Biography
Moana Cole is a New Zealand peace activist and one of the four Catholic Worker members of the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, U.S.) Peace Force Plowshares who entered Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, on January 1, 1991 to protest preparations for the Gulf War. While Susan Frankel and Bill Streit hammered and poured blood on a KC-135 refueling plane and a cruise-missile-armed B-52 bomber, Cole and Ciaron O'Reilly entered from the opposite end of the runway, marked it with a cross of blood, spray-painted messages including "Love Your Enemies — Jesus Christ" and "Isaiah Strikes Again," and hammered on the runway for about an hour before being detained. The four were indicted on January 9, 1991 on federal charges of conspiracy and destruction of government property, facing up to 15 years. After about two months in jail they were released pre-trial on March 6, 1991, then convicted by a jury in Syracuse in May 1991 and on August 20, 1991 sentenced to twelve months in prison and $1,800 in restitution. Released from federal prison on June 15, 1992 after serving about ten months, she was then held for immigration proceedings and freed on bail pending a deportation hearing, returning to New Zealand under a court-ordered voluntary deportation in October 1992. She later completed a master's degree in law and works as a barrister providing legal aid in Christchurch.
Birth-year sources
- The Nuclear Resister — identifies Moana Cole as 22 at the January 1, 1991 ANZUS Plowshares action.
- The New Zealand Herald, 2008 — later identifies her as 39, supporting 1968 as her birth year.
