Hippies break into nuclear plant
Protesters Break Into Oak Ridge Nuclear Weapons Plant
Knoxville News-Sentinel (07/31/12) Munger, Frank
Security personnel at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee were taken by surprise early in the morning of July 29, when a trio of aging protestors somehow gained access to the facility's so-called Protected Area, where work is performed on nuclear warheads. At around 4:30 am security personnel at Y-12 encountered the three protestors, Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed, and Michael Walli, who were hanging banners, splashing blood, and painting messages on the side of a building housing the U.S.'s largest stockpile of bomb-grade uranium. The protestors, a nun, house painter, and gardener respectively, reportedly began reading a manifesto, offered to break bread with the guards, and sang when confronted by security forces. Wackenhut Services, which has provided security at the facility for the past decade, has often boasted of the security at Y-12 and facility spokesman Steven Wyatt said it was fortunate no one was harmed, as guards at the facility are heavily armed and the protestors had accessed an extremely sensitive area of the facility. It is not clear how the protestors achieved this, though a supporter in contact with them claims that the trio said they had used wire cutters to make their way through a series of security fences. The three identified themselves as "Transform Now Plowshares," suggesting they are affiliated with the broader Plowshares protest movement, which is opposed to the development, possession, and use of nuclear weapons.
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