Justice with a Spin on It

On August 10, 1984, John LaForge and Barb Katt walked into a Sperry Corporation plant in Eagan, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, proceeded to an assembly room where Sperry builds computer prototypes for the Department of Defense, opened their briefcases, removed the hammers that were inside, and began to pound away. Before they were finished, they had destroyed three computer assemblies, two intended for use in nuclear submarines and one eventually to be installed in fighter aircraft.

LaForge and Katt were not ordinary vandals but peace activists protesting Sperry’s manufacturing of military equipment. Before they were taken away, the two protestors distributed copies of “indictments” citing Sperry for crimes against humanity, and for good measure they poured blood over the electronic gear that they had destroyed. The following November, LaForge and Katt were found guilty of destroying property that was being manufactured for the government.

On August 10, 1984, John LaForge and Barb Katt walked into a Sperry Corporation plant in Eagan, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, proceeded to an assembly room where Sperry builds computer prototypes for the Department of Defense, opened their briefcases, removed the hammers that were inside, and began to pound away. Before they were finished, they had destroyed three computer assemblies, two intended for use in nuclear submarines and one eventually to be installed in fighter aircraft.

LaForge and Katt were not ordinary vandals but peace activists protesting Sperry’s manufacturing of military equipment. Before they were taken away, the two protestors distributed copies of “indictments” citing Sperry for crimes against humanity, and for good measure they poured blood over the electronic gear that they had destroyed. The following November, LaForge and Katt were found guilty of destroying property that was being manufactured for the government.