June & July 2016
IN THIS E-BULLETIN
MONTH OF BLOCKADES AT BURGHFIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS FACTORY
TWELVE PEACE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED OUTSIDE “CHRISTENING” OF ZUMWALT DESTROYER AT BATH IRON WORKS
CATHOLIC PRIEST SPLASHES RED PAINT ON DOORS AT KANSAS CITY NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANT
ACTIVISTS AT BEALE AFB ARRESTED AFTER CROSSING THE LINE
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
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Month of blockades at Burghfield nuclear weapons factory
In June, several hundred nuclear abolition activists participated in a month of coordinated blockades of England’s AWE Burghfield nuclear weapons factory. People remained in the road, at times locked together to block the gates, with police often refraining from making arrests. Daily protest and day-long sit-ins and blockades of the construction gate kept it out of use through the end of the month.
On June 7, four people, including three conscientious objectors from Finland, were arrested for obstruction after using a car to block the roadway near the main gate and locking onto it.
When women from Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp came to support the blockaders, three of them – Juliet Mcbride, Kay Tabernacle and Giulia Gigliotta – together with Angie Zelter, were detained by police for “defacing the fence” (hanging banners on it) before they were released with a summons.
On June 27, the No Faith in Trident action saw fourteen members of Christian peace groups block all three entrances to AWE Burghfield using super glue and arm tubes. After two hours, police removed locking devices and arrested five people at one gate, while clearing another without making arrests.
A Scottish woman was arrested early in the morning of June 28 as she painted “No More Deadly Convoys” in the road leading to the main gate, referring to the nuclear warheads that are moved on public roads and through cities from Burghfield to Coulport in Scotland.
Read more here.
Catholic priest splashes red paint on doors at Kansas City nuclear weapons plant
Early in the morning of July 4, 82-year-old Fr. Carl Kabat, OMI splashed red paint on the doors of the Administration Building at the National Security Campus (NSC) in Kansas City, Missouri. The facility makes, orders and assembles 85% of the non-nuclear parts for U.S. nuclear weapons. Asked why he defaced the doors, Kabat replied, “That place is bloody, and it was red paint —bright red paint.”
He was quickly detained by security guards and then placed in custody by police, who estimated that he had done about $600 worth of damage with the oil-based paint. Released before noon, Kabat was ordered to appear in Courtroom C of the Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court at 9 a.m. on Monday, August 15, for two ordinance violations: trespassing after earlier being told not to return to the NSC site, and knowingly doing damage there.
Read more here.
Twelve peace activists arrested outside “christening” of Zumwalt destroyer at Bath Iron Works
On June 18, the day of the “christening” of the $4 billion Zumwalt stealth destroyer, peace activists protested outside of Bath Iron Works in Maine. Twelve of them were arrested after shutting down the street in front of the shipyard just as the Navy crew was entering to attend the event. They told the media that they wanted to “interrupt the celebration of endless war and corporate profit” going on inside. The dozen men and women were charged with obstructing a public way, and will be arraigned in West Bath District Court on August 2.
A police officer told one of the arrestees, “You all are the conscience of the community.”
Read more here.
Activists at Beale AFB arrested after crossing the line
On June 28, seven northern California peace activists crossed the military base boundary line, one after the other, in an extended interruption of “business as usual” at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, California. Just prior to the arrests, activists had hung a yellow Crime Scene tape across the roadway leading into the base. The Global Hawk surveillance drone is actively involved in the drone assassination program, used as a tool to identify and track potential targets. As each activist prepared to cross the line, they read aloud to nearby military personnel parts of the story of a taxi driver who was killed in May while unknowingly transporting a high level U.S. drone target. After crossing the line, they were handcuffed, loaded onto a military bus and taken to the “processing building” on base property.
Chris Nelson received an additional charge of “assaulting, resisting, or impeding….an officer” when she refused to leave protester Toby Blome alone on the bus after overhearing the military police mention they intended to isolate Blome. The day before, activist Michael Kerr was also briefly detained, handcuffed, and cited at the Doolittle gate. He had been crossing back and forth at the intersection with his “Muslim Lives Matter” sign in order to remain nearby while Blome was speaking with security personnel.
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-war 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!