Crime & Safety
Charges Dismissed Against Pilgrim Nuke Protesters; Arrested Again an Hour Later
An hour after charges were dismissed against 11 defendants accused of trespassing at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station last May, five of them were arrested again.
A group of anti-nuclear protesters wanted to prove their point.
An hour after having charges dropped against them during a hearing in Plymouth District Court Wednesday afternoon, the so-called "Pilgrim 14" and about 50 of their supporters got in their cars and headed down to Pilgrim Nuclear Station with the hopes of being arrested again.
Five of the 11 managed it, being confronted by plant security and arrested by Plymouth Police on trespassing charges on the Edison access road by the power plant's main parking lot.
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Last May, 14 people were arrested after trying to deliver a letter to Pilgrim station management calling for the facility to be shut down down.
According to a release from the anti-nuclear group Cape Downwinders, the defendants opposed the dismissal and "were prepared to mount a vigorous necessity defense....They wanted to justify why they felt it necessary to trespass and had several renowned expert witnesses ready to testify."
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"The Commonwealth should be more concerned with Entergy's radiation leaks trespassing upon its people than the symbolic acts of well-meaning citizens,"
Defendant David Agnew said."This reactor is still very dangerous and the three identical reactors that exploded in Fukushima, Japan have displaced over 150,000 people and caused over 30,000 thyroid abnormalities in children. The risks are far to great," Diane Turco of Harwich said.
The group wanted to stand trial on trespassing charges in the hopes of furthering their case against the continued operation of Pilgrim Station. They hoped to invite a number of noted anti-nuclear activists to testify about the dangers of nuclear power.
Judge Katherine Hand accepted a prosecution motion to drop the charges. The assistant district attorney argued that holding a trial would tax the DA’s office limited resources and that the defendants only wanted a trial to make a political point. A position the defendants and their attorneys did not dispute.
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