The three of us (Matt, Glafko, and I) drove down to El Segundo
together for the rally on Saturday, October 22 which had about
six thousand people. On Sunday afternoon we attended a nonviolence
training given by Jonathan Parfrey and the final organizing meeting
led by Jeff's wife, Catherine. Civil disobedience actions were
planned for Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell, Northrop, McDonnell-Douglas,
Consolidated Controls, and the Air Force by groups such as the
Catholic Worker, the Unitarians, the Alliance for Survival, a
women-only group, and the Nuclear Resistance Coalition (NRC).
We decided to join the NRC at Consolidated Controls which was
making trigger mechanisms for the cruise missile.
The NRC had an affinity group meeting, and we decided to give
out the following letter that Craig Frey had written:
Dear Friend,
You are probably wondering why we are here today. We would like to let you know about our concerns for our future and the future of yourself and your families. The world is at a critical point right now as far as survival goes. With the stationing of cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe we are moving to a level of nuclear tension many times greater than we are at now. The cruise missile will be virtually undetectable in flight, and the Pershing II will be able to hit Moscow within six minutes of being launched from Germany. The deployment of these weapons will cause the Soviets to move their missiles to a hair-trigger status. They will have 6 minutes to decide whether a radar image is a flock of birds, a meteor shower, a computer malfunction, or a Pershing II missile attack. The computers of the United States have given false alarms hundreds of times in the last few years, and we have the best in the world. One false alarm lasted for over ten minutes. With only a six minute warning time, we would have been four minutes into World war III.
We feel that nuclear war must be avoided. In World War II the Nazis killed around 14 million people in Europe. They were condemned by the world as the worst criminals in history. A nuclear war fought today with all the weapons that exist in the world stockpile would kill hundreds of millions, maybe even 2 billion people, and make most of the northern hemisphere impossible to live in for hundreds of years. At the end of World War II the Allies held war crime trials at Nuremberg. The Nazis that were tried there used such defenses as "I was only following orders,'' or "If I had not done it, someone else would have."
Today our government orders us to participate in their plans for the destruction of the planet Here at Consolidated Controls key components of the cruise missile are made. We urge you to call upon you company to switch to another line of work, and we urge you to examine your conscience and decide whether you can continue to contribute to the possible destruction of life on earth.
If you have questions or would like to share your feelings with other workers who are in the same position as you are, please call (phone numbers).
Thank you for your time.
We met early Monday morning at a park, and then each group
walked to their sites. All of these businesses are close together.
The Catholic Worker had a long banner which read, "IT'S A
SIN TO BUILD A NUCLEAR WEAPON." The L. A. Woman's Peace Camp
was established in front of McDonnell-Douglas and remained there
for two days. Ironically, their employees were not working on
October 24, because it was United Nations Day.
Our group at Consolidated had eleven people (including David Wayte,
who was being prosecuted for refusing to register for the draft)
risking arrest and about as many supporters with signs. The eleven
of us spent an hour or so attempting to give out the letter in
the parking lot. The employees had been instructed not to take
them and not to talk to us, but we were able to give out a few.
Two lawyers representing the company told us that we were on private
property and would be arrested if we did not leave, Other than
this, we were not bothered in the parking lot.
We gathered for a meeting and decided to go into an office to
speak to the person in charge so that we could ask him or her
if we could give the employees the letter. When the eleven of
us went in, the employees vacated the room, leaving only the two
lawyers to talk to us. The lawyers conveyed our request, which
was denied. They asked us to leave, but we refused. We stood or
sat there quietly until the police arrived and arrested us. As
the police were taking us away, most of the employees came outside
to watch.
Seventy-one people were arrested that morning in El Segundo. A
large group of about thirty leafleted at Northrop but were not
arrested. The women's group was not arrested either as they maintained
the peace camp for two days. We were taken to the El Segundo Police
station and booked before being bused downtown to the county jail.
About a third of the people chose to be released on their own
recognizance, and the rest of us stayed in jail until arraignment.
Part of the processing was a chest X-ray to check for tuberculosis.
In the training Jonathan had mentioned that once someone had refused
to take the X-ray, had been separated for a while and then re-joined
the group, We discussed this a little, and several people in the
NRC wanted to refuse this extra radiation. I knew I did not have
TB, because as a teacher I had had a skin test. When we got to
this point in the processing, a couple of people said they did
not want to have the X-ray, but they were forced to the machine.
With me they had to rip the snaps of the overalls open and twist
my wrist to move me to the machine. Then Deputy Shannon said,
"If you move away from that machine, you'll have to deal
with me."
When he stepped back, I stepped away. Then he pushed my arms behind
my back and threw me up against the wall. I yelled in pain so
that he would know he was hurting me. Next he put metal handcuffs
on my wrists as tight as he could. The pain was excruciating.
I asked, "Why are you hurting me? Do you like to give out
pain?" He pushed me through several hallways and rooms as
I yelled, "Shit!" in pain. He put me in a single cell
and told me not to try anything, as he took off the handcuffs.
I said, "I have no intention at all of hurting you."
For the rest of the night I was moved around to holding cells
and hallways in the booking area with nothing but steel benches
and concrete floors. For about an hour I had a discussion with
several deputies about war and peace, nonviolence, God, etc.,
After a while they could see my point of view but felt that a
world of love could never be. It was like a three-hour conversation
I had once with the chief security officer at Pt. Mugu. It turned
out I was the only one not to have the chest X-ray.
The next morning we all went to court, The judge was ready to
give everyone time served but the police had held up the indictments.
Back to jail we went. Since I had no dormitory assignment, I was
left in holding cells for hours. Finally I got in the hospital
line. This turned out to be the least humane and most cruel place
of all. In the middle of the night people had to sleep on the
floor, if the benches had people sitting on them. I talked to
a young man who had broken his foot when arrested several days
before. Now it was swollen and would have to be re-broken and
set. He was trying to bail out. When word of his release came,
they took away his crutch and left him to limp down the hallway.
Finally the nurse said to put me in a dormitory. I was not given
anything suitable for my contact lenses; when I took them out,
I almost lost them. At least this night I got one hour of sleep.
The next day in court the judge said he would give everyone time
served---even Jeff Dietrich. He spoke about Martin Luther King
and how he was unpopular to many before, but now he is recognized
as right. He said the same may be true of us. A few of us pleaded
not guilty, but only Glafko and I refused to waive time. We appeared
again on November 1, and our trial was set for November 15.
Now that I am out of jail for a while anyway, I want to complete
this account of my civil disobedience experiences. The trial of
ten defendants for the June 20th action outside of Point Mugu
Naval Air Station began in Ventura on November 4, before the local
federal magistrate, Robert M. Stone. I defended myself pro
per, and the other defendants were represented by Doug Booth
and Art Scovis, who replaced his wife Jenny. The prosecuting attorneys,
Gail Smason and Greg Totten, were particularly obnoxious, objecting
constantly on the slightest points throughout the trial. Magistrate
Stone tried to be open and fair in allowing discussion from both
sides and explaining his decisions. However, all the important
decisions went against us. Because we were not being given a jury
trial under the federal charges, our chances of acquittal were
nil.
In the prosecution's case detective Mick testified as to the traffic
conditions and the demonstrators on the road, Two employees whose
cars had been stopped by the blockade also testified. All three
of these people said that there was no harm or injury.
Then a Navy attorney, the County Recorder, and a surveyor were
called in to establish that we were on federal land and therefore
under federal jurisdiction.
Our defense was destroyed by the judge when he ruled that the
defense of necessity and international law were not valid, and
when he interpreted that "maliciously" merely meant
"willfully" even though the law states "willfully
and maliciously." When I called Dr. David Breen to the stand,
he would not allow any testimony on nuclear weapons or their medical
consequences. I asked Dr. Breen to describe what he observed the
morning of the action. Art Scovis was upset by this testimony
which may have prevented one of his defendants from escaping because
of not being identified. This was a slight chance, and I personally
had no desire to hide the truth or to try to get off in this way.
Most of the defendants, including myself, testified as to what
we did and why. However, it was a losing battle, interrupted by
objections from the prosecutors whenever we tried to get to the
real issue. This was occurring while I was questioning Michael
Wagner. Finally I asked him, "Would you say that this was
an act of love?"
Immediately Gail Smason shouted, ''Objection!' I explained that
it went to his motivation and whether the action was malicious.
Magistrate Stone showed a little compassion and allowed the question.
Michael responded, "In the highest sense."
Marilyn Bodo also gave heartfelt testimony of how she was moved
to join her friends in the blockade in the spirit of the moment.
George Trinkaus, Richard Foster, and David Moody also gave sincere
testimony.
Magistrate Stone found everyone guilty and sentenced people to
three years formal probation, a $100 fine, and 120 hours of community
service for first offenders or 180 hours for those with prior
convictions. The fine was removed by the time spent in jail the
day of the arrest. David Moody, Glafko Sikelianos, and I refused
to accept probation, and our sentencing was scheduled for December
9. For us the prosecution decided to ask for the maximum six-month
sentence. I told the magistrate in his chambers that the greater
the sentence he gave me the more he would make a martyr out of
me.
The next day the Santa Barbara TV station sent representatives
to my house to interview me as to why I would not accept probation.
I explained that the maximum sentence was only six months and
that I would not let them limit my protests beyond that time period.
To stop my protests they must put me in jail.
Glafko Sikelianos and I defended ourselves against the charge
of trespassing at El Segundo in the Inglewood Municipal Court
before Judge Roosevelt Robinson on November 15 and 16. The morning
of our trial several people from the El Segundo action who had
not stayed in jail when arrested were arraigned before Robinson
and sentenced to "time served," which had been part
of one day.
During the jury selection I challenged for cause four employees
of Hughes Aircraft, two of Northrop, one of Aerospace Corporation,
one of Rockwell, and one whose husband was employed at Rockwell
because of the demonstration at those businesses on October 24.
Judge Robinson refused to dismiss any of them for cause. He would
ask them if they could be fair and they would nod their heads.
We used peremptory challenges for these people. The prosecutor
would ask the jurors if they would find the defendants guilty
under certain conditions, and they would say yes. To one young
woman I asked, "If a person disrupted business by overturning
tables and scattering the money, would you find that person guilty
of trespass?" She answered yes. I asked, "Even if it
was Jesus Christ?" She nodded her head again.
Three employees of Consolidated Controls testified that they could
not work because of the demonstrators in their office, that "it
was impossible to get in." Yet cross-examination brought
out that they had walked through the room and had made no effort
to work.
One of the lawyers for Consolidated Controls testified that he
himself was sitting in one of the chairs before a desk and that
he passed on the request of the demonstrators to speak to someone
in charge, and that the request was denied
Sergeant Brumley testified that he arrested the demonstrators
after he warned us that if we did not leave immediately we would
be arrested for trespassing.
Dana Roy, one of our supporters, testified as to a photo she took
that showed me sitting on the floor leaning against the non-working
side of a desk. Phil Chamberlain, one of our affinity group who
was arrested said that there was no damage done nor any intent
to injure property. He told of the nonviolence agreement we had.
Glafko testified that he acted out of the defense of necessity
to prevent nuclear war, but this defense was not allowed by Judge
Robinson. When asked a speculative, leading question as to whether
their business had been disrupted and whether it might have cost
the company money, he answered that he supposed that it might
have.
I testified about attempting to prevent violations of international
law, but this defense was not allowed either. I said that I did
not injure any property nor did I disrupt business activity. They
could have worked if they wanted to as far as I was concerned.
I said that I simply sat quietly in the office, waiting to speak
to someone about my concerns that this business was engaged in
illegal and immoral activities.
In the closing argument the prosecuting attorney brought in the
statutes defining, "conspiracy and overt act" and "aiding
and abetting." Thus she argued that each person was responsible
for what anyone in the group had don. I felt that this was guilt
by association and a dangerous concept. I argued that there was
no concrete evidence that I had disrupted business or injured
property. Employees had refused to work and blamed it on us without
cause. I said there was no evidence presented to show that Consolidated
Controls was a "lawful business," and I argued that
it was in fact illegal by international law. I felt that I was
simply exercising my first amendment rights, and I pointed out
that being arrested is not sufficient proof of guilt. I referred
often to Martin Luther King and his principles, as most of the
jury, the prosecuting attorney, and the judge were black. However,
there was apparently little understanding of this national hero.
Throughout the trial Judge Robinson acted in the most contemptuous,
disdainful, and abrupt manner. He would not allow any argument
on objections or points of law, imperiously commanding me to move
on to the next thing. Occasionally he said, "Sustained"
even when no objection had been made. He was clearly on the side
of the prosecution, even to the point of asking questions of witnesses
to help prosecute the case.
After hearing the judge's instructions, the jury took only about
a half hour to find us guilty. Then the jury was dismissed At
first Judge Robinson sentenced us to three years probation and
60 days in the county jail. When we both refused to accept probation,
he changed the jail time to 120 days. I said that he was punishing
us merely for having a jury trial. He immediately commanded us
to be remanded into custody. I asked, "Is this justice?"
as we were being taken away.
Because other people in this action at El Segundo had only
received sentences of one or three days, this sentence of four
months beyond the three days we had already done came as quite
a shock. Both Glafko, who was born in Athens, Greece 74 years
ago, and I had requested a jury trial because of our deep commitment
to making our protest as strong as possible Thus we were psychologically
prepared for the possibility of spending considerable time imprisoned.
I was surprised that it happened in this particular case. With
the Point Mugu sentencing to follow, we realized that we might
not be out on the streets for about six months.
As we sat in the crowded holding cells of Los Angeles Main County
Jail waiting to be processed, I felt a strange correspondence
between the terrible conditions in the world we were protesting
and the oppressive humiliation of my personal situation. It was
too late to call Joanne at home, though someone at the trial had
called her earlier. I called my parents who had been told of what
happened by Joanne. They considered it a great calamity, but wanted
to be supportive of me. As they are Reagan supporters, it seemed
ironic to me that they were spurred to action to help me while
so oblivious to problems in American society I was protesting.
Nevertheless their personal love for me was very moving and reassuring
to me
This time I submitted to the chest X-ray and cooperated with the
processing. I knew I had a long stay with many challenges ahead
of me. The person who checked my personal belongings turned out
to be Deputy Shannon, who had roughed me up when I had refused
the X-ray in October. He allowed me to keep my contact lenses
as well as my glasses, even though he recognized me. I believe
it may have been because I had no resentment in my heart toward
him. Other deputies who had had a long talk with me also remembered
me. When they found out I had gotten four months they laughed.
I was put in an over-crowded dormitory late at night. As there
were no bunks or mattresses available, a young man from Peru named
Tito gave me his mattress for the floor while he slept on the
metal bunk. I was deeply moved by his generosity, and the next
day I gave him a dollar when he asked to borrow some money. I
often talked to fellow inmates about why I was there and about
their cases. I would simply answer the question, "For protesting
nuclear weapon." Most people were sympathetic, and others
probably just thought I was crazy or a fool.
I was transferred to a small four-man cell where the radio dominated.
Almost all the inmates I met were friendly, and I never had any
trouble with anyone. We walked to a dining room three times a
day, but were only given five to ten minutes to eat. The over-crowding
of this jail certainly made a bad situation worse. Most of the
deputies felt they had to be tough and mean in order to do their
job effectively. This uncaring, superior attitude is the perverted
result of the deterrence philosophy. Because they believe that
jail must be an unpleasant experience in order to deter people
from coming back, they feel they must humiliate the prisoners
and treat them as inferior. However, from my perspective this
lowered the guards morally below the level of the inmates. I came
to understand the glory of the principle of human equality and
the degeneration and viciousness of superior-inferior attitudes.
As inmates we treated each other as equals and generally got along
fine. The deputies expected to be treated with respect but gave
none in return. Because of their authority and superior position,
many of them got a perverted psychological pleasure out of dominating
people who were in a less fortunate position. This seemed okay
to them, because they were just reminding us that we were in jail
being punished for whatever it was that we did.
Late Friday night I was transferred to the honor ranch which everyone
called Wayside. I lived in a barracks with about sixty men. The
worst part of the jail experience for me was the cigarette smoke.
I finally adapted by going into the shower room and reading there.
I was assigned to the medical dispensary as a typist; smoking
was not allowed there. Often the nurses would play psychological
dominance games with the inmates also. The head nurse once told
us that it was actually illegal for us to be handling the medical
records of inmates. One kind nurse discovered that I was vegetarian
and brought me extra food. The three meals each day were fairly
adequate. Trading food was not supposed to be allowed, but we
did it all the time. Naturally I acquired friends who liked to
have my meat.
I worked from six in the morning and had every afternoon off and
many evenings. I would always go to the library and write or read,
or I would stand in line to make a phone call. A black and white
TV was always on in the barracks until ten at night.
When I talked to Joanne on the phone or at a visit, I discovered
how much was going on to support us in our protest. Joanne sent
out numerous letters to friends and groups connected to the World
Peace Movement, and many of them wrote letters to Judge Robinson.
The Catholic Worker also sent out letters and even organized a
weekly vigil in front of the courthouse. I was amazed and deeply
moved by this concern and support. Glafko and I felt that we really
had not done that much, and all we had to do was pass our time.
I asked for legal advice and discovered that to appeal or request
a sentence modification hearing myself pro per would take
six weeks, and I might be transferred back to the main jail. The
Catholic Worker offered to appeal and bail us out, but Glafko
and I did not want to do that right away. I asked the lawyer,
Doug Booth, for help, and he got us a sentence modification hearing
on December 13. On December 8 I was scheduled to argue my Vandenberg
case before three judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Pasadena; I wrote a letter requesting a withdrawal order, but
they decided that oral argument was unnecessary. On January 4
that court decided against me, and, I assume, the six-month probation
imposed by Judge Tashima went into effect. On December 9 Glafko
and I were scheduled to be sentenced by Magistrate Stone. He decided
to wait until we got out, but indicated the sentence would be
21 days.
Early in the morning on the 13th Glafko and I were taken to the
main jail and then to the Inglewood Court. We walked through a
door and found ourselves in Robinson's courtroom with about thirty
supporters there. Doug Booth spoke of the chilling effect the
long sentence given us had on his other clients who changed their
pleas from not guilty. His research showed that the usual penalty
for trespassing was a $50 fine; he hoped that we would be home
for Christmas. Judge Robinson replied that if we had accepted
probation, we would be home by Christmas. He denied the motion.
I asked to speak; he would not let me, because I was represented
by a lawyer. We said that we wanted to appeal, and so he had to
set bail. He asked for $3000 each and declared that the usual
ten percent would not be allowed. Then he remanded us back into
custody.
We told our lawyers, Doug Booth and Michael Bourbeau who offered
to do the appeal, that we would like to bail out, since with a
more reasonable judge the sentence would probably be reduced.
The Catholic Worker offered to raise the money. They actually
collected several hundred dollars in the courthouse lobby right
away and the rest in a couple of days. Glafko and I were released
from the main county jail the next day.
Prior to the sentencing I wrote the following letter and sent it to about a dozen newspapers in the area, and at least four of them printed it.
January 3, 1984
To the Editor,
Although four out of five Americans currently favor a freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons, the U. S. Government has just stationed six cruise missiles in England and nine Pershing II missile in West Germany over the opposition of a majority of the people in those countries. Now a major nuclear strike can hit Moscow in about eight minutes. Once a nuclear war is started by the governmental leaders, the most massive murders in history could not be stopped by the people. In a few hours civilization in the northern hemisphere would be completely devastated.
Some of us in western Europe and the United States feel such love for human life that we are standing up to challenge these policies which we consider genocidal, immoral, and illegal by international laws We feel that we cannot sit idly by writing letters to impervious government officials in the face of the magnitude of these atrocities. We must do something in a nonviolent, peaceful way in order to arouse the public to prevent a nuclear war before it destroy us.
On several occasions I have stood nonviolently between people and their evil and illegal activities. In my three trials no judge has recognized the authority of international law or even questioned whether the U. S. Government might be acting illegally. On November 16, my friend Glafko Sikelianos and I were sentenced to four months for "trespassing." It is a sad day for our country when the warmakers get fat salaries and the peacemakers get thrown in jail. After spending a month in the Los Angeles County Jails, we were given a chance to appeal and were released when a full $6,000 cash bail was posted by the Catholic Worker and supporters. We want to thank people for this support and for the many letters sent to the judge.
On Friday, January 13 at 1:30 p.m. in Division 36 of the Ventura County Hall of Justice, Glafko and I will be sentenced by Federal Magistrate Robert M. Stone for our June 20th nonviolent protest of cruise missile testing at Point Mugu. We invite everyone who is concerned about these issues to come and witness this judicial event. May true justice be done.Love and peace,
Sanderson Beck
On January 13 about three dozen supporters came to the sentencing.
After various other cases, Glafko was called before the magistrate.
The probation reports on us had recommended a sentence of 21 days,
but the prosecuting attorneys asked for the maximum of six months.
Glafko spoke briefly about American exploitation and oppression
around the world, and then Magistrate Stone sentenced him to the
21 days.
When I got a chance to speak, I bean by thanking Magistrate Stone
for the style with which he had conducted the trial---his respect
for me as my own attorney and his openness in listening to arguments
on objections and in explaining his decisions. However, as to
the substance of his decisions, I spoke of a pattern of injustice
I have discovered in our judicial system. He had refused us a
jury trial which is supposed to be guaranteed by the U. S.
Constitution. He had failed to apply international law or
allow the defense of necessity; he had not even allowed us to
present evidence on these. I said that I forgave him for whatever
he did to me and held no grudge, because I knew that, like everyone,
he was doing the best he knew. However, I considered it my duty
as an educator to enlighten him if I could. I felt that I must
point out that he was now in complicity with the crimes of the
United States Government.
During the trial he had mentioned that many terrible things have
been done in the name of a noble cause. I asked him to look at
this situation. I had stopped traffic for about ten minutes one
morning in order to ask people to think about the terrible things
they are doing every day. For causing this minor inconvenience,
he wanted to lock me up for three weeks. For what? For nuclear
weapons which can kill millions of people. It seemed to me that
it is the United States which is doing atrocious things in the
name of freedom or "national security." I said that
what he did to me he was doing to Christ, and what he did to Glafko
he was doing to Christ also.
I could hear a woman sobbing, and many people had tears in their
eyes. I asked them not to feel sad for me but for our country
I said that I could go through the three weeks easily knowing
I had done the right thing. Then I told Magistrate Stone that
it would be harder on him, because he would have to live with
his decision for the rest of his life and have to explain it to
people and himself.
He in turn gave me a lecture, focusing as usual on the narrow
facts of the case and saying I broke the law. He thought I was
confused and needed self-examination, and he accused me of "incipient
egotism." He doubted that I had influenced anyone in a positive
way.
When he said this, I turned to look at all the supporters in the
courtroom. They began silently to raise their hands in eloquent
refutation of his statement. Then someone shouted, "We love
you, Sanderson.' Magistrate Stone called the courtroom to order
and declared that it was not a popularity contest.
I noted how ironic it was that that weekend was Martin Luther
King's birthday, which had been declared a national holiday. Yet,
I said, if he had not been violently killed, he probably would
be doing what I am doing. With deep emotion I said that he is
an American saint.
I submitted to the court's decision and was given 21 days minus
the three already served. As I walked over to the jury box to
sit next to Glafko to begin our sentence I said to Magistrate
Stone, "God bless you." The court was recessed, and
people began to leave. A dear friend, Brock, came over and gave
me a hug. Then one after another people filed by and shook my
hand. It seemed to me that their eyes were a misty as mine.
The time in jail went by quickly as I read several good books.
Absorbed in study I would forget where I was. Occasionally I would
look around and realize I was in jail. Then I would say to myself,
"But it's okay, because it's a worthy cause." Then I
would go back to my reading.
My Path to Protest
Diablo Canyon
Entering Vandenberg Air Force Base
WinCon '83
Re-entering Vandenberg AFB
Vandenberg Trial
Peace Action at Mugu
Stopping the Euromissiles
The Point Mugu Trial
Trial for the El Segundo Action
In the Los Angeles County Jails
Sentencing for Point Mugu