Transform Now Plowshares

OPEN LETTER FROM THE BROOKLYN METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER from Sr. Megan Rice, on behalf of the Transform Now Plowshares July 28, 2014 Our Dear Sisters and Brothers, We send warm greetings and many thanks to all who actively engage in the transformation of weapons of mass destruction to sustainable life-giving alternatives. Gregory Boertje-Obed (U.S. Penitentiary, … Continue reading →

“STOPPING BY THE U. S. CONSTITUTION ON A SNOWY EVENING”   Poem by MICHAEL WALLI , with thanks to Robert Frost   Whose world this is I know altho The CIA thinks it Is the Federals’ so Surely they see us Stopping here To fill the jails With empty show   The Founding Fathers Must … Continue reading →

Judge Amul Thapar issued an order this morning shifting the time of the sentencing hearings for Michael Walli, Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan Rice. The sentencing hearings will still take place on Tuesday, February 18. Michael Walli will be sentenced at 12:00noon; Greg Boertje-Obed at 2:00pm; Megan Rice at 4:00pm.

The sentencing hearing of Michael Walli, Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan Rice was interrupted by wintry weather—some might say providentially. Judge Amul Thapar announced at 1:15 that the federal courthouse was closing at 2:30pm because the accumulating snow promised to make travel treacherous. After a brief consultation among the attorneys it was decided they could not … Continue reading →

Bill Quigley, attorney for Michael Walli, who, along with Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan Rice, faces sentencing on January 28, 2014 in federal court in Knoxville, TN, for the July 28, 2012 Transform Now Plowshares action at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, TN, has filed a cogent and timely response to the government’s … Continue reading →

The US District Attorney filed its response to defense motions for downward departures for the Transform Now Plowshares activists; they ask Judge Amul Thapar to sentence Megan, Michael and Greg within the sentencing guidelines, ignoring the nonviolence nature of their action, disposing of them, instead, as though they were armed terrorist saboteurs. You can read … Continue reading →

Defense attorneys for Michael Walli have submitted a sentencing memo to the court on behalf of Mike who is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Amul Thapar on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 for the Transform Now Plowshares action on July 28, 2012. Walli will be sentenced along with fellow TNP resisters Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan … Continue reading →

Francis Lloyd, counsel for Megan Rice, has filed her sentencing memo with the court in advance of the sentencing of the Transform Now Plowshares prisoners. Rice is scheduled to appear before Judge Amul Thapar in Knoxville, TN, on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, along with her colleagues Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli, to be sentenced for … Continue reading →

In preparation for the January 28, 2014 sentencing of the Transform Now Plowshares trio in federal court in Knoxville, TN, Greg Boertje-Obed has filed a sentencing brief with the court: Sentencing Brief Greg Boertje-Obed One aspect of a sentencing brief is to describe the history of the defendant. One motivation for me to join in … Continue reading →

Judge Amul Thapar, in response to a motion filed by the TNP legal team, has agreed to consolidate the sentencing hearing for Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed to permit testimony offered on behalf of all three convicted Plowshares activists by Bishop Tom Gumbleton and Nukewatch’s John LaForge. The Judge indicated Michael, Greg and … Continue reading →

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mairead Corrigan Maguire has written to Judge Amul Thapar in support of the Transform Now Plowshares resisters as they await sentencing on January 28, 2014. Click on the title of this post and follow the trail to a copy of the letter. Mairead Maguire Letter to Federal Judge on Sentencing of … Continue reading →

Letters of Support for the Transform Now Plowshares resisters continue to pour in; more than a thousand cards and letters have been sent to the judge or the support team to date. The Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC, submitted a letter; you can see it by clicking on the title of this … Continue reading →

PHOTOS OF PLOWSHARES PROTEST AGAINST NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND NEW BOMB PLANT PROPOSED FOR Y-12 COMPLEX IN OAK RIDGE ARE RELEASED (press release) Use the grey sidebars below to flip the pages of the pdf document, or click a page to view fullscreen. The Transform Now Plowshares resisters, Michael Walli, Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed, today … Continue reading →

I’ve been preparing for more than a year, discussing with other people and then specifically Megan and Michael. Many months ago, Megan learned about the Disarm Now Plowshares, and she went to the trial on the west coast, and that moved her to want to explore doing a similar type action.  Because of the experience, … Continue reading →

Sister Megan Rice was recorded by videographer Adam Brimer for the News Sentinel shortly after her release.  Below is a rough transcription of the interview she gave. Your assistance is much appreciated.  You have the mission of spreading the truth.  The truth will heal us and heal our planet, heal our diseases, which result from … Continue reading →

Michael R. Walli (63), Megan Rice shcj (82), Greg Boertje-Obed, (57), succeeded in a disarmament action at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Nuclear facility before dawn today. Calling themselves Transform Now Plowshares they hammered on the cornerstone of the newly built Highly-Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility (HEUMF), splashed human blood and left four spray painted tags on … Continue reading →

Plowshares actions take their name from Isaiah 2:4: “They shall beat swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.” Each action community, grounded in prayer, seeks to disarm a weapon or delivery system for a nuclear weapon or weapon … Continue reading →