83-year-old nun, two other protesters are convicted in security breach at nuclear weapons facility
An 83-year-old nun and two other peace activists were convicted this week for breaching security at a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant as part of a protest.
Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed were convicted of interfering with national security and damaging federal property at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge last July, report the Knoxville News Sentinel, the Associated Press and Reuters.
The trio cut through security fences surrounding the uranium storage facility, spray painted “Biblical graffiti” on its walls, hung banners, hammered on the facility, and stained the building with human blood from hurled baby bottles.
The more serious charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Amul Thapar is weighing whether the three can be released pending their sentencing on Sept. 23. They must be held if their convictions are considered violent crimes, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports in a separate story.
