, please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the buildup of its arsenal of weapons," Ms Fippinger wrote in her response to the charges.
She said she has no intention of paying. "Therefore, perhaps the alternative should be considered."
The government also asked Ms Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq and any financial transactions she made. In her response, she wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies.
If Ms Fippinger does not pay, the fine may increase, and the money will be drawn from her retirement pay, her Social Security cheque or any of her assets, officials said.
"She was (in Iraq) in violation of US sanctions," said Mr Taylor Griffin, a Treasury Department spokesman. "That's what happens."
PA