Protester arrested during demonstration at Merrimack company appears in court
Protests staged to call for end to war in Gaza
Ray Brewer
News Reporter
The first of eight people arrested during a protest last month outside Elbit Systems [an Israeli weapons production facility] in Merrimack, New Hampshire was in court Tuesday morning.
The protest last month [March 22] blocked the entrance to the Israel-based international defense electronics company.
Bruce Gagnon is facing two charges, including resisting arrest, which he said he intends to fight.
Before the hearing, a small group of protestors gathered outside Merrimack Circuit Court to show support for Gagnon and their cause of ending the war in Gaza.
On March 22, Gagnon was one of eight people arrested outside the Elbit Systems plant in Merrimack. The protest blocked the main entrance to the defense contractor for hours.
In court, prosecutor Jason Moore asked that an additional condition be added to Gagnon's bail order.
"The state is asking that there be no entry within 300 feet of any Elbit property," Moore said. "There's also an Elbit property in Cambridge (Massachusetts) that's been the site of some protests, as well."
The judge said that was out of his jurisdiction, but he did prohibit Gagnon from coming within 300 feet of the site in Merrimack.
"I kind of feel like our nonviolent protest on the 22nd of March at Elbit was a trickle in a global flood of activity," Gagnon said.
Gagnon said he intends to stay away from Elbit, but he also plans to continue to attempt to draw attention to the cause.
"I stand on a street corner twice a week in my town of Brunswick, Maine, holding a sign saying, 'Stop the genocide of Gaza and Palestine,'" Gagnon said.
Gagnon asked that his case be consolidated with the others who were arrested, but the judge said that would depend on the docket. Gagnon is scheduled to be back in court on May 7 [for a 'Pre-Trial Management Conference'].
~ Watch the short news video here
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