NORTHAMPTON — Four protesters who were arrested in June after blocking the shipping and receiving gate at the Northampton office of L3Harris are seeking to avoid having to pay restitution to the company.
The protesters — Clara Wagner, Elin Dahal, Sonya Epstein and Joey Beamer Dehais — appeared in Northampton District Court on Thursday for a pretrial hearing. In the June protest, the four blockaded the gate using a truck they had filled with cement, securing their arms inside so that police would have to forcibly remove them from the area.
They were protesting with the group Demilitarize Western Mass, which has held several protests against the war in Gaza in front of L3Harris, a defense contractor that makes a range of products and technologies for military use.
The protesters are facing charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest as a result of the blockade. Dehais is also facing a charge of destruction of property of more than $1,200 as a result of the protest, which carries the weight of a felony if he’s convicted.
Tyler Ingraham, an attorney representing Dehais in the case, said that the commonwealth was seeking restitution payments on behalf of L3Harris from the activists as a result of the protest. He said he planned on contesting the amount sought for restitution in court and the subsequent felony charge, based on information he received as part of the discovery process.
“This thing’s a little hokey, and so we’re going to take an opportunity to really scrutinize what we got today,” Ingraham said. “I think I feel comfortable saying that I have some questions about, among other things, whether it was appropriate for my client to even ever be charged with a felony.”
Speaking to the Gazette, Dahal said that his charge of disorderly conduct against L3Harris was ironic given the company’s military ties.
“With all due respect to the commonwealth and the court, I find it particularly absurd in light of the entity of L3 Harris, being one that primarily deals in war and violence and surveillance,” Dahal said. “There’s people all over this valley and this country who are desiring a world free from militarism and exploitation and imperialism, who are desiring peace. And L3Harris is disturbing that peace.”
Headquartered in Florida, L3Harris is the ninth largest weapons manufacturer in the world, and a “leading supplier to the Israeli Defense Forces,” according to the antiwar group.
Demonstrators have routinely targeted the company. About two dozen protesters blocked the company’s driveway entrances for seven hours last Oct. 12, using a boat and two boat trailers with several people chained to the makeshift barricades. Police arrested six people at that protest.
The case comes amid several other protests against the war in Gaza, including one at UMass Amherst that led to 134 arrests in May. UMass Police had filed applications for a felony charge of inciting a riot against Students for Justice in Palestine co-presidents Maysoun Batley and Ruya Hazeyen, but ultimately decided to not pursue the charge.
Several other members of the Demilitarize Western Mass group appeared at the district court on Thursday in a show of support for their fellow activists. The four will be back in court for their next pretrial hearing, scheduled to take place on Sept. 10.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
