A United Church of Christ minister who was protesting weapons research outside the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in North Laurel yesterday was arrested and charged with trespassing.
John Dyer Oliver, 54, of the 2000 block of N. Norhurst Way in Catonsville, was one of eight people, all members of Baltimore Emergency Response Network (BERN), who were protesting on the sidewalk outside the building about 12:30 p.m.
The activists carried signs protesting weapons in space and sang songs, according to one protester.
Police said the other seven left "upon request." Oliver was arrested when he stayed behind.
Greg Boertje-Obed, a BERN member who attended the protest, said Oliver kneeled and held a sign.
The group protests at the Applied Physics Laboratory periodically, and BERN members have "repeatedly been arrested" there, according to a statement issued by the group.
The protest yesterday was planned because a Florida-based activist knowledgeable about weapons in space was in town, Boertje-Obed said.
