NORTHAMPTON — Police arrested two activists outside the L3Harris KEO facility in Northampton on Wednesday on charges of disorderly conduct, the second such time in recent months protests at the facility have led to arrests.
Molly Aronson, a member of the group Jewish Voice for Peace, and Dorothea “Dodi” Melnicoff, of the group Demilitarize Western Mass, both participated in a protest in front of the facility Wednesday morning. Photos of the demonstration provided to the Gazette show the activists blocking off the entrance to the facility with caution tape labeled “Crime Scene,” with the crosswalk covered in blood-colored paint and white sandbags styled to look like body bags.
“One of our goals is to educate the workers here, and let them know they’re working to support the genocide in Gaza,” said Nick Mottern, an activist with Demilitarize Western Mass who himself was arrested at a demonstration at L3Harris back in March. “This blockade was intended to be dramatic, in a sense.”
Officers from the Northampton Police Department arrived on the scene shortly after the protest began, telling Melnicoff that the employee entrance needed to be cleared for vehicular traffic, according to a statement of facts filed by NPD Staff Sgt. Josef Barszcz. The protestors complied with the request and began to remove the fake body bags and caution tape, and the Fire Department arrived to remove the blood-colored paint.
“I wasn’t trying to get arrested,” Melnicoff said in an interview. “It just seemed like a snap went off on one of the officers.”
According to both Melnicoff and police statement of facts, after the Fire Department’s arrival, both Melnicoff and Aronson found themselves standing by a nearby crosswalk when they began to cross the street while holding up protest signs. Police stated they were not allowed to cross the street, holding up traffic, and that the crosswalk sign showed a red hand for “do not cross.” When the traffic light turned from red to green, Melnicoff and Aronson were still in the middle of the crosswalk and were arrested.
“We deserve a government that is invested in the future that we deserve, that is attracting ethical and humane jobs that serve the interests of our community and do not serve the interest of right-wing authoritarian leaders.”
Molly aronson
Melnicoff said she had been confused about the patterns of the traffic lights when she and Aronson were arrested.
“I told the police officers several times, you are arresting the wrong person,” Melnicoff told the Gazette. “L3Harris is the war criminal.”
The incident represents the latest in a string of demonstrations that have occurred at the facility since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023. L3Harris KEO, formerly known as Kollmorgen, is a subsidiary of L3Harris, one of the largest military defense contractors in the country. The Northampton facility manufactures periscopes and other optical equipment that have military applications, such as for submarines. L3Harris also has contracts with the Israeli military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it a target for local activists in the region.
“L3Harris is highly unpopular because they are complicit in genocide, they are enabling ICE detention,” Aronson said in an interview with the Gazette. “This was a representation of the fact that people in Northampton are fed up.”
Past actions at the facility have included blocking the entrance gate with a truck filled with cement, activists chaining themselves to a boat and occupying the main lobby of the building in March, the latter event leading to several arrests.
In May, protestors also attempted to pressure the city to not renew the company’s business certificate. Activists at the time cited a 2019 ordinance that allows the city to refuse contracts to a company that “participates in the design, manufacture or maintenance of nuclear weapons.”
However in an email to activists in may, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said that a business certificate is mainly used to help creditors track business, and would not prevent the company from operating or conducting business in the city. The email also said the 2019 resolution does not apply to business certificates, only contracts, and the city has no current active contracts with L3Harris.
“We deserve a city government that is invested in an economy not dependent on mass death,” Aronson said Thursday. “We deserve a government that is invested in the future that we deserve, that is attracting ethical and humane jobs that serve the interests of our community and do not serve the interest of right-wing authoritarian leaders.”
L3Harris did not immediately respond to requests for comment.