Peace activists hope North Dakota jury understands motives
By TOM RAFFERTY/Bismarck Tribune September 9, 2006

International treaties will not save three men from standing trial for damaging a Minuteman III missile silo near Garrison earlier this year that could land them up to 10 years in prison.

For Carl Kabat, a 72-year-old from St. Louis, a lengthy prison sentence could mean he will spend the rest of his life in jail.

In a telephone interview from the Burleigh County Detention Center, Kabat said he is prepared for that possibility.

“It might be all right if somebody died in jail to get rid of them (nuclear weapons),” Kabat said.

Throughout his life, Kabat has spent about 16 years locked up for various protests against nuclear weapons.

He and Greg Boertje-Obed, 51, and Michael Walli, 57, both of Duluth, Minn., are being held without bond in Burleigh County for entering a missile site in McLean County on June 21 and damaging it. The men gained access by breaking the lock on the gate. They then spray painted messages on the silo lid, hammered on it and poured blood on it — all while being dressed as clowns.

They face charges of destruction of government property, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A A charge of destruction of national defense property, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, was dropped for each man.

Their trial begins at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in federal court in Bismarck and is expected to last three days.

Walli is being represented by New Orleans attorney and Loyola University professor Bill Quigley, but the other men are representing themselves.

Quigley, who is taking the case pro-bono, said the men aren't denying what they did, but they hope the jury will understand the men's reasons and acquit them.

“The defense is based on a hope that the jury will understand their actions of conscience and that the jurors will follow their own consciences,” Quigley said.

Quigley has tried on three occasions to dismiss the case — arguing that international treaties make it illegal for the United States to have nuclear weapons, which justified what the men did. However, that argument failed to convince Federal District Court Judge Daniel Hovland.

“Although Walli's current motion is a lengthier version of his previous motions, it contains the same basic fatal flaw — the laws of the United States do not support the theory that an individual has a right or a responsibility to correct a perceived violation of international law/humanitarian law/tribal law/religious law by willfully destroying government property,” Hovland wrote in his Sept. 5 order denying Quigley's motion to dismiss the case.

U.S. District Attorney Clare Hochholter, the prosecutor in the case, said Friday that he didn't want to comment on a case before it goes to trial.

The case will give the men a chance to explain their cause. All three of the men want to take the witness stand.

Boertje-Obed said they broke into the missile sight and damaged it as a symbolic statement of disarmament. He said they knew they couldn't damage the silo enough to prevent a missile from launching from it.

“We admit we are the people involved and we hope to explain the reasons for doing it,” Boetrje-Obed said.

Walli said North Dakotans are contradicting themselves by having the International Peace Gardens along the border with Canada while having 150 nuclear missiles in the ground. The missile silos, which are found in several remote locations in northcentral North Dakota, are part of the Minot Air Force's arsenal.

Walli describes the missiles as “the antichrist's weapons of mass destruction” and said having them is against God's wishes.

“If they really want peace they should do what Jesus tells us to do,” Walli said.

The men are getting some support from peace activists in Bismarck. The North Dakota Peace Coalition is conducting what they call a “Festival of Hope”  at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 818 E. Divide Ave. The event will feature someone reading statements made by the three men, music and information about the case from Quigley.

Quigley, who said he alos is a peace activist, said someday the missile site the men damaged will be gone and a monument will be erected in its place to honor them for what they did.

“History is going to judge these guys as heroes,” Quigley said. “It really is an honor to represent these guys.”