Three arrested after protest at missile silo

By BLAKE NICHOLSON Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Wednesday, June 21, 2006

A peace activist group says a Roman Catholic priest and two military veterans infiltrated a Minuteman III missile silo site in northwestern North Dakota, using sledgehammers and hammers to gain access.

The Wisconsin-based group Nukewatch, in a statement, said the men were able to break a lock and enter the silo site Tuesday morning, paint the word "disarm" on the silo lid and pour some of their blood on the lid.

Minot Air Force Base confirmed that three people "unlawfully entered" the missile site west of Garrison but said they were quickly detained by Air Force security and turned over to local law enforcement officers, who took them to the McLean County jail.

A dispatcher at the McLean County sheriff's office Tuesday night said no officers were available to answer questions. A statement from Nukewatch said the men were arrested for criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

The base said security at the missile site was not breached.

"The 91st Space Wing has the ability to respond to situations like this at a moment's notice," Col. Sandy Finan, the wing commander, said in a statement. "At no time was the safety and security of the site in question."

The 91st Space Wing at Minot Air Force Base oversees 150 Minuteman III missiles, buried in silos across 8,500 square miles of northwest and north central North Dakota.

Nukewatch identified the men involved in Tuesday's protest as Greg Boertje-Obed, 51, and Michael Walli, 57, both military veterans from Duluth, Minn.; and Carl Kabat, 72, a priest from St. Louis.

"We have chosen to start the process of transformation and disarmament by hammering on and pouring our blood on components of the Minuteman III nuclear missile system," the men said in a statement posted on the Internet. "We believe that the concrete that goes into making missile silos would be better used for building homes."

Photographs posted online show the men in clown costumes.

"We dress as clowns to show that humor and laughter are key elements in the struggle to transform the structures of destruction and death," they said.

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On the Net:

Nukewatch: http://www.nukewatch.com

Statement of protesters: http://www.jonahhouse.org

Minot Air Force Base: http://www.minot.af.mil/