ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 10, 1993                   TAG: 9304100171
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KERRY DEROCHI LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                LENGTH: Medium


PROTESTERS SPLASH NUCLEAR SUB WITH BLOOD

Three anti-war protesters broke into Newport News Shipbuilding early Friday and climbed on board a nuclear submarine, splashing it with blood.

The protesters - calling themselves The Good News Plowshares - claimed they spent 45 minutes in the high-security compound before flagging down a shipyard worker and turning themselves in.

The raid started at 3 a.m. when the protesters entered the giant shipyard by cutting a hole in a fence. The trio then scaled a large scaffolding and climbed on board the Tucson, a Los Angeles-class submarine scheduled to be christened in 1994.

The protesters - two women and one man - spray-painted slogans such as "Love" and poured what they claimed was their own blood out of baby bottles. They hung posters at the site condemning the company for "war crimes."

They were apprehended by security guards at 4 a.m. and turned over to Newport News police. They have been charged with misdemeanor trespassing and destruction of property.

Arrested were: Kathy Boylan, 49, of Long Island, N.Y.; Greg Boertje-Obed, 37, of Baltimore; and his wife, Michele Naar-Obed, 36.

Bail was set at $1,500 each. All three remained in custody.

Though the protesters could not be reached for comment, a spokesman for the group said the goal of the attack was to draw attention to the buildup of nuclear weapons.

"Following the spirit of Christ's sacrifice on Good Friday, we act to disarm the empire," Bruce Friedrich said, reading from a prepared statement. "We repent and we announce with hope and joy: Christ lives. Disarm."

The pre-dawn raid raised serious questions about security at Newport News Shipbuilding - the only shipyard in the country capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two capable of building nuclear submarines.

Jack Garrow, a spokesman for Newport News Shipbuilding, declined Friday to comment on the details of the early-morning raid. But he disputed the protesters' claim that they went undetected.

"Our information is that our employees noticed them and notified our security people," Garrow said. "This is the first time this has occurred here at Newport News Shipbuilding. We're obviously reviewing our security procedures."

Garrow said there was no damage done to the submarine, other than the blood.

The attack was the second launched by Plowshares against military weaponry in Hampton Roads.

In 1988, four members of Plowshares, including Greg Boertje-Obed, posed as tourists at the Norfolk Naval Base and snuck on board the battleship Iowa.

The protesters hammered the ship's weapons casings and splashed blood on two launchers holding Tomahawk missiles. They later were convicted in federal court of destroying government property.

Plowshares, an anti-war group founded in 1980, has launched similar protests around the nation and in England, hitting weapons and military equipment believed to be essential to a nuclear "first strike."

Boertje-Obed has taken part in four strikes on military bases, including the attack on the Iowa.


Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB