The Nuclear Resister networks the anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance movement while acting as a clearinghouse for information about contemporary nonviolent resistance to war and the nuclear threat. Our emphasis is on support for the women and men jailed for these actions. This blog is the online companion to the quarterly Nuclear Resister newsletter, a more comprehensive chronicle.
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On Saturday, May 20, the 9th day of a continuous vigil and picket line at the entrance of the Iowa Air National Guard 132nd Drone Command Center in Des Moines, the Des Moines Catholic Workers and the Bill Basinger Des Moines Chapter of Veterans for Peace hosted the “Honor the Dead – Stop the Killing Arms Forces Day” Ezekiel 33 Watchman’s Witness.
Twelve protesters were present. The Iowa National Guard security and Des Moines police were ready for more, and the National Guard security had already closed down the main gate. This allowed the activists to set up on the drive in front of the closed Command Center entrance gate. Some of them shared reflections, including Gil Landolt and Ed Bloomer.
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Chelsea Manning @xychelsea
Here’s to freedom and a new beginning. https://www.instagram.com/p/BUNp_YDB54-/?taken-by=xychelsea87 … #chelseaisfree
from The Guardian
American army private is free after serving seven years of 35-year sentence for leaking classified documents and videos downloaded to WikiLeaks
Chelsea Manning, the army private who released a vast trove of US state secrets and was punished by the US military for months in penal conditions denounced by the UN as torture, has been released from a military prison in Kansas after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence.
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Photo by Julia Moras
In Germany, where nonviolent political blockades have been mostly decriminalized, an anti-nuclear activist who refused to pay a record €1650 fine has gone to jail instead.
In 2012, Hanna Poddig and others blocked a uranium transport train. The action was part of an international campaign targeting the production of uranium reactor fuel that involves several facilities across Europe. The train was forced to return to the fuel fabrication plant in Gronau. The Gronau plant has supplied fuel rods for a tritium production reactor in South Carolina, a direct link between civilian and military nuclear programs.
On May 11, Hanna Poddig turned herself in to the jail at Hildesheim, where she could serve up to 110 days in lieu of the fine.
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photo by Karol Milner
from the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Fifty-five people were present on May 13, the day before Mother’s Day, at the demonstration against Trident nuclear weapons at the Bangor submarine base. Fourteen demonstrators attempted to block the main highway entrance into the base and were cited by the Washington State Patrol.
At around 3:30 p.m., six demonstrators entered the highway carrying a large banner stating, “THE EARTH IS OUR MOTHER—TREAT HER WITH RESPECT”, and briefly blocked traffic at the Main Gate at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. They were removed from the highway by the Washington State Patrol.
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April 26 highway blockade, Photo by Jerry Monroe Maynard
Drone warfare resisters gathered for the 3rd annual Shut Down Creech actions, April 23-29. Activists from across the United States joined daily themed vigils at the gate of Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, while two blockades shut down non-emergency traffic on Nevada State Highway 95, the main road leading from Las Vegas to the rural air base where lethal missions are remotely piloted for the Pentagon and CIA. Complementing the nonviolent actions were evening educational programs in Las Vegas, including one featuring two Air Force whistleblowers who worked in the drone program. A commercial aired on Las Vegas TV stations during the week, urging that drone pilots “refuse to fly.”
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photo of Good Friday, 2014 action at Lockheed Martin
from the Brandywine Peace Community
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On Good Friday, April 14, Catholic Workers and other anti-nuclear activists went to the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada nuclear Test Site) for a nuclear stations of the cross organized by the Las Vegas Catholic Worker. A nonviolent action at the boundary line of the site led to the arrests of four women and three men. They were processed and released on site.
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Photo by Lin Romano
by Art Laffin
From Holy Thursday afternoon to Good Friday afternoon, some 20 friends gathered in Washington, D.C. for a Faith and Resistance retreat and public witness that was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and held at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church. Those who participated in the retreat/witness included members of Jonah House, the Atlantic Life Community and students from Loras College from Iowa. The theme of the retreat was: “Standing With the Crucified–Stop Crucifixion Today.” Holy Thursday was a day of reflection, sharing, action planning and Liturgy. Good Friday was a day of public witness.
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Photo by Mark Coplan
Early in the morning on Good Friday, April 14, more than 100 peace activists gathered at Livermore nuclear weapons Lab in California. They walked in a Stations of the Cross procession to the Lab’s west gate. Twenty-nine participants of various ages and faith traditions were arrested after crossing onto Lab property. They were given a court date of May 15 to appear in county court in Fremont.
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Nevada nuclear test site, Photo by Wendy Doetkott Rogan
from the Nevada Desert Experience
The Nevada Desert Experience held its 23rd annual Sacred Peace Walk (SPW), which happens every year during Holy Week. On Saturday, April 8, the SPW began at the Atomic Testing Museum, and continued through the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street. The Maundy Thursday finale for the interfaith group on April 13 was a foot washing ceremony at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), followed by a prayer-action at the white line on the public road leading into the nuclear test site. Sixteen people were arrested by Nye County sheriffs. The NNSS continues to receive shipments of so-called low-level nuclear waste. Since the site is on Western Shoshone land, the prayer-activists carried Shoshone permits granting them the right to be present at the NNSS.
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