Colorado - Minuteman III Plowshares Convicted of Sabotage, Conspiracy

In late October, federal prosecutors filed the more serious charges of sabotage and conspiracy against Minuteman III Plowshares activists Daniel Sicken and Sachio Ko-Yin (aka Oliver Sachio Coe). The two already faced a charge of destruction of government property for their Hiroshima Day disarmament action at a nuclear missile silo in Colorado.

Their three-day trial began on Monday, November 2 in federal court in Denver, following a community-building weekend for Colorado activists that included a Halloween tour of Colorado's own terror, the Minuteman nuclear missile field spreading across the northeast corner of the state.

Jury selection revealed the militarization of the culture when 12 people could not be found in the pool who had not or did not now work for the war industry. During the process, Judge Walker Miller provoked audible gasps in the courtroom with the apparently shameless confession that although he had lived in Colorado all his life, he "never did know for sure that they did at Rocky Flats," the infamous and now idle plutonium weapons fabrication facility northwest of Denver.

At the outset, the judge forbid those attending the trial to wear the "Disarm & Hammer" T-shirts in support of the defendants, as well as any shirts, pins, or any indicators of any point of view or political message, or even a crucifix necklace. Such displays might bias the jury, he explained. Ko-Yin pointed out an inconsistency when the first witness began to testify in his fully decorated uniform. Judge Miller then required that all military officers remove their jackets and "strip down their uniforms as much as possible."

Prosecution witnesses took up the first two days of trial, employing the language of denial by references to "priority-A resources" (h-bombs) and "the sortie" (nuclear armed missile).

Despite the typical motion in limine that restricted what could be said or considered as evidence, the defendants were able to testify about nuclear weapons, U.S. military policy, and their own faith and motivations. Instructed to disregard such testimony from their consideration, the jury returned in less than an hour with a verdict of guilty on all counts.

Following the verdict, the defendants announced they could no longer cooperate with a court that upheld the legitimacy of nuclear weapons, and could not promise to return for sentencing. Their personal recognizance bond was revoked and the men were taken into custody, to await sentencing January 20.

Two weeks before the trial, Sachio Ko-Yin and Citizens for Peace in Space coordinator Bill Sulzman were the invited guests at a regular political forum club at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Sulzman writes, "We engaged a combined group (20 or so) of cadets and instructors in a discussion about nuclear weapons and U.S. space domination. Many of them seemed uncomfortable with current policy in both areas... Sachio connected very well. There was even a round of applause at the end, unprecedented in all my experiences out there."

For more information, contact Plowshares Support, c/o Citizens for Peace in Space, POB 915, Colorado Springs, CO 80901, (719)389-0644.

Letters of support should be individually addressed to Daniel Sicken, #28360-013, and Oliver Sachio Coe, #28361-013, Unit A, Federal Detention Center, 9595 W. Quincy Ave., Littleton, CO 80123.