Sr. Megan Rice upon temporary release after she was jailed, making headlines for intruding on the US storage of weapons of mass destruction material in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
I know sr. Megan [she pronounces her name as "Meegan"] from the Nevada Desert Experience/Pace e Bene/Catholic Worker, Las Vegas, NV, where I had my home away from home the last couple of years. She moved out about a year ago and I thoughtthat would be about the last we would see from our beloved activist nun (she was witness to our marriage ceremonial in Las Vegas, in the chapel belonging to Pace e Bene).
How wrong can you be in expectations...
On July 28th Megan and two others passed the fence about this "facility" (oh, these filthy euphemisms) and - well, here is the story:
Calling themselves Transform Now Plowshares they hammered on the cornerstone of the newly built Highly-Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility (HEUMF), splashed human blood and left four spray painted tags on the recent construction which read: Woe to the empire of blood; The fruit of justice is peace; Work for peace not for war; and Plowshares please Isaiah.
Under the cover of darkness they intermittently passed beyond four fences in a walk for over two hours through the fatal force zone. “We feel it was a miracle; we were led directly to where we wanted to go” said Greg.
After navigating through the complex they came to a long, white, windowless building marked HEUMF. “It was built like a fortress”, Greg said describing the four guard towers.
Unimpeded by security, they attached two banners to pillars of the building. “Transform Now Plowshares” read the first with a green and black icon showing part bomb part flower. A second stated “Swords into Plowshares Spears into Pruning Hooks–Isaiah”. In addition, between the pillars they strung red crime tape.
When confronted by a guard they read aloud their statement. “He was on his walkie-talkie but he heard it” Megan confirmed. Before receiving orders to halt they had opportunity to offer guards bread, and display a bible, candles and white roses. Though initially forced to endure a kneeling posture for an extended period, guards responded to complaint and allowed the activists to stand off and on. Meanwhile they continued singing.
At this time they have been interviewed by the DOE investigative unit and have conditional charges of two felony counts for vandalism and trespass. They spoke to supporters from Blount County Jail at 12:30 pm saying they had not been processed yet. All four are scheduled for arraignment in Blount County Court on Monday.
“We’re still opposing the filthy rotten system” Michael said. “Jesus has no nukes in heaven and no torture in heaven.”
(tbc)
