THE prosecution launched its case in the federal criminal trial of seven US peace protesters with an avalanche of exhibits on Tuesday, all designed to paint the defendants as wilful vandals with unclear intentions. 

But the defence, including five of the defendants who are representing themselves, challenged the prosecution’s characterisation of their actions.

The prosecution aims to prove that the seven Catholic activists conspired together, then destroyed government property while trespassing on the US navy submarine base at Kings Bay on the Georgia coast on the night of April 4-5 last year. 

Prosecution lawyers displayed photos of the tools used by the intruders to enter the base, then the tools themselves and finally a selection of video clips taken from footage shot by two of the activists using GoPro cameras.

The defendants, known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, are accused of four offences in connection with entering the base that is home to six Trident submarines. After cutting a padlock on one of the gates, they split up into three groups to head to different areas.

The jury sat riveted as the dramatic night-time footage showed defendants Steve Kelly, Liz McAlister and Carmen Trotta, who reached the more restricted “Limited Area,” cutting a triangular opening in a wire fence before crawling through and holding up their banner.

They were the first to be arrested. Ms Trotta could be heard on the audio shouting out: “Soldier, we come in peace.”

Patrick O’Neill, also wearing a GoPro camera, and Mark Colville went to a missile display site where replicas of nuclear weapons point at the sky. 

They could be seen attempting to remove a metal panel from one of the missile monuments, writing messages, splashing their blood on base insignia and hammering off letters and lights from an illuminated sign reading “Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic.” 

They are later joined by Clare Grady and Martha Hennessy, who had spray-painted messages of peace at the nearby Engineering Services building. 

All four were arrested at the missile display.

The prosecution’s key witness was Thomas Kenney, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who investigated the scene, collected evidence and later edited the video footage shown in court.

Ms Grady, representing herself, challenged Mr Kenney’s decision to cut footage containing peaceful moments of prayer and for omitting their banners from the exhibits shown to the jury. 

One banner showed a picture and quote by Martin Luther King: “The ultimate logic of racism is genocide,” and another the group’s paraphrased version: “The ultimate logic of Trident, omnicide.”

Mr Kenney claimed that investigators could not transfer two of the banners to exhibit boxes – all three of which were instead presented concealed in paper bags – because “they had blood on them” and were considered “a bio-hazard” and that the third was simply too big. 

Law enforcement officers involved in arresting the activists were cross-examined by defence lawyer Stephanie Amiotte, who asked each of them whether the defendants had acted menacingly or with hostility.

Uniformly, they replied that all seven had been extremely polite and unfailingly co-operative, so the officers quickly determined that the protesters presented no threat.

At one point, Mr O’Neill, also representing himself, asked prosecution witness Lee Carter, the police officer who had arrested him, if he remembered making Mr O’Neill laugh by saying: “Now, you folks realise you’re in a bit of trouble?” Mr Carter smiled. “That sounds like something I would say,” he replied.

The prosecution was due to conclude its arguments after the Star went to press today, with the defence case to follow later.