THE G.E. 5

 On the morning of October 29, 1981, 5 religious peace activists entered the General Electric Re-Entry Division Headquarters in Philadelphia to bring a prayer of “stop” to nuclear war preparation.  The five activists were Bob Smith, Thelma Stout,  Janice Hill, Roger Ludwig,  and Bill Hartman.  They all walked peacefully into the GE facility at 32^nd & Chestnut Streets and proceeded as far as they could walk into the highly restricted area of the Advanced Engineering Laboratory. They were stopped by the coded security lock on the door; they proceeded to pour their blood onto and underneath the locked door and then knelt in prayer. They prayed for several minutes until they were taken into custody by GE security holding loaded handguns, which were placed at the heads of several members of the plowshare action.

            The five activists were arrested by the Philadelphia police department and charged with Burglary [felony], Criminal Conspiracy [felony], Criminal Mischief [misdemeanor], Defiant Trespass [misdemeanor], and Criminal Trespass [ felony].  All members of the witness for peace were facing 52 years under the state penal code.

            A brief synopsis of the GE Five statement read as follows: “We bring our blood and  hammers into this corporate house of death.  Our blood speaks of the consequences of Mark 12A production - the slaughter of human life and spirit and the neglect of human needs in favor of weapons... We act today in hope with the belief that Mark12A’s can be stopped, that disarmament can happen and that human beings can make peace.”

            On March 15, 1982 they appeared in Superior Court in Philadelphia and, to their great surprise, the charges against them were dismissed.