Five protestors were arrested Nov. 2 after trespassing onto Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor to reach stored nuclear missiles.

Susan Crane, Lynne Greenwald, Bill Bischel, Steve Kelly and Anne Montgomery cut their way through security fences to gain access to the submarine base carrying a banner stating “Disarm Now Plowshares: Trident: Illegal + Immoral.”

“Every dollar that is used for warmaking, killing or planning to kill other people is a dollar that is not used for human needs or healing the earth,” Greenwald said.

According to the group, NBK stores more than 2,000 nuclear warheads for Trident submarines and this is the reason for the demonstration.

“We remember the 150 million people killed by warmaking and related consequences of war in the last 100 years,” Greenwald said. “It is in solidarity with all who live in lethal force zones that we entered the lethal force zone on the naval base.”

The group said they acted alone, but as part of an international anti-nuclear weapons movement called Plowshares, which has staged more than 100 nuclear resistance actions since its inception.

Greenwald said the idea of the Plowshares group comes from a Bible scripture which asks people to “hammer swords into plowshares,” or in other words, make peace not war.

In an e-mail release, the group explained the significance of items brought with them on their foray into the government facility.

“We bring our own blood to pour on the missiles, nuclear weapons, trident subs or perhaps on the railroad tracks that carry the weapons,” the statement said. “We pour our blood to remind us all of the consequences of warmaking. We bring sunflower seeds to sow to begin to convert the base and we bring disarmed hearts in hope of a disarmed world.”

All five were given citations for suspicion of trespassing and destruction of government property, both of which are misdemeanors. They could face up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine once the citations are processed and they appear in court.