Kings Bay Plowshares
The Kings Bay Plowshares are a group of seven Catholic peace activists who broke into the
Kings Bay Naval Base is the home port to Submarine Squadron 20, with at least five Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, each of which is capable of carrying 24 Trident II missiles with nuclear weapons.
Action
On April 4, 2018, the group, dressed in black, cut a hole in a security fence and entered the naval base while singing and praying, and recording the action with body cams. They hung a banner that read "The Ultimate Logic of Trident: Omnicide", attached a poster of Martin Luther King Jr. to a model of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile, festooned the area with crime-scene tape, spray-painted "Love One Another" on the pavement, pounded a display of a Tomahawk missile with a hammer, and poured their own blood on an official seal of the base. One of them left an indictment against the United States, another left a copy of Daniel Ellsberg’s 2017 book “The Doomsday Machine", and a third read Pope Francis’s statement denouncing nuclear weapons.[3]
The activists were willingly arrested two hours after entering the base. They were jailed and charged with conspiracy, destruction of government property, depredation of a naval installation, and trespassing. Four of them were released on bail after two months, the other three remained in jail for more than a year.
Trial
On October 21, 2019 the group went before a jury in a U.S. District Court in
The seven were barred from citing their religious motivations in their defense. Judge
On October 24, 2019, a federal grand jury found the seven guilty on three felony counts and a misdemeanor charge.[5]
- Carmen Trotta
- Patrick O'Neill
- Elizabeth McAlister[6]
- Steve Kelly
- Martha Hennessy
- Clare Grady[7]
- Mark Colville
References
- ^ "Longtime Anti-Nuclear Activists Face Prison, Again, After Breaking Into Naval Base". NPR.org.
- ^ Elie, Paul. "The Pope and Catholic Radicals Come Together Against Nuclear Weapons". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b Husseini, Sam (October 31, 2019). "Religious Beliefs Are Struck Down as Defense for Nuclear Protest" – via www.thenation.com.
- ^ Steecker, Matt (2019-10-25). "Kings Bay Plowshares 7 found guilty in Georgia naval base protest". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ^ Remedios, Jesse (2019-10-25). "Kings Bay Plowshares activists found guilty of all charges". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ^ "Peace Activist Liz McAlister Sentenced to Time Served for Breaking into Nuclear Sub Base in Georgia". Democracy Now!.
- ^ Magliozzi, Devon (2019-04-10). "Local anti-nuclear activist awaits federal trial from her West Hill home". The Ithaca Voice. Retrieved 2020-12-28.