Fr Louie Vitale, O.F.M. and Dennis Apel court date was postponed until Sept 15. 2011. Fr. Louie and Dennis did appear for arraignment in Santa Barbara Federal Court on June 16. However, due to a 9th District Court ruling on a different but similar case, it was believed that the charges would be dropped. The court, however, decided to uphold the charges and the new date was set.

Posted: July 12th, 2011 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 2

A Test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM (nuclear warhead delivery system) from Vandenberg Space Command to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands is scheduled for the early morning hours of July 27. Join us to uphold the good faith of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

We will gather at 11:55 pm, Tuesday, July 26, at Vandenberg Space Command main gate at the Intersection of Hwy One and Lompoc Cas Melia Rd. nine miles north of Lompoc on Highway One in Santa Barbara County.

11:45 pm – Meet for briefing at Vandenberg Village parking lot. (3734 Constellation Road, Lompoc).

See MacGregor Eddy’s blog for more info or contact MacGregor Eddy via e-mail: macgregoreddy@gmail.com or call 831-206-5043, Scott Yundt at 925-443-7148 or Jim Haber at 415-828-2506

Posted: July 12th, 2011 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 1

Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM, Dennis Apel, and Fr Steve Kelly, SJ, are due to appear in court on June 16 at the Santa Barbara Federal Court – 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, 93101. The time will either be 9am or 1:30pm. Check back later for exact time and possible date change. This court appearance is for an arrest in November 2010. Letters of support can be sent to Vandenberg Witness, 4575 9th St, Guadalupe, CA 93434, or e-mail to info@vandenbergwitness.org

Fr. Steve Kelly will not appear because he is in prison serving a 15 month sentence for a Plowshares action at the Kitsap-Bangor Naval Base (see post below).

If you are in Northern California and would like to travel via a peace train for court support, please contact MacGregor Eddy via e-mail: macgregoreddy@gmail.com or call  831-206-5043. There are funds available from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom if train fare is unaffordable. NOTE: The train is also an educational tour as it goes through the back area of Vandenberg and you can see the missile launch gantries and pads.

Posted: April 5th, 2011 under Upcoming Events.
Comments: none

The five plowshares activists who entered the U.S. Navy’s nuclear weapons storage depot in Washington State on November 2, 2009 were arraigned on October 8 in U.S. District Court, Tacoma, Washington before Magistrate Judge Karen L. Strombom.

Anne Montgomery, RSCJ, Steve Kelly, SJ, Lynne Greenwald, Bill “Bix” Bichsel, SJ, and Susan Crane were all present to enter their not guilty pleas before Judge Strombom.

The government brought many serious charges against each of the Disarm Now! defendants for their peaceful November 2, 2009 Plowshares action. They include Conspiracy, Trespass, Destruction of Property on a Naval Installation and Depredation of Government Property.

The major consequences for the various individual charges range between 5 and 10 years in prison, and from $50, 000 to $250,000 in fines, as well as up to 3 years of supervised release, and/or up to 5 years probation.

Additionally, the judge made it clear that should the defendants be convicted on multiple charges, the court could order them to serve consecutive sentences, thereby greatly increasing the number of years they might spend in prison. The five co-defendants firmly believe there is sufficient legal doctrine substantiating their invocation of the necessity defense, and that the “Defendants’ actions are just and not at all illegal,” and therefore the case should be immediately dismissed.

The judge set a trial date for December 7, 2010 at 9:00 AM in the United States District Court, Western District of Washington at Tacoma.  A pre-trial conference date is set for November 22, 2010.

Visit Disarm Now! Web site for complete information, including biographical statements and links to the work of the Disarm Now! Plowshares members.

Posted: October 10th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: none

The trial for Fr. Louie Vitale, OFM, and Sr. Megan Rice will be Thursday, Nov. 18. at 1:30 PM at the Santa Barbara Federal Court – 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, 93101

Fr. Louie and Sr. Megan were arrested on August 22 2009 at a night test launch of a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (hydrogen bomb delivery system) that went from Vandenberg AFB to Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Please come to Santa Barbara to support Fr. Louie and Sr. Megan. For more info see MacGregor Eddy’s Blog for breaking news or call 831-206-5043.

Posted: October 10th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 1

The Minuteman III ICBM launch set for Wednesday, September 15, has been canceled as of 1:15 pm Tuesday afternoon. The base is preparing a press release to explain why. The launch has been rescheduled for Friday, September 17th at 3 am. Check MacGregor Eddy’s Blog for further info. or call 831-206-5043

Posted: September 15th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: none

At 11:55 pm on February 14, there will be a gathering at the main gate to protest a scheduled launch of a minuteman III missile. Please see Slide Presentation

Posted: September 5th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 1

Jorge Manly-Gil appeared in Santa Barbara Federal Court on Thursday, August 19, 2010 for arraignment on a “trespass” charge from the April 7, 2010 witness. When Jorge asked for a Public Defender (PD), U.S. Prosecutor Sharon McCaslin asked the court to deny the request as the government will not be seeking jail time nor probation, further stating that Dennis Apel did a reasonable job representing himself in a similar case, so Mr. Manly-Gil also can represent himself or retain counsel on his own. Magistrate Rita Coyne-Federman agreed and denied Jorge a PD, even though he stated he could not afford one. Jorge Manly-Gil’s trial is at 1:30 pm on September 16. Court address: Santa Barbara Federal Court – 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, 93101. For further details call 805-343-6322

The September 15, 2010 court date scheduled for Rev. Louie Vitale, OFM, and Sr. Megan Rice has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 18 at 9:00 am because of another court appearance in Nevada scheduled for September 14 for a previous action against drones at Creech AFB.

Posted: August 20th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 1

Steve Kelly, S.J., Dennis Apel, and MacGregor Eddy will be tried at 8:30 am on Thursday, July 15, for violating the arbitrary ban and bar order. Please join them in support at the Santa Barbara Federal Court – 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, 93101. For further details call MacGregor Eddy at 831-206-5043 or e-mail: macgregoreddy@gmail.com or see MacGregor Eddy’s Blog for further info.

Posted: July 12th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: none

Join us on Saturday, August 7, from 1pm to 3pm, at the front gate of Vandenberg Air Force Base, six miles north of Lompoc, CA on Highway One. (parking allowed at Vandenberg Middle School on Saturdays) to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and stand in opposition to continued U.S. imperial violence.  For further details call Dennis Apel: 805-343-6322. Also, check out the slide presentation here.

Posted: July 12th, 2010 under News, Upcoming Events.
Comments: 1