THAMES RIVER PLOWSHARES: Early in the morning on Labor Day, September 4, 1989 Jackie Allen, artist and shelter worker of the Ahimsa Community in Voluntown, CT and member of Griffiss Plowshares; Kathy Boylan, mother, sanctuary worker and member of the Long Island Catholic Peace Fellowship; Art Laffin, member of the Isaiah Peace Ministry and Trident Nein; and Elmer Maas, member of the Isaiah Peace Ministry and participant of two previous plowshares actions; Anne Montgomery, participant in five previous plowshares actions; Jim Reale, arborist and member of Jonah House; and Homer White, husband and member of the Caritas Community in Chapel Hill, NC; swam and canoed up the Thames River to the USS Pennsylvania Trident submarine, docked at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London, CN. Jackie, Anne, Kathy and Homer swam to the Trident. In full view of armed security, Jackie and Kathy hammered and poured blood on the Trident near the conning tower, while Anne was detained at the Trident dock. Jackie also carved the word "death" on the Trident. After 30 minutes Jackie and Kathy, who were fire-hosed by sailors, were taken into custody by the Coast Guard. Heavy tidal currents forced Homer to return to shore and he was arrested upon entering the main gate of the Naval Underwater Systems Center. 
    Simultaneously, Art, Elmer, and Jim canoed to the tail end of the Trident and, in full view of armed security, hammered and poured their blood on the side of the sub. They boarded the Trident, hammered several more times, and prayed, sang and read from St. John's Gospel for 45 minutes. They too were fire-hosed before taken into custody. They left on the Trident a videotape of live footage of Hiroshima after the bombing, a Salvadoran cross, a banner, booklets documenting the nuclear arms race at sea and naval nuclear accidents, their action statement and "Call to Confession and Captivity." Concurrently with this action, a 96 foot-long banner was dropped over the Gold Star Bridge in New London, proclaiming "Trident Is The Crime." After being held overnight in jail, they were arraigned and released the next day on a PTA. Charges were later dropped against Homer, presumably due to insufficient evidence. During their 3-day trial in Hartford Federal Court, they focused on their "lack of criminal intent" and on the criminality of the Trident, despite certain restrictions imposed by the court. Citing a ruling made by the Silo Pruning Hooks judge, their trial judge, Judge Nevas, instructed the jury to disregard the defendants' and their character witnesses’ religious, moral and political views about the U.S. nuclear weapons policy. On December 19, they were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to enter a naval reservation for an unlawful purpose. 
    All, except Jackie, were acquitted of trespass with intent to injure and depredate U.S. property. In addition, Jackie was the only one charged and convicted of destruction of government property less than $100. (During the trial the government entered into evidence one photo of hammer marks on the Trident, where Jackie said she hammered. Kathy claimed responsibility for some of the hammer marks in the photo. Despite each of the Thames River Plowshares conveying to the jury and the Court that they should all be treated the same way for their community act of disarmament, Jackie still was convicted of these charges. On March 6, 1990 they were given the following sentences: Jackie, Kathy, Art, Elmer, and Jim were sentenced to 60 days in prison; Anne was given a 120-day sentence. On January 7, 1991 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District denied an appeal made by Jackie, Elmer, Jim and Art.