On Sunday, Democracy Now! producer Jeremy Scahill and I went to the Andrews Air Base where the U.S. Department of Defense was hosting its annual air show. On display was an extensive array of state-of-the-art military technology including the B-1 bomber and the B-52 bomber, which was used most recently to bomb Iraq in 1996.

Shortly after we finished interviewing the pilot of the B-52, five anti-nuclear activists, calling themselves the Gods of Metal Plowshares, hammered on the B-52 with household hammers and poured their own blood on the plane.

Soon after the military arrested the activists in front of a crowd of hundreds of spectators, the Air Force Police took Jeremy and I away into custody where we remained incommunicado for more than six hours. The FBI confiscated our tapes and the Air Force issued us ban-and-bar letters forbidding us to enter Andrews Air Force Base for two years. The letter accuses us of being involved in disorderly conduct and damage to government property.

Guest:

• Jeremy Scahill, producer of Democracy Now!

Related Links:

• 3/17/98 Democracy Now!–“Interview with Fr. Berrigen”
• Ash Wednesday Plowshare Activism