Disabling a US military plane at Shannon Airport was like taking bullets out of a gun and was an act of defence against a war of aggression, a former US Attorney General told Ennis Circuit Court today.
Mr Ramsey Clark told the jury in the trial of Mary Kelly (50) formerly of the Peace Camp in Shannon that: ""Mary Kelly acted to disarm a war plane and preserve the peace. Property is not sacrosanct."
He described Ms Kelly's action as justified adding: "If the world had her conscience and courage, there would not have been a war in Iraq."
Ms Kelly denies criminal damage without lawful excuse to a US navy plane at Shannon airport on the 29th of January last and trespass at the airport on the same date.
The court heard that Mr Clarke served as Asst Attorney General under President John F Kennedy and as Attorney General during President Lyndon Johnson administration between 1967 and 1969.
Mr Clark said: "What Mary Kelly did was in harmony with the law and was trying to preserve life against US aggression."
The court has already heard that the estimated cost of the damage to the plane from Mary Kelly's attack is $1.5 million.
The trial continues tomorrow.