Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)
The three anti-nuclear weapons activists who cut through high-security fences and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the side of a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012 will be sentenced in three separate hearings in Knoxville on Tuesday.
Their earlier consolidated sentencing hearing on Jan. 28 was delayed due to snow.
U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar has ordered that Michael Walli, a 64-year-old Catholic worker from Washington, D.C., be sentenced at 12 p.m. Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Walli is facing the longest potential sentence, a range of about seven to nine years, for the damage caused during the unprecedented security breach.
Greg Boertje-Obed, a 58-year-old painter from Duluth, Minn., will be sentenced next, at 2 p.m. His recommended sentence is roughly six to eight years.
Megan Rice, an 84-year-old Catholic nun, will be sentenced last, at 4 p.m. She has received the shortest recommended sentence, a range of about five to seven years.
The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above cut through fences and vandalized a high-security building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012. They were convicted on two federal charges in May 2013. They now face prison sentences between five to nine years. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)
The trio, who called their action Transform Now Plowshares, was convicted in May 2013 of destroying U.S. property and attempting to injure national defense premises when they broke into Y-12 on July 28, 2012. They were immediately incarcerated after their convictions.
Supporters of the trio have organized what they call a Gathering of the Community of Hope and Resistance at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Church of the Savior (UCC) at 934 N. Weisgarber Road in Knoxville.
The gathering will include a meal of soup, salad, and bread with a few desserts, a press release said.
“If you would like to bring something in one of those categories, it will be welcomed,” the release said.
There will be a simple program at 7:30 p.m., the release said.
“We are asking people to bring something (one to two minutes in length) that represents hope—a reading, poem, prayer, song—to share,” the release said. “This is not required, just suggested.”
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Note: This story was updated at 12:15 a.m. Feb. 17.
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