Jeffrey Morgan
Template:TOCnestleft Jeffrey Morgan
Members of "The Palo 13"
On Saturday, March 24, 1979, 13 men and women traveled to Iowa’s only nuclear power plant—the Duane Arnold Energy Center, located approximately eight miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, near the small town of Palo—to commit an act of civil disobedience. Standing with their supporters on the road just outside the plant, the group’s spokesperson read their prepared statement. “Today, we as a group of individual members of the Iowa Mobilization for Survival came together in a nonviolent, responsible, and peaceful effort to act on our belief that this nuclear plant is a grave danger to the lives and safety of the immediate community (Palo) and the rest of the state.”
The Palo 13 were (in alphabetical order, with their residence at the time of the arrest): Frank Cordaro, Des Moines; Lucia Dryanski, Davenport; James Dubert, Ames; Margaret Gilfoyle, Iowa City; Greg Green, Iowa City; Jean Hagen, Iowa City; Richard Kramer, Ames; Alfred “Joe” Marron, Iowa City; Steve Marsden, Iowa City; Jeffrey Morgan, Iowa City; Scott Morgan, Iowa City; Joseph Ptak, Iowa City; and James Runyon, Rock Island, IL.
The defendants, on the other hand, embraced radical social ideals: three were Catholic Workers; six belonged to the Iowa Socialist Party; two were frequent participants in Iowa Socialist Party events; one was a member of the Revolutionary Student Brigade at the University of Iowa; and one was a punk-rock artist.
Frank Cordaro, Lucia Dryanski, and James Runyon were Catholic Workers; James Dubert, Margaret Gilfoyle, Jean Hagen, Richard Kramer, Joe Marron, and Steve Marsden belonged to the Iowa Socialist Party; Joseph Ptak was a member of the Revolutionary Student Brigade; and Scott Morgan was an avant-garde writer and musician.[1]