26 Arrested at Seal Beach Nuclear Protest

Twenty-six demonstrators were arrested on Saturday, the 43rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, during a civil disobedience ceremony outside the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

Those arrested were booked at Seal Beach Police Department for trespassing on government property and released with a citation, police said. They face a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, said Seal Beach Police Lt. Kenny Mollohan.

Police were informed in advance of the demonstrators’ plan to symbolically cross the property line in front of the naval base, and their arrests were done in orderly batches of three and four.

‘Liberty on the Line’

“It’s putting your liberty and good name on the line for what you believe in,” said Jonathan Parfrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, the community service group that organized the event. The protest drew more than 100 people.

One unusual aspect to the commemorative demonstration, which has been held each Aug. 6 in front of the naval station for several years, was the presence of about five counterprotesters from Young Americans for Freedom, an ultraconservative organization that promotes defense spending and distrusts the Soviet Union.

The counterprotesters shouted remarks such as, “If you want peace, prepare for war” and “Kick them out of America” to demonstrators who were kneeling before the naval base’s green property line at about 2 p.m. singing “Come Holy Spirit” in Latin and waiting to be arrested.

“We have the right to yell annoying chants,” said counterdemonstrator Steve Wilson, 20, of Fullerton.

Before the arrests, the demonstrators prayed, sang songs, released balloons with messages, and held up banners showing children scarred by the Hiroshima bombing and criticizing U.S. policies in Central America.

‘Immoral Act’

“We are here to remember what we see as an immoral act,” said Parfrey, adding that U.S. nuclear weapons policies could cause another Hiroshima.

“Part of (U.S.) policy is to threaten to kill tens of millions of people,” he said. “We are out here to be peacemakers.”

Parfrey said the Seal Beach base was chosen because his group believes that components of nuclear weapons are stored at the facility.

Police said some of those arrested chose not to sign the citation and were taken to Orange County Jail.

Those arrested who did not sign the citation include: Anne Fitzgerald, 33, Los Angeles; Jeannette Arnquist, 41, Hemet; Kimberly Williams, 33, Los Angeles; Marilee Robertson, 59, Canoga Park; Nina Kanga, 33, Sun Valley; Liza Apper, 36, Fresno; Eleanor Kelly, 36, San Ysidro; James Fissel, 22, Fountain Valley; George Manly, 20, Irvine; Evelyn Kelly, 34, Los Angeles; Robert Dietrich, 42, Los Angeles, and Steve Baggarly, 33, Los Angeles.

Those arrested who did sign the citation and were released include: Sandra Huckaby, 39, Canoga Park; Maria McCord, 23, Altadena; Cynthia Holland, 25, Santa Monica; Mary McKenna, 36, Claremont; Timothy Wertzberger, 25, Santa Barbara; Richard Nester, 39, Irvine; Frederick Karch, 44, San Pedro; Holly Karl, 22, Culver City; Mathew Winston, 30, Los Angeles; Michael Sintef, 34, New York; Ferdinand Verschueren, 41, Fountain Valley; Lawrence Abbott, 45, Los Angeles, and Edward Ferrer, 41, Venice.

In a separate event honoring the same victims, a 100-mile bicycle ride sponsored by the Alliance for Survival drew about 90 participants Saturday morning at Heritage Park in Irvine.

Among other anti-nuclear demonstrations across the country marking the Hiroshima bombing, one at the Nevada Test Site led to the arrest of actor Martin Sheen and 85 others who entered the grounds of the facility. They were charged with misdemeanor trespassing.