Trials and Tribulations

In recent months the breadth of opposition to the unrestrained nuclear arms race has been shown by the overwhelming support that nuclear freeze referenda have received around the country. The risk of opposition has also been made clear by the civil disobedience actions of many in the peace movement, especially Christians.

In Connecticut, the "Trident Nein," nine people who entered the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton and damaged a Trident submarine, were sentenced following a three-week trial. The activists are part of a predominantly Christian network of religious resistance communities, the Atlantic Life Community. They were arrested on July 5, 1982, later convicted and given prison sentences ranging from two months to a year. William Hartmann, one of the Nein, said, "We let our hammers fall on Trident because the indiscriminate slaughter of people must never be condoned."

At their trial the protesters were ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy for damages. Nein member Sr. Anne Montgomery said in response that "if any restitution is made, it should be done by the navy to the poor, who are already the victims of Trident."

On Nov. 14, 1982, shortly after the sentencing of the Trident Nein, seven members of the Atlantic Life Community again entered the Electric Boat shipyard. Three members boarded and damaged the U.S.S. Georgia, a Trident nuclear submarine. They poured blood on the missile hatches, painted "666" on the vessel, and read from Revelations 13 and 15 (about the beast of the sea and its defeat by the Lamb), as they awaited arrest.

In Rocky Flats, Colo., this fall Sr. Patricia A. Mahoney and Sr. Ann Marie Nord were arrested after they entered the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant on Sept. 7 and raised a flag bearing the words "Death Factory." They were sentenced to the maximum penalty of five years, with all but six months suspended, and a two-year probation. Nord said, "We believe there is no security for this evil at Rocky Flats it will always be vulnerable to the power of the Spirit."

On election day, Nov. 2, a blockade of the Pentagon was sponsored by the Baltimore community, Jonah House. Several people threw blood on the steps of the Pentagon's main entrance, others placed their bodies before the other doors, while more than 100 supporters sang and held banners. One of those arrested said that by conducting their actions on election day, the participants were voting against "business as usual in the Pentagon and against the arms race."

Philadelphia has seen weekly vigils and other activities outside two General Electric (GE) plants for five years. These activities, sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community, continued this past Thanksgiving when four people were arrested at a vigil outside the GE Space Center in Valley Forge. They erected a shanty at GE in order to symbolize the unmet needs of the poor caused by corporate and governmental military spending. The four protesters were charged with "defiant trespassing" and face a possible maximum sentence of one year in jail.

In Livermore, Calif., protests and civil disobedience have been consistently pursued at the Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapon research labs. And, according to The Nuclear Resister, on May 17 the director of public relations of the labs left his post because of the labs' involvement in the fueling of the nuclear arms race. On Oct. 4 a blockade resulted in the arrest of 11 people, who were released after two days and sentenced to seven days of community service.

Some groups planned a three-week presence at the Livermore site and conducted worship services, daily prayer vigils, and civil disobedience actions. Under the theme of "Choose Life," Bartimaeus Community, the Ecumenical Peace Institute, and other groups began their activities Dec. 10, Human Rights Day, concluding on Dec. 28. The occasion was Advent.

The upper peninsula of Michigan has been a site for vigils and witnessing actions since last Easter. The focus of these activities is a relatively unknown component of the U.S. nuclear warfighting strategy--Project ELF.

"ELF" stands for "extremely low frequency electromagnetic radiation," with which the navy can send signals to subs, particularly Trident subs, in order to bring the entire submarine fleet to the surface in a coordinated attack.

Witnessing against Project ELF, 30 people gathered for a sunrise service on November 28, the first Sunday of Advent, at the entrance of K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. The base is a proposed site for an ELF transmitter. Four people took candles, crossed the barbed wire, and knelt to pray. According to Jim Smit, one of the four, they were "trying to bring the light of God's presence into the darkness of the nuclear arms race." Two were charged with trespassing and the other two were given "barring letters."

In the face of the nuclear danger, more and more people are being led to take the risk of civil disobedience through their faith in God. As one pregnant mother arrested in a Montana missile silo witness said, "There is no boundary between my life today and nuclear annihilation tomorrow, unless our military policies begin to change immediately. It is my faith in Jesus Christ that enables me to witness today in the strongest way I can--with my life."

Joe Lynch was a member of Sojourners Community and worked with the peace ministry when this article appeared.