17 Plead Innocent in Base Protest

Fifteen Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists pleaded not guilty Monday to felony charges of entering a Vandenberg Air Force Base ocean safety zone during an antimissile defense test.

The protesters--some swimming, others in small boats--delayed the July 14 launch by entering a restricted area of the Pacific Ocean.

A base spokesman said the delay was two minutes, but Greenpeace claims the protest postponed the launch by 40 minutes.

U.S. Magistrate Carolyn Turchin set trial for Sept. 25 before U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow.

Greenpeace, which opposes Bush administration plans for an antimissile defense system, organized a demonstration outside the downtown courthouse to complain that the felony charges, carrying maximum prison terms of 11 years, are unduly harsh.

Defendants Come From 7 Countries

The Greenpeace defendants are a diverse international group: six Americans, two Germans, two Britons, two Australians, one Indian, one Canadian and one Swede.

The freelance journalists, who accompanied the protesters, are videographer Jorge L. Torres from Spain and photographer Stephen Fitzpatrick Morgan from Britain.

All those from abroad are banned, under terms of their bail arrangements, from leaving the country before the trial.

The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy and trespassing into a zone enforced by the Coast Guard around the launch site. Greenpeace spokeswoman Carol Gregory charged that the Bush administration is following a new policy in charging “peaceful protesters” with felonies.

But a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, Thom Mrozek, said the charges were warranted by the protesters’ conduct, which was “very different” from that of protesters in previous demonstrations at Vandenberg.

“It is incorrect to say this signals any policy change by the administration,” Mrozek said.

The base spokesman said Monday that what little disruption the demonstration caused resulted from two of the protesters, Brent Manneus and Jon T. Aguilar, both Americans, who jumped out of their small boats in the safety zone and swam to shore on the base.

When they arrived on the beach, they had hypothermia and had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital, he said.

Aguilar, a former Marine who said he is in the massage therapy business, said Monday this was his first protest with Greenpeace.

Long Sentences Are Unlikely

He castigated the government for the severity of the charges.

“Really, it’s ridiculous for prosecutors to talk about a safety zone, when they are starting an arms race,” Aguilar said.

Mrozek said it is “extremely unlikely that any of these people will receive a sentence of anywhere near 11 years.”