Protester Liz Rivera Goldstein flashes twin peace signs from cuffed hands as she is arrested by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Pernsteiner outside the gates of Naval Magazine Indian Island on Saturday.
Posted on 04/23/2007 3:42:46 PM PDT by SmithL
PORT HADLOCK - Two Jefferson County residents were arrested Saturday outside the entrance gates of Naval Magazine Indian Island as 16 people brandished cardboard signs - and one spilled marinara sauce to symbolize blood - to protest Thursday's arrival of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Ohio at the munitions base.
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies arrested Liz Rivera Goldstein, 49, of Port Townsend, and Bethel Alice Prescott, 46, of Irondale, on investigation of disorderly conduct when they blocked the entrance to the base after a five-minute warning to clear the way expired at about 2 p.m.
Both women face a charge of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine.
The USS Ohio, which carries non-nuclear weapons, was the first nuclear-powered submarine to dock at Indian Island - the Navy's only munitions storage and transfer depot on the West Coast - this year.
The last time a nuclear-powered sub docked at the base was when the USS Florida arrived in April 2006, said Lt. Kyle Raines, Navy spokesperson for Submarine Group 9, on Thursday.
The USS Ohio remained docked at the pier on Salturday.
The Navy would not say how long the sub would be there.
The Navy had announced in September 2005 plans to convert the dock at the munitions storage and transfer depot into a maintenance site for nuclear-powered submarines, and a $1.5 million upgrade of the base's wharf power systems was completed last year.
"We're watching a steady increase in what the military is doing around the world," said Rivera Goldstein during Saturday's protest.
"Locally, I believe the danger to the community increases if they have an accident," she said.
"The community is far too close to this base to be safe."
Indian Island's munitions pier is about two miles from Port Townsend's downtown and can be seen from town across Port Townsend Bay.
Cmdr. George N. Whitbred, commanding officer of the base, has said that weapons-handling at the base poses minimal risk to Port Townsend and populated areas nearby.
He said such areas are a safe distance from the munitions site.
Sheriff informed Rivera Goldstein had informed the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office of the plan for the protest - an impromptu affair arranged after news of the arrival of the USS Ohio was published in the Peninsula Daily News on Friday.
Navy personnel were also aware of the protesters' plans.
"We're doing what we do and they're doing what they do," Chris Haley, Navy spokesman, said on Friday.
"From the Navy's point of view, this is exactly the mission Indian Island conducts," he said of the submarine being docked at the base's pier.
The protest began at about 12:30 p.m., with Rivera Goldstein and Doug Milholland, a member of the Port Townsend Peace Movement, making speeches in the park across from the Indian Island gates.
Then the group moved directly in front of the gate, near the Navy's "blue line" that indicates where local jurisdiction ends and federal jurisdiction begins.
Marinara sauce Milholland, who was not arrested, pulled a jar of organically-grown marinara sauce from a bag and poured it on the ground in front of the gate in the shape of a dollar sign.
He said it symbolized the blood that has been spilled in fighting in Iraq and the billions of dollars spent on the war.
"Where would we be as a people if we would take the same amount of money and put it to decreasing our need for oil?" Milholland asked.
"I believe [the Iraq war] is about money - money and power.
"So I chose marinara sauce instead of blood, but organic marinara sauce is a reasonable substitute."
No one crossed the blue line.
Three Jefferson County Sheriff's Office cruisers arrived and uniformed officers - who had not been present until the group moved to the gates - told the protesters not to block the entrance.
Everyone moved to the side, except for Rivera Goldstein, who stood with her fingers in the V peace sign, and Prescott, who made origami cranes.
Once a five-minute warning was given and the women stayed put, they were arrested without incident and taken to the Jefferson County jail in Port Hadlock where they were booked.
Dan Goldstein, Rivera Goldstein's husband, said she will not pay the $250 bail set for her offense to get out of jail.
"She plans to stay in until her court appearance on Monday," he said.
Prescott did pay the bail and was released on Saturday.
This is Rivera Goldstein's fifth arrest during protests.
She was an organizer of a protest in September in the same location.
The protest was part of a nationwide demonstration against the Iraq war and the usage of weapons containing depleted uranium.
Then, 37 people - including Milholland and Prescott - were arrested on investigation of disorderly conduct when they blocked the road going into the base.
The charges for 36 of those arrested were decreased earlier this year to an infraction called "pedestrian blocking the road," punishable by a $76 fine.
The other protester had pleaded guilty to the offense of disorderly conduct.
Old hippies rarely age well.
Then move the community. Duh.
These idiots don’t realize that their “Peace at any price” thinking is going to get them killed.
Feed her to the jihadis ... if they’ll take her.
As an aside …those of us old enough to remember the peace demonstrations of the Viet Nam era, the current crop of protests seems to be very weak. Back in the day, there would have been hundreds arrested, and, generally, a riot to finish off the day’s festivities.
This, to me, seems to be a positive sign.
Not necessarily. The USS Ohio was one of the SSBN's that was converted to a Special Warfare platform & the ship was redesignated SSGN, meaning she was stripped of her Trident D5 ballistic missiles and only carries cruise missiles. I'm sure the Navy will not confirm or deny the nature of the warheads on the cruise missiles.
I don’t think that there are any nuke-armed Tomahawks currently deployed anywhere. I think they were taken out of service.
Of course not. I'd bet you $100 cash they are all Gorons....
I love “Goron”. Probably so.
Paul Newman’s marinara sauce, perchance?
Hey leftie,
HIT THE F***ING SALAD BAR!!!
“Feed her to the jihadis”
Hell, fifty of them could live a month off of that fatted carcass!
Body by McDonalds...
I'm pretty sure that you are correct about that. 'Course we can't allow the facts to confuse our liberal 'friends', can we?
“There’s no action. I have to wait around like everyone else. Can’t even get decent food. Right after I got here I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I’m an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.”— Goodfellas.
What a Ditz... (with a capital D)
While going through a "C" School at New London, I used to spend a lot of time down on the USS Croaker. It was awe inspiring to watch the Ohio taking form up at EB. It was a lot bigger than any of the original 41 for Freedom boats that I served on.
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