In July, activists gathered in Duluth, USA, with the message “F-16s Kill,” in a nonviolent response to the Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing's F-16 Fighting Falcon, which was on display all weekend at a shopping centre.
Four activists “died”, splattered with fake blood, while the sound of exploding bombs was broadcast from a car stereo. Margaret “Mali” Lorenz, Laurie Hatcher, Johnna Bossuot, and Donna Howard, remained on the ground in front of the jet for several minutes before police arrived. The Air National Guard displays the F-16 for recruiting purposes, while shopping centre staff see it as “family entertainment” that will attract more consumers to the centre's stores. “It is an insult to the families of the victims of the F-16 to display it with no acknowledgement of the suffering it causes. It is also irresponsible of the Air National Guard to use the allure of a flashy, high-tech device to attract children to something as serious as military enlistment,” said Lorenz. Over the weekend several further actions took place and five people were arrested, including one man who was apprehended while praying next to the plane. Most of the group were pacifists and included members of Veterans for Peace, Women Speak for a Sane World, and the Loaves and Fishes Catholic Worker community, as well as other concerned citizens.