Michael D. Prysner (born June 15, 1983) is an American socialist
political activist. He is a
U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq as a specialist.[1][2] His duties in Iraq included ground surveillance, home raids, and interrogation of prisoners. According to Prysner, these experiences led him to take an anti-war stance.[3]
Prysner is the co-founder of March Forward!, an organization of active-duty members of the U.S. military and veterans of the
Iraq and
Afghanistan wars that encourages active-duty service personnel to resist deployment and seek an
honorable discharge by being a
conscientious objector.[6][8][9]
In March 2008, Prysner was a member of a panel discussing the topic Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan in
Maryland.[10][11] He spoke about his time in Iraq as a soldier and his personal views about the two wars.[10] This address became known as the "Our Real Enemies" speech.[citation needed]
In November 2011, Prysner was arrested in
Occupy Los Angeles.[16] He was released after posting bail.[17]
On September 19, 2021, Prysner interrupted former U.S. President
George W. Bush's speech in
Beverly Hills, California.[18][19] He demanded an apology for lying about weapons of mass destruction, connections to
9/11, and causing the deaths of a million Iraqis. He also stated "You sent me to Iraq." and "My friends are dead because you lied."[19]
Prysner is a producer and co-writer for the program The Empire Files, with his wife
Abby Martin.[20][8] English-language
Telesur canceled the show in 2018,[21] and it later moved to a web publishing model. Prysner, Martin, and other Telesur contract journalists had their funding blocked by the application of
United States sanctions against Venezuela.[21] Academic Stuart Davis cites the cancellation as an example of how United States sanctions hamper public funding of media production in Venezuela.[21]