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Y-12 protesters get three-week extension to file motions

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Transform Now Plowshares

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 and now face federal charges of property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

A federal judge has given attorneys three extra weeks to file motions in the government’s case against three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalizing a building where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

On Oct. 9, the attorneys asked for a one-month extension, which would have given them until Nov. 9 to file motions for Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli. They said they hadn’t completed their investigation and needed more time to consult with the defendants.

In an order filed Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley Jr. gave them until Oct. 30. A motion hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 20.

“In order to remain on track for the Feb. 26, 2013, trial of this matter, this motion hearing cannot be delayed,” Shirley said. “Additional extensions of the motion deadline will not be permitted, except in the event of extraordinary circumstances.”

Shirley said attorneys had said the discovery, or information collected in the case, was minimal, and he was “somewhat surprised” to hear that more time was needed to investigate the facts.

Boertje-Obed, Rice, and Walli are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn on July 28, cutting through fences with bolt cutters, evading guards, and spray-painting slogans and splashing human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

They have been charged with property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. The three protesters, who have pleaded not guilty, face potential penalties of up to 16 years in jail and $600,000 in fines.

Walli is represented by Christopher Scott Irwin of Knoxville and William P. Quigley of New Orleans. Rice is represented by Francis L. Lloyd Jr. of Knoxville. Boertje-Obed is representing himself, although he has the assistance of “elbow counsel,” Knoxville attorney Bobby E. Hutson Jr.

The Nov. 20 motion hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

The unprecedented security breach has had a significant impact on Y-12, its contractors, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Among other things, there have been federal investigations, two congressional hearings, a temporary halt in nuclear operations, a contract termination for security guard company WSI Oak Ridge, and a firing, suspensions, retirements, and reassignments at WSI, NNSA, and B&W Y-12.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:27 p.m. Oct. 18.

Y-12 protesters ask for extra month to file motions in federal case

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Attorneys for the three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex have asked for more time to file motions.

The three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—have been charged with property destruction, property depredation, and trespassing. They face a Feb. 26 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Tuesday was the deadline to file motions in the federal case against them. The activists and their attorneys have asked for an extra month.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the attorneys asked for the deadline to be extended to Nov. 9 because they haven’t finished investigating the “circumstances of this case and therefore cannot yet fully advise the defendants regarding the filing of motions in this matter.”

Walli is represented by Christopher Scott Irwin of Knoxville and William P. Quigley of New Orleans, Rice is represented by Francis L. Lloyd Jr. of Knoxville, and Boertje-Obed is representing himself, although he has the assistance of “elbow counsel,” Knoxville attorney Bobby E. Hutson Jr.

During the July 28 security breach at Y-12, the three activists allegedly spray-painted slogans and splashed human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

They have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against them. They face potential penalties of up to 16 years in jail and $600,000 in fines.

Ohio Republican introduces bill to transfer nuclear facility security to military

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Mike Turner

Mike Turner

The chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces has introduced legislation that would put the military in charge of security of nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials at certain federal sites, including the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The legislation is in response to the unprecedented July 28 security breach at Y-12, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican.

Security at Y-12, including security systems and personnel, has been provided by contractors B&W Y-12 and WSI Oak Ridge.

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Y-12 security breach ‘obvious dereliction of duty’

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Lawmakers criticized federal officials and contractors during congressional hearings this week on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, demanding to know who had been fired and who had been responsible for repairing critical cameras that didn’t work.

“This level of intrusion into the perimeter of a highly secure nuclear weapons facility is unprecedented—and it is completely unacceptable,” said Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who chairs the U.S. House Strategic Forces Subcommittee. “It is outrageous to think that the greatest threat to the American public from weapons of mass destruction may be the incompetence of Department of Energy security.”

Legislators took aim at federal officials and the “mind-boggling incompetence” of contractors. They wanted to know how an 82-year-old nun was able to reach the “Fort Knox” of uranium, a building inside a high-security area at Y-12 surrounded by fences and protected by alarms and cameras—and where deadly force is authorized.

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Second House panel questions federal officials on Y-12 security breach

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The U.S. House of Representatives has a second hearing this afternoon on this summer’s security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Today’s 2 p.m. hearing is before the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, and it can be watched live online.

Today’s hearing follows one yesterday by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. During that hearing, House members called the July 28 security breach at Y-12 “appalling” and an “all-out failure,” and they asked who had been fired and who was responsible for various problems—such as security cameras that didn’t work.

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Judge releases third Y-12 protester

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Greg Boertje-Obed

Greg Boertje-Obed

A federal judge has released the third protester arrested at the Y-12 National Security Complex after an unprecedented July 28 security breach, a court representative said Tuesday.

Greg Boertje-Obed will return to Duluth, Minn., and he must follow conditions that are similar to those imposed on the two other anti-nuclear weapons activists released Aug. 3, said a representative of the U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Third Y-12 protester has detention hearing today, trial rescheduled

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Greg Boertje-Obed

Greg Boertje-Obed

The third protester who has remained in jail since a July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex has a detention hearing at 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Greg Boertje-Obed had previously waived his right to a detention hearing, and he has remained jailed in Blount County. The other two anti-nuclear weapons activists, Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli, were freed Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley has rescheduled the trial of the protesters to Feb. 26, 2013. The case will be tried before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips.

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Seeking delay, Y-12 protesters have Friday hearing in federal court

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A Friday hearing has been scheduled for the three protesters accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 and spray-painting slogans and splashing human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—have asked Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley to delay their Oct. 10 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 protesters ask federal judge to delay Oct. 10 trial

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after an Aug. 9 arraignment on charges of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Two anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July in a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have asked a federal judge to delay their trial date.

The protesters now face an Oct. 10 trial before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Phillips in Knoxville.

But in motions filed Wednesday, two of the protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan Rice—said the evidence in the case is voluminous, and it involves significant and complex issues, including national security and First Amendment issues.

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Y-12 cameras weren’t working, guards failed to react, federal letter says

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Transform Now Plowshares

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above sneaked into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 and triggered a security crisis that has led to personnel changes, a temporary halt in nuclear operations, and a potential termination of a federal contract with B&W Y-12. From left to right, the three protesters are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 9:32 a.m. Aug. 15.

Many security cameras weren’t working when three anti-nuclear weapons activists sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex early in the morning on Saturday, July 28, a federal official said in a critical letter released Tuesday evening.

One of those cameras was near a fence penetrated by the protesters, who allegedly used bolt-cutters to slice through three fences before they walked to a high-security building known as the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The intruders, who allegedly spray-painted slogans and splashed human blood on the HEUMF, set off many alarms in a “multi-layered sensor system” in a fence line, but the Y-12 protective force failed to react, the official said.

When guards alerted by the alarms responded with a vehicle patrol, it took them too long to arrive at the scene, and once there, they “failed to take appropriate steps to take control of the situation,” said the official, National Nuclear Security Administration Contracting Officer Jill Y. Albaugh. She said a responding supervisor finally took control and removed the protesters.

Written Friday, Albaugh’s letter gives Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, 30 days to show why the federal government should not proceed to terminate its contract.

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Y-12 protesters plead not guilty to new charge, face more jail time

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after pleading not guilty Thursday morning to three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Note: This story was last updated at 1:51 a.m. Aug. 10.

KNOXVILLE—A new felony property depredation charge and the possibility of more jail time have been added to two earlier charges filed against three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July near a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn July 28, cutting through three fences, and setting off alarms before spraying paint and splashing blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The new charge, contained in a three-count grand jury indictment filed Tuesday, carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The three activists pleaded not guilty to all three counts during a Thursday morning arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 activists indicted by federal grand jury for trespassing, property destruction

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Three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested July 28 in the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction.

The three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are expected to be arraigned this morning in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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