who we are | why we do it | Stop Project ELF | TRACKWATCH | Pathfinder | Resources | home

(Get out your calendar, grab your pencil and erase sentencing for Bonnie Urfer originally set for November 20 at 2:00 p.m.

That date, as it turns out, is for an initial appearance on revocation which Bonnie and her attorney, Margaret Danielson, have waived.

The new sentencing date is December 12th, at 2:30 p.m., but watch for updates. Anything could happen before then.)

LUCK, WI -- Bonnie Urfer, co-director of the anti-nuclear organization Nukewatch, has been issued a summons to appear in federal court in Madison on November 20 at 1:30 p.m. for refusing to pay restitution for her part in an act of disarmament.

Urfer, along with fellow activist Michael Sprong, engaged in the "Silence Trident" direct action against the Navy's Project ELF (extremely low frequency) transmitter, located in the Chequamegon National Forest south of Clam Lake, WI. Using bow saws, they cut three of the 4,000 cedar poles that hold 28 miles of antenna lines. ELF sends signals to deeply submerged Trident and fast-attack submarines and is described by the Navy as the "cocked trigger" for sea-launched nuclear war. Trident submarines carry 24 missiles each with 8 to 10 nuclear warheads.

The "Silence Trident" disarmament action was the fifth time that Project ELF has been shut off by anti-war activists who cut down the poles. The transmitter poles stand unguarded and unfenced on public land.

Both defendants were found guilty of depredation to U.S. Navy property in February. And on May 4, Urfer was sentenced to a six-month term of imprisonment with one year of supervised release to follow. The prison term ended on August 27.

The U.S. district attorney is recommending 1 year of imprisonment with 0 - 1 month of probation to follow.

Urfer does not intend to pay the restitution. "Project ELF is being used now, aiding in the bombing campaign that is killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan," she says. "Paying any amount of money to the U.S. Navy is tantamount to hiring a hit man to murder. I simply cannot pay to kill another woman's child."