Los Angeles Catholic Worker Photo
from the Los Angeles Catholic Worker
On Saturday, August 5, the Los Angeles Catholic Worker joined the Guadalupe Catholic Worker and others in a prayerful witness at Vandenberg Air Force Base commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and calling for the elimination of ICBM missile testing, nuclear weapons, and U.S. imperial war-making.
Three Los Angeles Catholic Workers – Jeff Dietrich, Mike Wisniewski, and Karan Benton – were faced with arrest for “ban and bar” violations if they did not immediately leave the protest area. (They had each received ban and bar letters after previous arrests at the base.) Jeff and Mike chose to leave rather than face arrest, while Karan refused to leave. She was immediately arrested, cited for trespass and later released facing a future court date and certain jail time.
The witness continued for an hour and a half before gathering for a closing prayer and dispersal.