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Cronology of Plowshares actions / Plogbillsaktioner i världen
This chronology is compiled by Art Laffin in February 1996 and briefly
describes each of the plowshares and disarmament actions and the trials and
sentences each person received.
NUCLEAR NAVY PLOWSHARES: On Easter Sunday, April 3, 1988, Philip
Berrigan of Jonah House (and original Plowshares 8); Andrew Lawrence of the
Community for Creative Non-Violence; Sr. Margaret McKenna, a Doctor of
Theology and member of the Medical Mission Sisters in Philadelphia; and Greg
Boertje, former Army officer and member of Trident II Pruning Hooks and
Epiphany Plowshares; boarded the battleship Iowa at Norfolk Naval Station in
Virginia. The four boarded the battleship as part of a public tour greeting
the vessel on its return from service in the Persian Gulf. The four disarmed
two armored box launchers for the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, hammering and
pouring blood, and unfurled two banners: Seek the Disarmed Christ, and
Tomahawks Into Plowshares. The four worked for two or three minutes before
they were seen by security. When ordered to stop they did so: a "security
alert" was sounded and the pier was vacated of all but naval personnel.
Hundreds of people had come on Easter Sunday to visit the USS Iowa and the USS
America which was also on display. Tours of both vessels were shut down.
Andrew, Greg, Margaret and Phil were held for some time at the Naval Base,
questioned by the FBI and then transported by the FBI to Virginia Beach. They
appeared in court on April 4, were charged with criminal trespass - a charge
which does not entitle defendants to a jury trial. Because of Greg’s status
as a fugitive (stemming from his non-appearance at the sentencing for the
Epiphany Plowshares) he was held on $25,000 bond. Though the others were
offered a personal recognizance bond, they refused this bond as an act of
solidarity with Greg. They were tried before a U.S. Magistrate on May 19, 1988
at the Norfolk Virginia Federal Court and convicted of trespass. In an effort
to diffuse courtroom support, the sentencing of the 4 was set on different
days during July 1989. Margaret was sentenced to time served (over 3 months),
2 years probation and 240 hours community service and prohibited from entering
any military installation during her probation. She was then released. Andrew
received a 4 month sentence. Greg and Phil each received the maximum sentence
of 6 months. In March 1989 Margaret received a 4 month jail sentence for
refusing to cooperate with the conditions of her probation. However she was
credited with the time she already served before trial and ordered to jail for
20 days.
* * *
KAIROS PLOWSHARES: In the pre-dawn hours of June 26, 1988 Kathleen
Maire, a Franciscan sister of Allegheny, NY; Jack Marth, a member of POTS
(Part of the Solution) in the Bronx, NY; Sr. Anne Montgomery, a participant in
three previous plowshares actions; and Christine Mulready, member of the
Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, NY; approached the Trident submarine, USS
Pennsylvania at EB in Groton, CT, with the intent of carrying out a symbolic
act of disarmament. Paddling against the current in the midst of a fast
approaching storm, they were spotted in their rubber rafts in the Thames River
by EB security before reaching the Trident. Apprehended by EB security, they
were held overnight in jail. They were arraigned on charges of trespass,
conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, and criminal intent and fined $40 for
failure to use a light on their raft. They were released on a PTA and the
charges were eventually dropped.
* * *
KAIROS PLOWSHARES TOO: On August 1, 1988 Kathleen Maire and Anne
Montgomery, continued their Kairos plowshares process by entering the EB
facility in Quonset Point, RI, where they hammered and poured blood on Trident
submarine parts. They held a banner which read: "Trident D-5 Into
Plowshares" and were quickly apprehended. They were charged with
malicious mischief and trespass and then released on a PTA. On September 27
they were tried by a judge in S. Kingston, RI. In a trial that lasted only 90
minutes, they were convicted by the judge of the above charges. They were
sentenced to 6 months supervised probation and ordered to pay $250 in
restitution for the fence they cut. After Kathy and Anne told the judge that,
for reasons of conscience, they wouldn't pay the restitution or cooperate with
probation, he changed their probation to "unsupervised" and fined
them $250. To date they have not paid the finE.
* * *
CREDO PLOWSHARES: On September 20, 1988 Marcia Timmel, of the
Plowshares #4, mother and member of the Olive Branch Catholic Worker in
Washington, D.C., entered the Sheraton-Washington hotel in D.C. - site of the
Air Force Association Arms Bazaar. Once inside she hammered and poured blood
on a Textron Defense System (TDS) MX missile display, thereby dismantling it,
and was subsequently arrested. She left at the site a statement decrying the
blasphemous theme of the Arms Bazaar, "Freedom: A Creed To Believe
In," and issued her own creed (credo) of life, faith and love for the
human family. During her two day jury trial in D.C. Superior Court she used
promotional literature of TDS, producer of the MX, to demonstrate the clear
intent of TDS and the Air Force to prevail on Congress for the deployment of
50 new MX missiles. "We’ve been making $200 million a year for the last
10 years on this," said a TDS employee. "She took that model down
the first day of the exhibition and we couldn’t use it. She probably
deprived us of a chance to persuade a couple members of Congress." Under
the constraints of a jury instruction that relieved the government prosecution
of the need to prove evil intent, the jury convicted Marcia on November 18,
1988 of property damage. On December 29, she was sentenced to 90 days, 83 days
suspended pending completion of probation (90 days), and ordered to serve 7
days beginning January 9, 1989.
* * *
DUTCH DISARMAMENT ACTION: On December 8, 1988 the first anniversary
of the INF Treaty, 12 Dutch peace activists, calling themselves "INF
Ploughshares," cut through fences to enter the Woensdrecht Airbase and
made their way to cruise missile bunkers where they carried out the first
disarmament action in Holland. In their action statement they declared:
"The INF Treaty was signed to eliminate the ground launched cruise and
Pershing missiles from Europe. But the amount of air and sea launched missiles
for European battlefield is increasing enormously and NATO plans are ready to
modernize nuclear forces in Europe. The bunkers of cruise missiles won’t be
destroyed but given a new military destination. We oppose these new steps in
the arms race¼ We have started demolishing the Cruise missile bunkers¼ by
beating the bunker steel into ploughshares with sledge hammers. We demand that
the money destined for new arms be spent instead on producing food for the
hungry, detoxifying toxic waste dumps and cleaning polluted water." They
were subsequently apprehended and most were released by Dutch authorities
after being held for thirty hours. Kees Koning was released after 8 days.
* * *
NF-5B PLOWSHARES: On January 1, 1989, Kees Koning, an ex-army
chaplain and priest; and Co van Melle, a medical doctor working with homeless
people and illegal refugees; both of whom participated in the INF disarmament
action, entered the Woensdrecht airbase once again, and began the conversion
of NF-5B fighter airplanes by beating them with sledge hammers into
ploughshares. The Dutch planned to sell the NF-5B to Turkey, for use against
the Kurdish nationalists as part of a NATO-aid program which involves shipping
of 60 fighter planes to Turkey. They were charged with trespass, sabotage and
$350,000 damage. They were detained in jail through their trial and received
nationwide media attention. They were tried before three judges on February 9,
1989. Among those who were allowed to testify at the trial were a Kurdish
lawyer, a former Dutch air force officer, and Phil Berrigan. They were
convicted and given the following sentences: Co Van Melle was sentenced to 7
months in prison, 3 months suspended and 2 years probation; and Kees Koning
was sentenced to 8 months in prison, 2 months suspended and 2 years probation.
They were released pending appeal. Their appeal was denied on November 17,
1989.
* * *
Other Dutch Disarmament Actions: On February 9, 1989 Dutch activists
Ad Hennen and Rolland van Hell, who were inspired by the two previous
disarmament actions, entered a Dutch military base and started the conversion
of Hawk missiles with axes. Ad was released pending trial but was detained
because of his previous record. On April 5, 1989 they went to trial and were
convicted. They were sentenced to 6 months in prison, plus a 4 month suspended
sentence and 2 years probation. Ad was released pending their appeal. Their
appeal was denied on November 17, 1989. On Good Friday, March 24, 1989 Kees
Konning, who had participated in the first two Dutch disarmament actions,
entered a Dutch airbase and with a pick-axe began disarming a fighter plane
destined for Turkey. He was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. On May 31,
1989 Kees went to trial. The state prosecutor demanded 18 months imprisonment
but had failed to observe that Kees had disarmed the same plane he worked on
January 1, 1989. The judges ruled that he could not damage something he
already damaged before and released him immediately. On July 16, 1989 the
anniversary of the first nuclear explosion named "Trinity," Kees
Koning entered the Valkenburg Air Base in the Netherlands, and with a
sledgehammer, began to disarm a P-3 Orion nuclear-capable airplane.
Simultaneously, other Dutch activists entered the base and reclaimed the land
by starting to cultivate it for life instead of death. Kees was arrested and
imprisoned and began a fast which lasted until August 9, 1989. Following a
trial he was convicted on September 12, 1989 and sentenced to 6 months in
prison. He is appealing this case. On November 17th, following an appeal
hearing for his January 1, 1989 action, Kees began a fast to demand an end to
Dutch weapons sales to Turkey. He ended his fast on December 15, 1989. In the
Spring of 1990 Kees was released from prison.
* * *
STOP WEAPONS EXPORTS-PLOWSHARES 2: On February 16, 1989 the first
Plowshares action occurred in Sweden. Anders Grip, a truck driver who works
with a group providing material aid to the Third World, and Gunilla Akerberg,
a consultant for organic farming, entered a railroad yard in Kristinehamn
where weapons waited to be shipped to an Indian boat on the west coast of
Sweden. They damaged the loading mechanism of the Haubits 77B mobile
anti-aircraft missile launcher with hammers. This launcher was produced by the
Bofors arms company. They then displayed a banner saying: "Disarmament
has begun," "We must dare to be disobedient," "Violence
and oppression depend upon our obedience and passivity." When the police
came a half-hour later, Anders and Gunilla had set up a dining table and
invited the police to join them in a meal. They were placed under arrest. On
their way to the police station several of the police expressed support for
their action and advised them of another potential site for a plowshares
action. They were released later that night. They were sentenced to pay
$10,000 in restitution to Bofors which they refused to pay. As of last year,
Bofors is no longer asking for restitution.
* * *
THAMES RIVER PLOWSHARES: Early in the morning on Labor Day,
September 4, 1989 Jackie Allen, artist and shelter worker of the Ahimsa
Community in Voluntown, CT and member of Griffiss Plowshares; Kathy Boylan,
mother, sanctuary worker and member of the Long Island Catholic Peace
Fellowship; Art Laffin, member of the Isaiah Peace Ministry and Trident Nein;
and Elmer Maas, member of the Isaiah Peace Ministry and participant of two
previous plowshares actions; Anne Montgomery, participant in five previous
plowshares actions; Jim Reale, arborist and member of Jonah House; and Homer
White, husband and member of the Caritas Community in Chapel Hill, NC; swam
and canoed up the Thames River to the USS Pennsylvania Trident submarine,
docked at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London, CN. Jackie, Anne,
Kathy and Homer swam to the Trident. In full view of armed security, Jackie
and Kathy hammered and poured blood on the Trident near the conning tower,
while Anne was detained at the Trident dock. Jackie also carved the word
"death" on the Trident. After 30 minutes Jackie and Kathy, who were
fire-hosed by sailors, were taken into custody by the Coast Guard. Heavy tidal
currents forced Homer to return to shore and he was arrested upon entering the
main gate of the Naval Underwater Systems Center. Simultaneously, Art, Elmer,
and Jim canoed to the tail end of the Trident and, in full view of armed
security, hammered and poured their blood on the side of the sub. They boarded
the Trident, hammered several more times, and prayed, sang and read from St.
John's Gospel for 45 minutes. They too were fire-hosed before taken into
custody. They left on the Trident a videotape of live footage of Hiroshima
after the bombing, a Salvadoran cross, a banner, booklets documenting the
nuclear arms race at sea and naval nuclear accidents, their action statement
and "Call to Confession and Captivity." Concurrently with this
action, a 96 foot-long banner was dropped over the Gold Star Bridge in New
London, proclaiming "Trident Is The Crime." After being held
overnight in jail, they were arraigned and released the next day on a PTA.
Charges were later dropped against Homer, presumably due to insufficient
evidence. During their 3 day trial in Hartford Federal Court, they focused on
their "lack of criminal intent" and on the criminality of the
Trident, despite certain restrictions imposed by the court. Citing a ruling
made by the Silo Pruning Hooks judge, their trial judge, Judge Nevas,
instructed the jury to disregard the defendants' and their character witnesses’
religious, moral and political views about the U.S. nuclear weapons policy. On
December 19, they were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to enter a naval
reservation for an unlawful purpose. All, except Jackie, were acquitted of
trespass with intent to injure and depredate U.S. property. In addition,
Jackie was the only one charged and convicted of destruction of government
property less than $100. (During the trial the government entered into
evidence one photo of hammer marks on the Trident, where Jackie said she
hammered. Kathy claimed responsibility for some of the hammer marks in the
photo. Despite each of the Thames River Plowshares conveying to the jury and
the Court that they should all be treated the same way for their community act
of disarmament, Jackie still was convicted of these charges. On March 6, 1990
they were given the following sentences: Jackie, Kathy, Art, Elmer, and Jim
were sentenced to 60 days in prison; Anne was given a 120 day sentence. On
January 7, 1991 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District denied an
appeal made by Jackie, Elmer, Jim and Art.
* * *
PLOWSHARES ESKILTUNA: On March 20, 1990 three Swedish peace
activists, Lasse Gustavsson, Linus Brohult and Johan Hammarstedt, entered the
FFV-Ordinance weapons factory in Eskilstuna, Sweden and disarmed the
"Carl-Gustaf" bazooka with hammers. Their hammers were covered with
pictures of their families. Seeking to stop the deadly export of Swedish
weapons, the activists disarmed the "Carl-Gustaf" bazooka because it
had been used in Vietnam and was smuggled to Saudi Arabia via Great Britain
during the 1980's. The U.S. also buys these bazookas. In a statement
distributed to employees explaining the purpose of their action, the
plowshares activists write: "By living the way we do we support war and
injustice. Swedish weapons are used in warfare all over the world. It is the
responsibility of each and every one of us to contribute to disarmament. By
disarming Swedish weapons we hope to break through paralysis and powerlessness
and instead help achieve peace and justice." On March 5, 1991 they were
tried and convicted in Eskiltuna's District Court. They were ordered to pay
$900 in restitution which they have refused to pay.
* * *
UPPER HEYFORD PLOWSHARES: Early on March 21, 1990, the first day of
Spring, British peace activists Stephen Hancock and Mike Hutchinson carried
out the first British plowshares action. They entered the Upper Heyford U.S.
Air Base and hammered on the outside of an F-111 fighter plane and then
climbed into the cockpit where they also hammered on the nuclear weapons
control panel. They left inside the plane a piece of the Berlin Wall and a
statement that the INF treaty was a fraud because it eliminated no nuclear
weapons. The F-111's, made by General Dynamics, are nuclear capable supersonic
strike fighter planes which were used in the bombing raids against Libya in
1986. Their low level navigation and weapons delivery capability allows
bombing at night and in adverse weather. Both activists wore "Mickey
Mouse" ears, as they explained, "to have a friendly silhouette"
for Americans guarding the base and its material. They also wore sheets that
said: "Mickey Mouse Fan Club - Peace Section." They pinned on the
side of the F-111 a banner that reiterated the message of their action and the
statement "Isaiah was Here!" The two were arrested and held by the
Ministry of Defense police and charged with "suspicion of criminal damage"
amounting to 200,000 pounds. They were released on bail after serving 7 days
in jail. On September 4, 1990 a jury found Mike and Steve guilty of damaging
the aircraft and possessing mallets and fluid with intent to damage property.
They were sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. They were released on parole on
March 7th and were on probation through June 1991.
* * *
DOVES OF PEACE DISARMAMENT ACTION: On April 3, 1990 Susan Rodriguez,
a longtime peace and community activist from Hayward, CA, entered the Physics
International Laboratory on San Leandro, CA, a company which uses computers to
simulate nuclear weapons explosions and research their effects on military
hardware. She proceeded through several computer labs, and used a small
sledgehammer to disarm several computers. When finally confronted by the
police, she stopped and was arrested. Susan had learned of PI’s relationship
to the military industry in the course of her work for a computer repair
company. On December 14, 1990 she was tried and convicted by a jury of two
felony counts: burglary and malicious mischief (causing more than $25,000
worth of damage). On March 20, 1991 Susan was sentenced to one year in jail,
suspended, 750 hours community service, three years probation and $1,000
restitution.
* * *
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