Protest at General Dynamics in Saco, Maine

 

Three Muslim members of our group showing the cops photos of a little girl with both legs blown off. Reminding them why we do these protests.

 

Yesterday MB and I drove one hour south to Saco for a protest where General Dynamics (GD) is located. (GD also owns the Bath Iron Works Navy shipyard in our state.)

GD's factory in Saco makes guidance systems for Mark-82 bombs. The US has sent over 5,000 of these bombs to Israel which have been dropped in Gaza on the people.

On June 7 we did another action at Saco GD were many people risked arrest by blocking the entrance early in the morning before the workers arrived. Folks cemented themselves to tires and even to an old boat. These obstructions were used to block off the driveway entrance to the weapons factory. On that day we remained there for about five hours but the police surprisingly did not arrest anyone.

Yesterday I was the first to arrive at 2:00 pm. I unloaded my signs and a portable chair that I was going to sit on because of a bum foot. MB dropped me off just across the street from the plant and as soon as I got out of the car three cops began telling me that I could not go to the other side of the road - that I had to stay on the sidewalk across the street from GD or I would be arrested. 

They obviously thought we were going to block the entrance again as workers left the plant just after 3:00 pm. In fact this protest was organized at the last minute due to GD bombs being used to vaporize people in Gaza tents that left huge craters. Our intention was just to do a 'stand' and hold signs and banners.

Anyway, I told the cops that I understood the law and that the sidewalk on the other side of the street was public and I intended to cross the street and stand there. If they wanted to arrest me they could and the case would be thrown out of court and they'd get some bad press.

With that said I walked down to the crosswalk and made my way to the other side of the street where a couple different cops gave me the same song and dance. I repeated that I knew the law and they could arrest me if they wished. I told one of the cops they'd better get a couple of paddy wagons ready because once everyone else came they were all going to stand on the GD side of the road. And that is what everyone did. We had just over 25 folks show up.

Eventually the chief of police arrived and told us we could stand where we wanted as long as we did not interfere with traffic. We repeated that we didn't intend to do so.

When we got to GD the police had lined up their cars all along the street in front of GD making sure that if we stood on that sidewalk passing cars would not be able to easily see our signs and banners. The chief had all the cop cars moved to a long line on GD's property that is pictured at the top above.

In the end it was a good event as the road gets huge traffic for a two-lane town street. Three police departments had cops out there - the State Police, the County Police, and Saco PD. They didn't have much to do except listen to our chants and hear the many honks from the  cars driving by.

MB and I stayed for two hours and made it back to Brunswick just as our local PeaceWorks group was setting up the regular Friday vigil at 5:00 pm on the town green. This vigil began soon after 9-11-2001 and has been going on weekly ever since - no matter the weather.

One of the chants during our Saco protest reminded everyone that the destroyer warships built at Bath Iron Works here in the mid-coast of Maine have been regularly deployed in the Red Sea and used to repeatedly attack Yemen during this past year. 

We intend to hold a similar protest at BIW on Saturday, October 5 starting at 11:30 am as part of Keep Space for Peace Week. The Navy Aegis destroyers built at BIW use space satellites to direct their missile attacks on Yemen.

The Maine connections to the genocide in Palestine are deep. Just like in many other states across the country. The US has a war economy. We are a killing nation.

Bruce