February/March 2016
IN THIS E-BULLETIN
MAN ARRESTED AFTER FLYING “PEACE DRONE” OVER PREDATOR DRONE ON DISPLAY AT DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR SHOW
PAIR ARRESTED FOR ENTERING DRONE BASE WITH LOAF OF BREAD
SEVEN PACIFIC LIFE COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE
PEACE WALKERS ARRESTED AT CREECH DRONE WAR BASE AND NEVADA NUCLEAR TEST SITE
FOUR ARRESTED DURING GOOD FRIDAY WITNESS AT PENTAGON
BUSTED FOR PEACE AT BEALE AIR FORCE BASE
BLOCKADE BY ANTI-NUCLEAR GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS IN FRANCE
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
Man arrested after flying “peace drone” over Predator drone on display at Davis-Monthan air show
On March 13, Sam Yergler went to the Thunder and Lightening Over Arizona air show at Davis Monthan drone base in Tucson. When he found the Predator drone on display, he entered the roped off area surrounding it and flew his own small “peace drone” over it. He told people nearby, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a peace drone. Do not be afraid, unlike the Reaper Drone it will not kill innocent civilians. Unlike the Reaper Drone, it is not involved in three illegal wars in Somalia, in Pakistan, or in Yemen.” He was detained on the tarmac for several hours, had a conversation with an FBI agent (who told Sam he’d be calling in the future) and received a 90 day ban and bar letter before being released. Two friends who accompanied him as observers were also given 90 day ban and bar letters.
Read more here.
Pair arrested for entering drone base with loaf of bread
On February 23, two peace activists with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Brian Terrell and Kathy Kelly, were arrested when they attempted to deliver a loaf of bread and a letter to drone operators at Volk Field, an Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin which trains pilots to operate Shadow Drones over other countries. Voices activists have lived alongside ordinary people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Gaza. People who can’t flee from drone surveillance and attacks have good reason to fear people from the U.S., but instead they have broken bread with Kelly and Terrell and have welcomed opportunities for deepened mutual understanding. Kelly and Terrell carried the loaf of bread to signify the worth of relying on words rather than weapons.
Read more here.
Seven Pacific Life Community activists arrested at Vandenberg Air Force Base
On Sunday, March 6, seven members of the Pacific Life Community were arrested on trespass charges after crossing the line onto California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. Elizabeth Murray, Charley Smith, Ed Ehmke, Mary Jane Parrine, Jorge Manly-Gil, Karan Benton and Tom Webb walked arm in arm toward the row of soldiers barring their entrance to the base. When the soldiers refused their request to take a letter to the base commander, the activists took turns reading the letter aloud, passing it along to the next in line as each had their hands drawn behind their backs to be handcuffed:
Today we cross the line because we believe that actions inside Vandenberg Air Force Base have crossed the line – the line of regard for our fellow human beings. We refer to the regular launchings of Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) from Vandenberg Air Base, which land on the occupied territory of the Marshall Islands. These ICBMs contribute to the further poisoning of the air, land and waters surrounding the Marshall islands, whose people continue to suffer terribly from a legacy of U.S. government nuclear testing on their formerly pristine paradise….We appeal to you to follow a higher law – that of your conscience – and refuse to send more missiles into the Pacific. Instead, we urge you to join us in calling for a permanent U.S. withdrawal from the Marshall Islands, including provision of fair and just compensation for a people deeply wronged by misguided U.S. policies.
Read more here.
Peace walkers arrested at Creech drone war base and Nevada nuclear test site
On the morning of March 23, four women and four men were arrested while protesting drones in the roadway leading to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. Vera Anderson, Rev. Carolyn Metzler, Gilberto Perez, Susan Dillon, Peacemaker Boy, George Killingsworth, Marcus Collonge and Catherine Hourcade were arrested by Metro police and charged with being a “pedestrian in roadway”. All were then released on site. The group was part of the Sacred Peace Walk, which was half-way through their pilgrimage to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS, formerly the Nevada Test Site).
Fifty peace walkers and supporters were at the nuclear test site a couple of days later, on Good Friday, March 25. They participated in an Indigenous Sunrise Ceremony, Christian liturgy and Good Friday Nuclear Stations of the Cross ceremony before eleven women and ten men were arrested by Nye County sheriffs after crossing the line (in this case, a cattle guard) into the Nevada National Security Site.
Read more here.
Four arrested during Good Friday witness at Pentagon
[Reports of additional Good Friday arrests, at Livermore Lab and Lockheed Martin in Pennsylvania, will appear in the June 1 issue of the comprehensive print edition of the Nuclear Resister.]
On the morning of March 25, Good Friday, about 25 activists who were in Washington, D.C. for a Faith and Resistance retreat went to the Pentagon for a nonviolent public witness. The group walked to the police designated protest zone with signs and small crosses with the names of different victims in our society and world written on them. As hundreds of Pentagon employees streamed into work and numerous police were on hand, four of the group remained on the Pentagon sidewalk (where protesters are subject to arrest) and processed toward the building carrying a cross with the inscription: “Suffering Humanity – 2016,” and a sign that said “Put Away the Sword.” Surprisingly, they were not immediately stopped by police and they were able to go halfway down the sidewalk before they were arrested about ten minutes later. Libby Johnson, Felton Davis, Sr. Ardeth Platte and Sr. Carol Gilbert were arrested, taken to the Pentagon Police processing center, and released after several hours. They were charged with “failure to comply with a lawful order” and given a violation notice to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia on May 19, 2016.
Read more here.
Busted for peace at Beale Air Force Base
Seven peace activists were arrested early in the morning of March 8 at the Wheatland gate of Beale Air Force Base in California while protesting the Global Hawk drone mission of the base. The group had blocked a long line of incoming cars before crossing over the white line onto base property. They were then handcuffed and taken inside the base for processing, where they were cited for trespassing on a federal installation and released about 90 minutes later.
One of those arrested, Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, told the soldiers that he had lived on the base for several years when his dad was stationed there before joining the Air Force himself. He shared with the soldiers that when he was stationed at nearby Travis Air Force Base, the anti-war protests inside and outside the base transformed him into the peace activist that he remains today.
Read more here.
Blockade by anti-nuclear Greenpeace activists in France
On the morning of February 12, Greenpeace activists stopped a truck near Caen, France that carried the head of the vessel of the EPR nuclear reactor under construction at Flamanville. Thirteen activists were arrested and held in custody for a few hours. They were charged with obstructing traffic.
The group managed to reach the vehicle despite police surveillance. Two of them chained themselves to the roof of the truck, while the others locked on underneath the vehicle. They were protesting the installation of the cover, which was found to have an abnormality, as well as investments in the nuclear industry.
Read more here.
Please support imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists – The Nuclear Resister needs YOU!
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