Five peace protesters who broke into the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor complex in November were charged in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma Sept. 2.

The protesters were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, trespass, destruction of property on a naval installation and depredation of government property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They could face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of all charges. The defendants are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 24.

According to the indictment, the group protesting nuclear weapons used bolt cutters to break through three chain link fences and enter the Main Limited Area of the complex.

“All citizens are free to disagree with their government,” U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said in a statement. “But they are not free to destroy property or risk the safety of others.”

One defendant, Lynne T. Greenwald, 60, of Tacoma, said the potential danger posed by the weapons justified the action.

“People inside the military, inside the base and outside the base, rational thinking people, understand the seriousness of this, that we can’t use nuclear weapons and we have to do something about it,” Greenwald said in March.

The other protesters are Stephen M. Kelly, 60, of Oakland, Calif., Susan S. Crane, 65, of Baltimore, Md., William J. Bichsel, 81, of Tacoma and Anne Montgomery, 83, of New York City.