4 more F-35 protesters arrested after refusing to leave Leahy’s office
By: Aidan Quigley for VTDigger, Sept. 12, 2019
BURLINGTON — Four more F-35 protesters were arrested at Sen. Patrick Leahy’s Burlington office Wednesday night, following the arrest of two demonstrators Monday night.
Kara Paige, Carmen Sargent, Roddy O’Neil Cleary and Rabbi Joshua Chasan were arrested for unlawful trespass after refusing to leave the senator’s office Wednesday evening.
Leahy’s staff had originally locked the group out of the office, but they were let in after O’Neil Cleary promised to leave when the office closed at 5:30 p.m. However, the group refused to leave the office after a lengthy discussion with Leahy state director John Tracy about the merits of the basing.
The arrests follow two earlier ones involving anti-F-35 activists at Leahy’s office Monday as the jets are set to arrive this month. A pro-F-35 group is also taking steps to promote the jets with their arrival imminent.
The F-35 opponents, led by retired Col. Rosanne Greco, has been protesting at Leahy’s office every day this week, armed with a list of demands for Leahy, who has been in Washington.
“This is the tip of the spear of American militarism,” Chasan said Wednesday. “It’s wrong on so many levels.”
