Protesters found guilty of trespass at Creech Air Force Base
Fourteen anti-war protesters were found guilty of trespass Thursday for entering Creech Air Force Base in April 2009 to demonstrate against the base conducting missile strikes, using remotely piloted aircraft, in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The so-called Creech 14 weren't jailed. Justice Court Judge William D. Jansen gave them credit for time served after their arrests.
Jansen denied the "necessity" defense that the defendants had used in their September trial. The law as it pertains to trespass "allows a necessity defense when there is an inherent danger present and immediate action must be taken," Jansen said. But he said that in this case, "no inherent danger was present causing you to trespass."
The defendants contended that Predator and Reaper drones controlled by pilots and sensor operators in ground stations at the base in Indian Springs, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas, had launched Hellfire missiles at targets 7,000 miles away that killed or wounded civilians, including children, in attacks that military officials have said were aimed at terrorists .
One defendant, Sister Megan Rice, said she has "listened to the voices of victims of drone warfare" and views this type of warfare as the evolution of human extinction. She said she crossed onto Creech property April 9, 2009, with the other 13 defendants because "it was and is an absolute necessity."
Before his sentencing at the Regional Justice Center, Brian Terrell, 54, of Maloy, Iowa, told Jansen, "I need to respectfully disagree with your finding that there was no imminent harm."
Terrell said even the pilots and sensor operators at the Creech base are harmed by conducting the missile strikes by remote control because some of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder when they see the result of the attacks on computer screens in front of them.
"The harm is imminent. The harm is real," Terrell said. "I feel no crime was committed" on April 9, 2009.
Another defendant, Eve Tetaz, said she went to Creech "to express deep sorrow and outrage that our country was engaged in what I believe are acts of terrorism. I cannot remain silent."
Defendant Dennis Duvall said, "Drones do not eliminate terrorism. Instead they incite hatred. It results in revenge attacks against our brothers and sisters over there. They know where we live. We cannot run from the consequences of our drone attacks 7,000 miles away."
Creech spokesman 1st Lt. Kevin Milgram responded to the judge's decision in an e-mail: "The right to peaceful assembly is one of the many rights guaranteed to all Americans. As members of the United States military, we have taken an oath to defend these constitutional rights. In April of 2009, 14 individuals went beyond their constitutional rights by crossing Creech Air Force Base's marked perimeter."
Before their court appearance, all but one of the defendants rallied with supporters on the steps of the Regional Justice Center, holding signs that read, "New Weapons Prolong War & Make U.S. Hated," "Drones are Terrorism" and "This is 2011 not 1984."
The missing defendant, the Rev. Louie Vitale, co-founder of the peace group Nevada Desert Experience, is in federal prison in Lompoc, Calif., for a previous offense for civil disobedience actions.
Outside the courthouse, Kathleen Kelly, 58, of Chicago said she traveled to Afghanistan in October and December and saw a child and others who had been injured by drone missile strikes. She said they referred to "computer airplanes Nevada. You know what they mean when they say, 'Nevada.' "
Kelly, a teacher, said she was charged with criminal trespass at Creech in April 2009 "after I walked with others carrying a letter and loaf of bread."
Besides Kelly, Vitale, Duvall, Tetaz, Terrell and Rice, the others who were found guilty of trespass were Renee Espeland, Judith Homanich, Mariah Klusmire, Bradford Lyttle, Elizebeth Pappalardo, and the Revs. Stephen Kelley, John Dear and Jerome Zawada.
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
