Police Arrest Protesters Outside Bath Iron Works Ceremony

Above photo: A protester holds a sign outside Bath Iron Works on Saturday morning. Kristian Moravec / The Times Record.

Bath police and Sagadahoc County deputies arrested nine people outside the north gate to the shipyard.

Saturday morning in advance of a christening ceremony for the shipyard’s newest destroyer. 

Police arrested nine protesters outside Bath Iron Works on Saturday morning leading up to a christening ceremony for the shipyard’s newest warship.

Two protesters were charged with obstructing a public way and seven with criminal trespass after a group of demonstrators interlinked arms and sat down, blocking the entrance to a BIW parking lot. Police later said that this group had broken off from a larger demonstration of about 75 people on Washington Street.

Witnesses said that arrests started around 9:30 a.m. when Bath police officers and Sagadahoc County sheriff’s deputies rounded up some of the protesters, securing their wrists with zip ties before ushering them to a nearby school bus.

“We were able to safely and peacefully resolve these unlawful acts of civil disobedience without any injuries to our officers, the protestors, or the public,” Bath police Chief Andrew Booth said Saturday afternoon. “We support everyone’s First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, but when their actions create a safety risk or violate the law, we must take the appropriate action, like what happened today. I commend our officers, both Bath PD and supporting agencies, for their professionalism.”

Booth said that Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, Maine state troopers and New Hampshire State Police assisted in Saturday’s event. He also said that the U.S. Coast Guard provided security in the Kennebec River, along with BIW security.

Lisa Savage, a central Maine resident who was arrested Saturday morning, said someone in civilian clothing walked up to protesters and introduced themselves as a BIW employee. She said the person told her that they were trespassing on U.S. government property. Immediately after, she said Bath police stepped forward and placed the demonstrators under arrest.

Savage said she was put in plastic handcuffs, loaded onto a school bus with other protesters and transported to the police department. She said that nine people were charged with either criminal trespassing, obstructing a public way or both. The charges resulted from protesters crossing a yellow line at the entrance of the parking lot and blocking the entrance to a BIW-owned parking lot, police said on scene.

One other person, Savage’s husband, Mark Roman, was cited for littering and charged with criminal mischief. A statement released by Bath police said that around 8 a.m., Roman was allegedly observed dumping a red liquid in front of BIW’s main building at 700 Washington St. before driving away.

Savage said those arrested have since been released and will be arraigned in a West Bath courthouse on Sept. 3. Many demonstrators were affiliated with organizations, including Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights and Maine Veterans for Peace chapter.

According to Bath Deputy Chief Michelle Small, protesters hadn’t obtained permits prior to the demonstration. She also said that the police had known about the protest ahead of time from information available on social media and from the Maine Information Analysis Center. This is the first time since 2019 that there have been arrests at a christening, she said.

Those who were arrested are:

• Robert Shetterly, age 77, of Brooksville, charged with criminal trespass.
• Bradley Conway, age 32, of Manchester, New Hampshire, charged with obstructing a public way.
• Russell Wray, age 69, of Hancock, charged with criminal trespass.
• Abigail Fuller, age 64, of Portland, charged with obstructing a public way.
• Lisa Savage, age 67, of Solon, charged with criminal trespass.
• Dudley Hendrick, age 82, of Deer Isle, charged with criminal trespass
• Jamila Levasseur, age 69, of Waldo, charged with criminal trespass.
• Constance Jenkins, age 76, of Belfast, charged with criminal trespass.
• Mary Sullivan, age 70, of Brunswick, charged with criminal trespass.

Roman was summonsed to appear in court but not arrested.

One of the organizers for the protest, Maureen Osteensen, said that there is jail support available for those who were arrested. An attorney from the National Lawyers Guild and a local community-police liaison were also on sight assisting protesters.

“It’s not making us safer”

“The U.S. is not only abetting and aiding genocide, it’s committing genocide,” said Portland resident Faisal Khan, one of the protesters on Washington Street.

The protesters lined sidewalks on Washington Street near the post office with signs supporting Palestine. A microphone set up for people to speak and sing songs while people of all ages gathered to demonstrate.

Khan, an honorary speaker at the protest and founder of the Carolina Peace Center, condemned the use of American tax dollars to fund war and conflict around the globe, and questioned why those resources weren’t put toward things like housing and better living wages.

“We are a nation in decline,” he said, adding, “This is affecting our country, and obviously this is a war machine.”

He also condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to the U.S., where he addressed Congress. Netanyahu had promised “total victory” in Gaza and referred to American opponents of the war in Gaza as “useful idiots,” according to the Associated Press.

Khan said it was “unacceptable” and that Netanyahu should have never been allowed to come, as he is a war criminal. The International Court had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli and Hamas leaders on May 20.

One protester, Biddeford resident Cynthia Howard, was standing with a “Free Palestine” flag on Leeman Highway across from the BIW parking lot when the arrests happened. As a frequent protester of ship christenings, Howard said she has been arrested in the past for demonstrating against BIW.

“Why aren’t Americans absolutely livid about the amounts of tax dollars going to these wars?” she asked. “It’s not making us safer. I think it’s making us less safe in the world.”

Sharif Elmusa, a Palestinian-American, was also present at the protest on Washington Street, where he held a Palestinian flag on the sidewalk. The Maine summer resident, who grew up in a refugee camp, described the United States’ involvement in international wars and conflict as a “disaster.”

“Maine is such a nice place — it’s almost [a] contrast to have the military industry here,” Elmusa said.

Protesting christenings since the ’90s

Brunswick resident Rosie Paul, who is involved with PeaceWorks, said that protests against ship christenings have been a tradition since the 1990s. She has protested in about 12 or 15 demonstrations in that time.

“The United States has always been built ships with the intention of destroying someone else’s property, to gain someone else’s resources,” she said, noting that BIW workers should be building something better for the planet. “In this case, we’re in a terrible terrible crisis of United States aggression and arrogance.”

It’s common for protesters to gather at Bath Iron Works any time there’s a major event at the shipyard. The last time those protests resulted in a large number of arrests was in 2019, when 22 protesters were arrested at a christening ceremony for the future USS Daniel Inouye.

The district attorney ultimately decided to drop charges against those protesters, as it had in the past.

This year’s christening has drawn more attention, as it comes amid deadly conflict in Gaza and Ukraine, with controversy over America’s role in funding and providing weapons in those warzones. The Associated Press reports that the war has claimed over 39,000 lives in Gaza and about 1,200 lives of Israeli citizens.