Protesters Block Entrances at Raytheon Plants in UK, US

By Staff, Agencies 

Activists announced that they blocked entrances to the Raytheon facility in British Portsmouth Thursday morning in protest.

Two protestors have been arrested, The FANG Collective, which describes itself as a community organizing and direct action group based in Pawtucket, said late Thursday morning.

In a Tweet, FANG said its "blockade stopped work at Raytheon for over 5 hours."

In protest early Thursday morning, two people attached themselves to vehicles to block the road, while others held banners and chanted slogans, FANG said.

They said they were protesting Raytheon's weapon sales to Saudi Arabia and 'Israel' as well as "their involvement in enforcing the US-Mexican border."

FANG said it organized the protest with RAM INC [Resist and Abolish the Military Industrial Complex]. The groups said they also wanted "to raise concerns about the influence that weapons contractors like Raytheon have over elected officials."

The Portsmouth police confirmed that they sent officers to the scene this morning. Tweets from the protestors indicated that the Middletown police and Ports Fire Department was also at the facility.

"Fire department is beginning to attempt extraction with heavy machinery. They are blocking lines of sight," FANG tweeted.

At about 8:30 a.m., FANG tweeted, “One person has been extracted from the vehicle, and loud machinery can be heard from the other. The entrances are still blocked. It has now been 3 hours.”

Raytheon issued the following statement: “We respect the right to lawful and peaceful protest.”

Elsewhere, a group of activists blocked the entrance to a Raytheon Technologies plant in Rhode Island on Thursday morning to protest the company’s role in the “killing of civilians” and “other human rights abuses.”

Some members of the Fang Collective chained themselves to a car next to the guard shack at the entrance to the Portsmouth plant.