May 2018
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IN THIS E-BULLETIN
OVER 1,000 ARRESTS FOR POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN ACTIONS IN 24 STATES AND D.C., MORE ACTIONS TO COME
KINGS BAY PLOWSHARES ENTER NOT GUILTY PLEAS – FOUR REMAIN IN JAIL, THREE RELEASED ON BOND TO HOUSE ARREST
TEN ARRESTS AT MOTHER’S DAY BLOCKADE AT BANGOR TRIDENT NUCLEAR SUB BASE
SIX PEOPLE ARRESTED PROTESTING NUCLEAR WAR PREPARATIONS AT HANSCOM AFB
MEMORIAL DAY ACTION AT KANSAS CITY NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANT
ARMED FORCES DAY ARRESTS AT IOWA DRONE COMMAND CENTER
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
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Over 1,000 arrests for Poor People’s Campaign actions in 24 states and D.C., more actions to come
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival launched the day after Mother’s Day with rallies and nonviolent civil disobedience at more than 30 state capitals across the United States. The Campaign revives the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign that challenged the fundamental and interconnected injustices of racism, poverty and war. To these triple evils, as King identified them, the 50th anniversary campaign has added ecological devastation as part of the common threat to humanity.
After the first three weeks of the planned six weeks of action, each highlighting facets of the Call, there are reports of over 1,000 arrests in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Each week some civil disobedience actions did not result in arrests. The largest number of arrests were reported during the May 14 action in Washington, D.C., when demonstrators occupied First Street outside the Capitol building and refused to leave. One hundred and forty-six people were cited and released.
Read more here.
Kings Bay Plowshares enter not guilty pleas – four remain in jail, three released on bond to house arrest
In early May, federal charges were handed down to the Kings Bay Plowshares: conspiracy, destruction of property on a naval station, depredation of government property and trespass. The plowshares group had been arrested on April 5 inside the Kings Bay Trident submarine base in Georgia. At their May 17 arraignment in Brunswick, Georgia federal court, the seven nuclear disarmament activists pled not guilty.
Also in court that day, bond was set for six of the seven. Fr. Steve Kelly, SJ was not offered bond due to a pending case at the Trident submarine base in Washington state. Conditions of release required that each of the six post a $50,000 surety with $5,000 cash paid ($1,000 for Carmen Trotta), be subject to home confinement, wear ankle monitors and surrender their passports. Trotta, Martha Hennessy and Patrick O’Neill chose to accept these conditions and bond out in hopes of being able to continue the work of organizing for nuclear disarmament from their home communities as they await trial. They were released from jail on May 24 and began their home confinement. Liz McAlister, Clare Grady and Mark Colville elected to continue writing, praying and organizing from the Glynn County Jail in Brunswick, Georgia, along with Kelly. A motions hearing is scheduled on August 3.
Ten arrests at Mother’s Day blockade at Bangor Trident nuclear sub base
Ten activists symbolically closed Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor for about 20 minutes when they blocked the road to the Main Gate in a nonviolent direct action on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. They held two banners across the inbound lanes reading “The Earth is our Mother, Treat Her With Respect” and “We Can All Live Without Trident”. Washington State Patrol officers briefly detained those blocking the roadway and issued them citations for “pedestrian on roadway unlawfully” before releasing them. More than forty people joined the protest at the Trident nuclear submarine base in Washington state to celebrate the true meaning of Mother’s Day, first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace.
Read more here.
Six people arrested protesting nuclear war preparations at Hanscom AFB
Six peace activists were arrested on May 27 at the gate of Hanscom Air Force Base in Lincoln, Massachusetts as they protested the role of the base in nuclear war planning. Hanscom is the location of the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3), which seeks to improve the communications system that would be used by U.S. forces in a nuclear war. About 40 activists organized by Massachusetts Peace Action assembled at the Minuteman Statue, where they participated in a flashmob in which they were “frozen” for two minutes. They then walked three miles to Hanscom. John Bach, John Schuchardt, Pat Ferrone, Laura Evans, Jerald Ross and Dan McLaughlin were arrested by the Lincoln police for trespassing as they attempted to deliver a letter protesting nuclear weapons development at Hanscom to the base commander. They were released on their own recognizance, and charges were dismissed in court two days later.
Read more here.
Memorial Day action at Kansas City nuclear weapons plant
On May 28, PeaceWorks Kansas City sponsored their 7th annual Memorial Day rally, die-in and civil resistance action at the National Security Campus in Kansas City, Missouri, where 85% of the non-nuclear components of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal is built. At the end of the three-hour witness, five people crossed the property line and were arrested, processed and released on site. Nuclear resisters Henry Stoever, Lu Mountenay, Tom Fox, Sunny Jordan Hamrick and Brian Terrell were charged with trespass. They have a July 19 court date.
Read more here.
Armed Forces Day arrests at Iowa drone command center
On May 19, Armed Forces Day, members of Veterans for Peace, Des Moines Catholic Worker and Iowa’s religious community held a rally and direct action at the Iowa Air National Guard’s Drone Command Center on the south side of Des Moines. At the conclusion of the rally, Frank Cordaro and Elliot Adams peacefully crossed the line onto the base in an act of civil disobedience and were arrested. Both spent the night in jail, pled guilty to trespass at jail court, and were fined and released the following day.
Read more here.
Please support imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists – The Nuclear Resister needs YOU!
The Nuclear Resister is a bare bones operation that depends on grassroots support to chronicle anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance, and support the women and men in prison for their acts of conscience. We need your help to continue this work – please read more here!! Or go directly here to make a secure online donation and find information about how to send a check. Each and every donation, large or small, will be gratefully received – thank you!