Judge declares mistrial for four Oly peace activists

topic : nuclear weapons

On Wednesday afternoon, April 12, Judge Daniel Phillips in Kitsap County District Court in Port Orchard, declared a "mistrial" in the trial of four peace activists who were charged with "failure to disperse".

The four were charged for a demonstration on the morning of August 8, 2005, in which 19 demonstrators blocked the highway entrance to the Bangor Trident submarine base with a long banner that stated, "We Can All Live Without Trident." The demonstration was in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Incoming traffic was blocked for approximately 40 minutes during peak traffic, when Navy personnel and support personnel were arriving for work at the base.

The trial began in Port Orchard on Monday, April 10. After five hours of deliberation the judge learned the jurors' opinions were divided. On Wednesday, April 12 at 2:30 pm, Judge Daniel Phillips declared a mistrial.

In a strange turn of events, the Kitsap County prosecutor had charged only four of the nineteen demonstrators ... all four from Olympia, Washington. The charge was for failure to disperse, RCW 9A.84.020, in which the failure to disperse when ordered creates a "substantial risk" of injury to persons or to property. The charge is a misdemeanor with a possible penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson testified in court that traffic on August 8 had backed up as far as the northbound lanes of Highway 3. Ground Zero Peace activists expressed their deeply held beliefs concerning the threat of nuclear weapons and the Trident submarine system. They also explained their careful preparation for each demonstration to ensure the safety of both motorists and participants.

The four who were tried are Alice Zillah, 32, Bryce Brown, 32, Shannon Bushnell, 28, and Patricia Imani, 43, all of Olympia.

On the morning of 4/24, Kitsap County Prosecutor Jeff Jahns sent word through e-mail to the Olympia Four's lawyer, Ken Kagan, stating he would "have orders entered tomorrow (Tuesday, 4/25) dismissing with prejudice the 4 defendants' cases...the bottom line is: based on the facts from the August 8, 2005 incident, the prosecution is unable to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt."

In addition the prosecutor stated that his office would not be charging any of the other 15 peace activists also arrested (but not prosecuted) that day, August 8, 2005 in front of the Bangor Nuclear Base, or any of those arrested during Ground Zero's Martin Luther King Day Action in March (including six from Olympia).

The trial marked the first charges against nonviolent demonstrators since February 2000. Kitsap County prosecutors have been unable to get convictions against nonviolent activists arrested at Bangor in the last three attempts before this trial.

The next Ground Zero at Bangor Nuclear Base will be Sunday and Monday, May 15th and May 16th (with community building and non-violence training taking place Sunday, and Monday morning being the primary time of action). Given the U.S.'s present threats to use nuclear bunker busters on the people of Iraq, it is a good time to act.

For further information visit http://www.gzcenter.org .

Protest the Trident submarine and other nuclear weapons

Noon on Sunday, May 14 for vigil at Bangor gate. 3:00 p.m. at the Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4418 Perry Ave, Bremerton, for program featuring Raging Grannies and vignettes of history of Mother's Day. Nonviolence training 4-9 p.m., supper provided, sleep at church. Nonviolent direct action at Ground Zero, 5:00 a.m. Monday, May 15.

More information:

Alice Zillah (360) 357-7705 in Olympia

Glen Milner (206) 365-7865 in Seattle