The women say God led them to the Weld County missile silo. For nine months before their arrest — as war with Iraq seemed more and more likely — the women gathered for prayer and discussion.
“It’s like the Spirit led us to Colorado and there it was. It was something we had to do,” Platte said.
She said the N-8 site was ideal because it is visible from the road. They picked Oct. 6 because it marked one year since military action began in Afghanistan.
As Platte, Hudson and Gilbert entered the site about 7:35 a.m., they wore jumpsuits displaying the letters CWIT, standing for Citizen Weapon Inspection Team.
Once inside, they cut a chain-link fence, hammered at a silo and railroad tracks with a ball-ping hammer and painted crosses on the tracks and silo with their own blood, which they carried in baby bottles. The plan was a symbolic disarmament, they said.
Hammering at the silo couldn’t have triggered a blast, said Sgt. Bryan Gatewood of Warren Air Force Base. The silo includes a 110-ton blast door made of concrete and reinforced steel.
Then they waited, singing hymns and praying.
An hour later, military personnel and law enforcement officials arrived, surrounding them with weapons and ordering them to the ground. A bomb squad helicopter flew above.