Four Peace Activists Guilty of Damaging Minuteman 2 Silo
A federal jury Friday found four peace activists guilty of conspiring to impede the national defense by damaging a Minuteman 2 missile silo during a peace demonstration.
The four defendants--Catholic priests Carl Kabat, 51, and his brother, Paul 46; Catholic lay worker Helen Woodson, 41, and American Indian activist Larry Cloud-Morgan, 41--never denied their guilt but called on the jury to act as the community’s conscience. They cited their moral, religious and ethical beliefs as justification for damaging the silo 35 miles east of Kansas City.
Charges against the four stemmed from a November, 1984, demonstration in which a Minuteman 2 silo was damaged with sledgehammers and a jackhammer. They face maximum sentences of more than 25 years in prison and $33,500 in fines.
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