September/October/November 2019 IN THIS E-BULLETIN WOMAN SPENDS 12 HOURS UNDETECTED ON SCOTTISH MILITARY BASE WHERE NUCLEAR WARHEADS ARE STORED ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT VOLK FIELD MOURN CHILDREN KILLED BY DRONES HANCOCK FIELD PROTEST OF U.S. DRONE ATTACK IN AFGHANISTAN RESULTS IN SIX ARRESTS TEN ARRESTS OF PEACE ACTIVISTS AT CREECH DRONE BASE JURY […]
from The New Yorker
“When something difficult is attempted,” Daniel Berrigan said, “it is like trying to break a rock with an egg.” Berrigan, a Jesuit priest and social radical, who died in 2016, at the age of ninety-four, spent the last third of his life doing something difficult: trying, through protest, civil disobedience, and a steady stream of books and articles, to persuade the nuclear powers to abolish their arsenals. For his efforts, he was frequently called an out-of-touch extremist who changed nothing. But now, when the jousting of Donald Trump and other would-be political strongmen on the world stage are making the nuclear threat appear particularly urgent, there are signs that the Catholic Church has come around to the position that Catholic activists such as Berrigan have resolutely maintained for the past four decades.
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photo by Bob Block
by Joy First
Camp Douglas, WI – Seven peace activists walked onto the base at Volk Field on November 12, wearing black veils, carrying limp dolls and posters of children killed by drones, and reading a statement. They were arrested by Juneau County officers, handcuffed and taken to the station in Mauston, where they were cited for trespassing and released.
The action was organized by the Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars. This group of dedicated activists have been vigiling monthly at the gates of Volk Field since 2011. This is the sixth action leading to arrests at the base.
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Art Laffin speaking on the history of the Plowshares movement in Brunswick, Georgia
Plowshares activist and Catholic Worker Art Laffin is the editor (with the late Sr. Anne Montgomery) of two editions of Swords into Plowshares – Nonviolent Direct Action for Disarmament (Harper & Row, 1987 and Fortkamp, 1996). He delivered the following historical review to about 100 supporters of the Kings Bay Plowshares gathered in Brunswick, Georgia for their trial, October 21-24. His talk was also recorded on video.
Plowshares History Talk
by Art Laffin
Delivered October 22, 2019 at St. Athanasius Episcopal Church, Brunswick, GA.
This version includes some slight revisions.
I am honored to be invited to speak tonight and to share this presentation with Rosalie Riegle.
I would like to begin by thanking God for the miracle of this day, for the miracle of life and for the Kings Bay Plowshares7, for Martha, Liz, Clare, Steve, Patrick, Mark, Carmen and their families and communities, and for their amazing legal and support teams. Let’s give them all a standing ovation!!!
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The Kings Bay Plowshares receive a blessing at the Festival of Hope on the eve of their trial
A JURY FOUND THEM GUILTY, BUT TRIDENT IS THE CRIME.
Late in the afternoon of October 24, the seven members of the Kings Bay Plowshares – Martha Hennessy, Clare Grady, Elizabeth McAlister, Patrick O’Neill, Carmen Trotta, Mark Colville and Fr. Steve Kelly – were convicted by a jury in federal court in Brunswick, Georgia. The 12 person jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding the nuclear disarmament activists guilty of conspiracy, destruction of property on a Naval Station, depredation of government property and trespass. Defendants and supporters all left the courthouse singing “Rejoice in the Lord always”…. except for Fr. Steve Kelly, SJ, who was returned to the Glynn County Detention Center, where he has spent the last 18 months. Sentencing will be scheduled after pre-sentencing reports are completed.
Ralph Hutchison prepared the following summary of the four-day trial from his contemporaneous notes (followed by links to articles about the trial, please scroll to the bottom of the page).
The Trial of the Kings Bay Plowshares
by Ralph Hutchison
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