The prosecution wrapped up its case after the first day of testimony in the trial of three men accused of damaging a Minuteman III missile silo near Garrison.

Assistant U.S. attorney Clare Hochhalter said at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday that the prosecution had finished its case.

Hochhalter called on seven witnesses, six from the U.S. Air Force and one from the FBI, to testify in the United States of America's cases against Carl Kabat, 72, Greg Boertje-Obed, 51, and Michael Walli, 57.

Kabat, Boertje-Obed and Walli have been charged with one count each of destruction of government property, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

The men are accused of breaking a lock on the gate of the missile site in McLean County on June 20 and damaging it. It is alleged that they entered the site, spray-painted messages on the ground around the site, hammering on the silo lid and pouring blood around the site while dressed as clowns.

The men do not deny the allegations, but believe they are justified by international law. They say weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear missiles, are against the law.

Shane Ball, a special agent with the FBI, was the first defendant called to testify by Hochhalter.

Ball, who has served more than 11 years in the agency, said he was called to investigate at the E-9 Launch Facility, the location of damaged silo.

Ball said he met the three defendants at the Garrison Police Department, where they told him they did not wish to make a statement to law enforcement. They said they had left their statement at the missile site, he said.

Ball said he asked the men whether anything dangerous had been left at the site, and they said no.

Ball also testified that the damages incurred at the missile site were "well over $1,000," which is the amount of damage the government must prove was done for the jury to return a guilty verdict in the charges against the men.

Ball said he went to the site to investigate and found numerous signs on the fence, spray paint on the concrete inside the fence, a "blood-like substance" splattered on the concrete, baby bottles with remnants of the blood, and a spin-dial that had been knocked off the door to the missile vault.

Hochhalter entered a number of items into evidence, including those obtained during the search of the site, as well as photographs of the defendants in clown suits taken during the investigation and photos of the damage site.

Hochhalter also showed photos of the men entering the missile site that had been posted on the Internet.

In the photos, the three men had their faces painted like clowns. Boertje-Obed appeared to be wearing the same shirt in the photograph that he wore to court on Wednesday.

Kabat asked in cross-examination if he could read the statement he and the other two had signed and left at the site.

The statement said the men were issuing "a call for national repentance." It contained various Biblical quotations, historical content about nuclear war and information from international laws and treaties.

Air Force security testifies

Jurors also heard testimony from five U.S. Air Force security personnel from the Minot Air Force Base who responded to an alarm call at E-9 Launch Facility.

The first was Neal Hardin, who said he is a helicopter flight engineer. He said he responded to the alarm via helicopter and spotted the men from the air. He also looked around for any other people in the area.

Heath Hitchcock and Gqwon Morton, members of the base's security force response team, testified they responded to the alarm call, saw the three men, called for backup and got permission to approach the missile site.

Hitchcock said the men already had their hands in the air. He said he used the vehicle's PA system to order the three men to come out of the site, then get on the ground.

He said they detained and handcuffed the men.

"All three defendants were completely compliant with everything we said to do," he said.

Mary Paulino and Liesl Laurich, also security personnel from the air base, reported searching the site and seeing the same items that Ball said he had found.

Lt. Col. Donald Adams testified that Ball's testimony about the costs of damages incurred at the site were accurate. He said replacing the door of the vault to the missile silo alone cost more than $14,000.

The court had been in recess until 1:30 p.m. after jury selection ended at 12:25 p.m. Following the recess, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland gave the jury its instructions for the trial, which was followed by opening statements for each side of the case.

Hochhalter gave a five-minute preview of the government's case. He told jurors that the evidence would prove every element of the charges against the defendants, as required for them to deliver a guilty conviction.

Hochhalter's opening statement was followed by one from each of the defendants in the case.

Defendants speak out

The defendants and their attorneys did not deny the government's allegations against them during their opening statements, but instead previewed their justifications for their actions. Two defendants spoke for themselves, while Walli had obtained a pro bono attorney who delivered his opening statement.

All three opening statements were sprinkled with biblical quotations and references to the jurors' consciences.

Kabat, a Catholic priest, went first and spoke for more than 25 minutes. The bald man wore small glasses occasionally during the day. He also wore a navy suit coat, black pants and white Nike sneakers.

Kabat is representing himself in the case with the assistance of Bismarck attorney Mandy Maxon. Maxon works at the Vogel Law Firm and was appointed to serve as stand-by counsel for Kabat.

Kabat told the jurors that he has spent more than 16 years in prison for various offenses committed while protesting nuclear weapons since 1973.

Weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons are a threat to humanity and are against international laws and treaties, Kabat said.

Kabat compared nuclear weapons to slavery, apartheid, holocaust and segregation.

"All the great evils of the world have been legal," he said.

Kabat asked the jurors to use their consciences to decide in favor of the defendants.

"You are the consciences of the people," he said. "Of this community here of Bismarck, the conscience of the state of North Dakota and the conscience of this country."

Boertje-Obed wore a white T-shirt, green pants and white socks under brown sandals.

He is also defending himself in the case. Bismarck attorney Jeffrey Weikum was appointed to be Boertje-Obed's stand-by counsel.

During his 12-minute statement, Boertje-Obed said the defendants' actions were "both a real and symbolic action"against nuclear weapons.

"The teachings of Jesus are contrary to nuclear weapons," he said.

Bill Quigley, a New Orleans attorney and Loyola University professor, is representing Walli in the case. During his opening statement, which lasted about seven minutes, he said his client and the other defendants acted "peacefully and prayerfully."

He said they did what they felt was right, then waited for Air Force personnel to arrest them.

"They were compliant from the very beginning," he said.

Daniel Gregor, an attorney from Salt Lake City assisting Quigley, said statements such as those made by the defendants during opening statements are not usually allowed in trials of this nature. Topics such as nuclear weapons, the Geneva convention and international law have typically not been permitted, he said.

"I'm very pleased that the judge did not shut that down," he said, noting it would have been technically legal for Hovland to do so.

He said Hovland will likely instruct jurors that opening statements are not evidence to be considered in arriving at a verdict.

Jury selected in morning

Jury selection in the case began at 9:30 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Bismarck. At 12:25 p.m., seven women and five men were sworn in as jurors in the case.

Hovland questioned the group of 28 prospective jurors on their knowledge of the case and their professional and personal backgrounds.

One man from the group was excused early in the morning after telling Hovland that he had read newspaper accounts of the incident and did not believe he could set aside his views in favor of missile sites.

A woman from a group of alternate jurors replaced him. She was also excused later when she told Hovland her sister works in the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Each side exercised their peremptory challenges and got rid of 11 men and five women from the jury pool, to leave the field with 12 jurors.

People from various anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons organizations from across the country were also in attendance in the courtroom Wednesday. Some traveled as far as Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, New York and North Carolina to show their support for the defendants.

Also on hand were U.S. Air Force personnel, including the six who testified in the case for the prosecution.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)