PRESS RELEASE: Anti-Nuclear Activists Blockade LANL Gates (Updated with Photos, Video)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 6, 2012

Anti-Nuclear Activists Blockade LANL Gates

Contact: OccupyNMTogether(at)gmail.com for more info

Aug. 6 – Six anti-nuclear activists were arrested at around 8 am today after blocking the road into Los Alamos National Laboratory. The action took place on the 67th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. At least 50 activists from Trinity Nuclear Abolitionists, (un)Occupy Albuquerque, Occupy Santa Fe, Nuke Free Now and other groups participated in the protest.

Cathie Sullivan of Santa Fe, who was one of those arrested, said today’s action was a culmination of 40 years of moral objection to nuclear weapons. Pamela Gilchrist, who fasted for 21 days against the ongoing nuclearization, said she hoped that her arrest would motivate citizens to get involved in stopping the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) facility. “I’m outraged that our senators (Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall) are trying to revive the ill-fated and ill-advised CMRR project,” she added. The CMRR would enable the lab to increase plutonium pit production.

Barbara Grothus, daughter of the late Ed Grothus, a renowned anti-nuclear activist and the moral conscience of the Los Alamos community, joined the blockade to honor her father’s legacy. She said Los Alamos should be a contributor to the health of the planet by working on sustainable technologies instead of endangering the world. Wind Euler, another arrestee, said: “I blocked the road into the lab to slow down the work of creating more weapons of mass destruction and more radioactive contamination. The lab is on indigenous lands, and the contamination of the waters and soils downstream from the lab will continue to damage the health of generations of Peublo and other peoples living downstream.”

Benjamin Abbott was also arrested as part of today’s action. “I took part in the action to throw a wrench into the gears of the war machine. I oppose all weapons and military research that support U.S. imperialism across the world and the occupation of LANL,” Abbott said.

The arraignment will take place at the Los Alamos Justice Center on Aug. 9, which also marks the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.

Here is a compilation of photos, video and media from the Hiroshima Day action in Los Alamos:

“Protesters arrested in Los Alamos. Entrance blocked.” #occupynukes #lanl via @OccupyWalkUSA (twitpic.com/ag7613)

#NoNukes Activist & LANL 6 Arrestee Cathie Sullivan Interviewed:

 MEDIA COVERAGE: Photos & good story: Six protesters arrested in morning march on LANL (Los Alamos Monitor) / 6 Arrested in Hiroshima Protest at LANL (Albuquerque Journal) / 6 arrested on 67th anniversary of nuclear bombing of Hiroshima (KOB) / Six arrested for blocking road to Los Alamos National Laboratory (KOB) / 6 arrested at LANL, atomic bomb protest / Photos: LANL Protesters Arrested and Released From Jail (Los Alamos Daily Post) / Lab tightens access during anti-nuke protests (Santa Fe New Mexican) / People power challenges nuclear power with nationwide demonstrations (Waging Nonviolence) / Anti-Nuclear Activists Arraigned In Los Alamos (La Jicarita) / Movimiento antinuclear en Los Álamos (El Semanario en Linea de Nuevo Mexico)

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