Photo by Ming Lai
From the Nye County Sheriff’s Office
SUSPECTS:
Robert Majors, Richard Lai, Brian Terrell, Darcy Ike, Laura Taylor
CHARGES:
NRS 207.200 – Trespassing
DETAILS:
On Saturday, January 27, 2018, Nevada Desert Experience and Western Shoshone Tribe conducted a peaceful protest at the boundary of the Nevada National Security Site. The protest was to bring awareness to January 27 being “National Down Winders” day.
At about 2 pm, 15 people marched to the “cattle guard” boundary on Mercury Highway where a short prayer and protest occurred. After arriving and conducting their protest, five adults crossed the boundary where they were subsequently arrested for trespassing.
After the protest was concluded, all five adults were issued citations and released where they immediately exited the NNSS property.
The protest was peaceful with no force or violence occurred.
xxx
NewsReleaseAtomicScientistsDownwindersDay
26 January 2018 NEWS RELEASE
ATOMIC SCIENTISTS INSPIRE NONVIOLENT COMMITMENT DOWNWINDERS DAY 2018 IS TIME TO RE-COMMIT TO PEACE
WHO: Concerned civilians and clergy who care about nuclear disruptions
WHAT: Prayer service to heal from radioactive contamination
WHEN: Saturday the 27th of January at 1:00 PM (2 days after 2-minute warning)
WHERE: US Highway 95 at the Mercury, NV Exit, 60 miles from Las Vegas
WHY: Two days after the two-minute warning from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists a group of Christians and others will come to pray at the US nuclear weapons test site on behalf of victims of nuclearism. The date of January 27th is the 67th anniversary of nuclear bomb testing in Nevada, inspiring the probability of ritual civil disobedience as a handful of prayer-activists bring their nonviolent peace-prayers to the NNSS (Nevada National Security Site, formerly known as the Nevada Test Site). Atomic scientists recognize the global movement towards “doomsday” in their clock announcement of January 25th
( https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2018/01/25/atomic-‘doomsday-clock’-ticks-closer-midnight/109803198 ) magnifying the urgency for the end of nuclearism. The civilians and clergy hope the sacrifice of downwinders will not be forgotten, that the injuries and deaths suffered due to NNSS tests will be respected through the ending of “nuclear terrorism conducted by President Trump,” according to one prayer-activist.
“Citizens in the USA have a special responsibility to reverse the momentum for nuclear doomsday, so that’s why my friends will be risking arrest at the hands of Nye County Sheriffs tomorrow,” said Marc Collonge of Calaveras County, CA, “prayer-actions at this historic and active site of brutal disrespect for our ecosphere are needed now, more than ever.” Collonge has been arrested at the NNSS 20 times for participating in such rituals in the past 20 years.
In 2011 the US Government declared January 27th a day to honor Americans exposed to atomic weapons tests and on-the-job radiological hazards experienced at uranium mines. This commemorative day is “Downwinders Day” as the Utahns know it, partly because of this US legislative amendment to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to provide expanded restitution for such survivors, including survivors from Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Guam.
In 1951 the NNSS was simply called the Nevada Proving Ground, operated by the Atomic Energy Commission, which later became the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.). In this century the Nevada Test Site became known as the NNSS, as the focus from nuclear energy detonations expanded to other nuclear weapons enabling tasks and jobs.
###
Photo by Ming Lai