April 2015
IN THIS E-BULLETIN
NUCLEAR ABOLITIONISTS BLOCK DOORS TO THE U.S. MISSION TO THE U.N., 22 ARRESTED
SIXTEEN ARRESTED STOPPING TRAFFIC AT BUSY MAIN GATE OF CALIFORNIA DRONE BASE
MAN ARRESTED FOR LANDING NUCLEAR PROTEST DRONE ON JAPAN PRIME MINISTER’S RESIDENCE
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON EARTH DAY AT PENTAGON
FASLANE NUCLEAR WEAPONS BASE BLOCKADE RESULTS IN 34 ARRESTS
TWENTY-TWO ANTI-NUCLEAR PROTESTERS WALKED INTO NEVADA NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST SITE, WERE ARRESTED
SEVEN PEACE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON GOOD FRIDAY AT LOCKHEED MARTIN
THREE SACRED PEACE WALKERS ARRESTED BLOCKING ROAD AT CREECH AIR FORCE BASE
SEVEN PEOPLE ARRESTED DURING GOOD FRIDAY WITNESS AT THE PENTAGON
ARRESTS AS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS CONFRONT FINLAND’S LATEST NUCLEAR PROJECT
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
Nuclear abolitionists block doors to the U.S. Mission to the U.N.; 22 arrested
As the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review meetings got underway at the U.N., sixty nuclear abolition activists rallied at the Isaiah Wall near the United Nations on April 27 before marching to the U.S. Mission to the U.N. They held a long banner in front of the main entrance which read, “Shadows and Ashes: All That Remain”. Some of the group circled around the city block, and sat on the sidewalk in front of the side entrance with signs that read “Sit-In For Survival” and “Abolish All Nuclear Weapons Now”. Twenty-two people were arrested. They were processed and released with two disorderly conduct summons.
Read more here.
Arrestee John LaForge writes on CounterPunch, “Arresting the Wrong Suspects”
Sixteen arrested stopping traffic at busy main gate of California drone base
Sixteen people – including a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, military veterans and clergy members – were arrested early in the morning of April 28 at the main gate to a drone operations center at Beale Air Force Base in California. Several protestors were in tears as the names and ages of children killed by U.S. drones were read aloud. All were released, and will be arraigned in U.S. Federal Court on misdemeanor trespassing charges.
Read more here.
Man arrested for landing nuclear protest drone on Japan Prime Minister’s residence
A man was arrested on Saturday, April 25 in Japan for allegedly flying the drone found earlier in the week on the roof of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official residence. Yasuo Yamamoto, from Obama, Japan, went to the Fukui Prefectural Police on Friday evening, April 24 and said he landed the drone on the rooftop of the prime minister’s office to protest the government’s nuclear energy policy. He was quoted as saying that he had put sand from Fukushima Prefecture into a plastic bottle and attached it to the drone.
Read more here.
Climate activists arrested on Earth Day at Pentagon
More than thirty activists gathered at the Pentagon on Earth Day, April 22 in a protest organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR). A Pentagon official in the office of Ashton Carter, Secretary of Defense, came out to accept a copy of a letter sent to his boss requesting a meeting to discuss the Pentagon’s role in climate chaos. Since there was no indication that a meeting would actually take place, eight activists refused to depart. They were arrested and charged with failure to obey a lawful order. They’re scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on June 4.
Read more here.
Faslane nuclear weapons base blockade results in 34 arrests
Nuclear disarmament activists protested at the UK’s nuclear weapons base at Faslane in Scotland on April 13, successfully blocking the gates for the day starting at 7 a.m. Many workers, who had been queued up in buses in nearby Helensburgh, were sent home. Thirty-four people were arrested and charged with breach of the peace for lying in the gateways, or malicious mischief for painting. At 3 p.m., the protesters who remained ended the blockade voluntarily and held a closing ceremony at the base’s north gate.
Read more here.
Twenty-two anti-nuclear protesters walked into Nevada nuclear weapons test site, were arrested
Twenty-two people were arrested on Good Friday, April 3 at the Nevada nuclear test site. The activists, from eight different U.S. states and Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, had crossed over the cattle guard that marks the boundary of the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site).
The action marked the culmination of the annual Sacred Peace Walk, which began on March 29, Palm Sunday. It is organized each year by the Nevada Desert Experience, a 33-year-old faith-based group. About a dozen of the group of 50 or so walkers, including Buddhist monks and nuns, were part of several legs of a walk taking place in different parts of the U.S. on the way to the United Nations in New York City for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference.
Read more here.
Seven peace activists arrested on Good Friday at Lockheed Martin
Seven activists were arrested following a Good Friday Stations of Justice, Peace, and Nonviolent Resistance at Lockheed Martin in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. After each station and accompanying reading, a large wooden cross was hammered next to the main driveway entrance, into the ground next to the large wooden sign reading, against the backdrop of the Lockheed Martin logo, ‘We’re Making A Killing’.”
At the 12th Station (Jesus Dies on the Cross), as a bell tolled, seven people stood across the main driveway entrance with a long banner and a large cross draped with an earth flag. Stepping across the property line of the world’s #1 war profiteer, the group was arrested after refusing to leave. They were handcuffed and taken to the Upper Merion police station, and released on disorderly conduct citations.
Read more here.
Three Sacred Peace Walkers arrested blocking road at Creech Air Force Base
On April 1, about 40 people participating in the annual Sacred Peace Walk went to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. After some of the group entered the public roadway into Creech, Clark County Metro Police redirected traffic to the West Gate a mile away. After a five-minute warning, three of the activists were arrested when they continued praying in the roadway. The prayer-action was in response to the peace and justice violations committed by the U.S. Air Force at Creech, including regular assassinations by drone at the behest of the CIA. Judy Kehr, Joan Monastero and Marcus Page-Collonge have a court date in Las Vegas City Court on May 20.
Read more here.
Seven people arrested during Good Friday witness at the Pentagon
On Good Friday, a nonviolent public witness was held at the Pentagon as part of the annual Holy Week Faith and Resistance retreat. As hundreds of Pentagon employees streamed into work and with numerous police on hand, seven activists remained on the Pentagon sidewalk (where they are subject to arrest) and held an “adoration of the cross” before a small cross with the inscription: “2015– Suffering Humanity.” The rest of the group proceeded into the designated “protest zone.” A huge banner that said “U.S. Empire Crucifies Humanity” was displayed on the grassy slope overlooking the metro entrance. After about ten minutes, those who were praying on the sidewalk were arrested, taken to the Pentagon Police processing center, and released after several hours.
Read more here.
Arrests as climate activists confront Finland’s latest nuclear project
Before permits have been issued for the Pyhäjoki (Holy River) nuclear power plant in Finland, contractors newly hired for their willingness to proceed nevertheless rushed in April to resume clearing dense forest habitat at Hanhikivi, a remote headlands on the northern Gulf of Bothnia. Anti-nuclear activists were arrested when they responded with a protest at the contractor’s main office in Helsinki, interfering with operation of the construction equipment at the site, locking down to logging equipment and blocking the road.
Read more here.
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