SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Kings Bay Plowshares Seven shortly before their action on April 4, 2018. (Image: Kings Bay Plowshares Seven)
Time Served and $25 a Month in Fines in First Sentencing of Kings Bay Plowshares Anti-Nuclear Activists
"I don't apologize for it," said sentenced activist Elizabeth McAlister. "I think the weapons are completely destructive of life."
Jun 08, 2020
Kings Bay Plowshares Seven activist Elizabeth McAlister was sentenced Monday to time served and a $25-a-month fine for her involvement in a peaceful act of civil disobedience against the U.S. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia on April 4, 2018.
"I acted because I had to follow my conscience and my faith," McAlister told federal Judge Lisa Godbey Wood at her sentencing hearing.
McAlister is one of seven activists who defaced and superficially damaged buildings at the base, which houses Trident nuclear missiles.
\u201cThe Plowshares activists risked their lives to save other people\u2019s lives. They are being punished for this.\u201d— sign up! husseini.substack.com (@sign up! husseini.substack.com) 1591622672
The activists used a "necessity defense" at trial, arguing that the danger posed by the "omnicidal" weapons made their actions a moral imperative; the jury found them guilty of four counts of destruction and depredation of government property in excess of $1,000, trespassing, and conspiracy in October.
"I don't apologize for it," McAlister said during her sentencing. "I think the weapons are completely destructive of life."
\u201cLiz McAlister speaking to judge: "I have spent most of my adult life trying to speak out about the threats to life that come from weapons of mass destruction... And to say that money belongs to building life and building a more humane society."\u201d— Kings Bay Plowshares 7 (@Kings Bay Plowshares 7) 1591626569
An 80-year-old longtime Catholic activist, McAlister was married to Philip Berrigan and founded Jonah House, a community for nonviolent resistance, in the 1970s.
Though the other six activists still await sentencing, the group found time to issue a statement of solidarity with the uprising across the country against police brutality and racism. The nationwide protests, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, entered their fifteenth consecutive day Monday.
"As seven white, American Catholics who have chosen to nonviolently, symbolically disarm this nation's most deadly weapon, the Trident nuclear submarine, we understand that there is a critical connection between this nation's weapons of mass destruction and guns of the police on the street," the group said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Kings Bay Plowshares Seven activist Elizabeth McAlister was sentenced Monday to time served and a $25-a-month fine for her involvement in a peaceful act of civil disobedience against the U.S. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia on April 4, 2018.
"I acted because I had to follow my conscience and my faith," McAlister told federal Judge Lisa Godbey Wood at her sentencing hearing.
McAlister is one of seven activists who defaced and superficially damaged buildings at the base, which houses Trident nuclear missiles.
\u201cThe Plowshares activists risked their lives to save other people\u2019s lives. They are being punished for this.\u201d— sign up! husseini.substack.com (@sign up! husseini.substack.com) 1591622672
The activists used a "necessity defense" at trial, arguing that the danger posed by the "omnicidal" weapons made their actions a moral imperative; the jury found them guilty of four counts of destruction and depredation of government property in excess of $1,000, trespassing, and conspiracy in October.
"I don't apologize for it," McAlister said during her sentencing. "I think the weapons are completely destructive of life."
\u201cLiz McAlister speaking to judge: "I have spent most of my adult life trying to speak out about the threats to life that come from weapons of mass destruction... And to say that money belongs to building life and building a more humane society."\u201d— Kings Bay Plowshares 7 (@Kings Bay Plowshares 7) 1591626569
An 80-year-old longtime Catholic activist, McAlister was married to Philip Berrigan and founded Jonah House, a community for nonviolent resistance, in the 1970s.
Though the other six activists still await sentencing, the group found time to issue a statement of solidarity with the uprising across the country against police brutality and racism. The nationwide protests, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, entered their fifteenth consecutive day Monday.
"As seven white, American Catholics who have chosen to nonviolently, symbolically disarm this nation's most deadly weapon, the Trident nuclear submarine, we understand that there is a critical connection between this nation's weapons of mass destruction and guns of the police on the street," the group said.
Kings Bay Plowshares Seven activist Elizabeth McAlister was sentenced Monday to time served and a $25-a-month fine for her involvement in a peaceful act of civil disobedience against the U.S. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia on April 4, 2018.
"I acted because I had to follow my conscience and my faith," McAlister told federal Judge Lisa Godbey Wood at her sentencing hearing.
McAlister is one of seven activists who defaced and superficially damaged buildings at the base, which houses Trident nuclear missiles.
\u201cThe Plowshares activists risked their lives to save other people\u2019s lives. They are being punished for this.\u201d— sign up! husseini.substack.com (@sign up! husseini.substack.com) 1591622672
The activists used a "necessity defense" at trial, arguing that the danger posed by the "omnicidal" weapons made their actions a moral imperative; the jury found them guilty of four counts of destruction and depredation of government property in excess of $1,000, trespassing, and conspiracy in October.
"I don't apologize for it," McAlister said during her sentencing. "I think the weapons are completely destructive of life."
\u201cLiz McAlister speaking to judge: "I have spent most of my adult life trying to speak out about the threats to life that come from weapons of mass destruction... And to say that money belongs to building life and building a more humane society."\u201d— Kings Bay Plowshares 7 (@Kings Bay Plowshares 7) 1591626569
An 80-year-old longtime Catholic activist, McAlister was married to Philip Berrigan and founded Jonah House, a community for nonviolent resistance, in the 1970s.
Though the other six activists still await sentencing, the group found time to issue a statement of solidarity with the uprising across the country against police brutality and racism. The nationwide protests, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, entered their fifteenth consecutive day Monday.
"As seven white, American Catholics who have chosen to nonviolently, symbolically disarm this nation's most deadly weapon, the Trident nuclear submarine, we understand that there is a critical connection between this nation's weapons of mass destruction and guns of the police on the street," the group said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.