548 Seized in Nuclear Weapons Protests

Police arrested 228 anti-nuclear demonstrators Sunday in Nevada, while 320 were taken into custody after they attempted to force a one-day shutdown of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado.

A “peace fair” sponsored by the Nashville Peace Alliance in Tennessee and a protest at the Trident submarine base in Bangor, Wash., also were among the scattered demonstrations marking the 42nd anniversary of the A-bomb attack on Nagasaki during World War II.

An estimated 300 to 400 anti-nuclear activists were met by more than 150 counterdemonstrators at the test site in Mercury, Nev. Members of the environmental group Greenpeace sang “America the Beautiful” as their opponents shouted “better dead than red” and “you save the seals--we’ll save the country.”

Area Officials Seized

Among those arrested were West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem Helen Aldert, Hermosa Beach Councilman Jim Rosenberger, Santa Monica City Atty. Robert Meyers and Santa Monica City Council members Dennis Zane and David Finkel. Those arrested were cited for trespassing and released, said John Murphy of the Westside SANE/FREEZE organization.

County authorities stopped prosecuting protesters earlier this year because of the growing number of protests and arrests at the desert site 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

In Colorado, an estimated 300 to 500 protesters converged on the Rocky Flats plant’s two main gates at 5:30 a.m. Fifty state patrol officers were waiting and began making arrests about 30 minutes later when all but 30 protesters refused to disperse.

Rocky Flats, 16 miles northwest of Denver, is operated by Rockwell International Corp. for the Department of Energy. The plant makes plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons.

More Charges Possible

State Patrol Sgt. Larry Tolar said a few protesters who climbed over the fence may be charged with federal trespassing. Those who blocked gates will be charged with misdemeanors, he said.

Sunday’s blockade was the largest protest effort since 1979, said John Chanin of the peace activist group Shut Down! which organized the event.

Protester Sherri McCutchen of Boulder said: “Even if we slow production on one bomb for one day, that’s a start.”

Rocky Flats officials said operations continued, with some workers on overtime.

“The only thing this morning has done has been to temporarily limit access on this side of the plant,” plant spokesman Dennis Hurt said. “It hasn’t shut down anything.”

Lela Jean Knight, 54, from Colorado Springs, attending her first demonstration, said she was afraid to be arrested.

Explains Her Protest

“But since 1982, my husband, Ralph, and I have tried to educate people about the danger of nuclear weapons,” she said. “I have 10 grandchildren, and that is why I’m here.”

The arresting officers, she said, “were very nice to me.”

In Texas, Roman Catholic Bishop Leroy Matthiesen led about 200 peace activists in prayer and song outside the gates at the plant in Pantex, which is the final assembly point for all warheads in the nation’s nuclear arsenal.