Protesters Accuse N.C. Airport of Housing Planes Used by CIA

Fourteen people were arrested for trespassing during a protest against a company that they claim has housed planes used by the CIA to covertly shuttle terrorism suspects to countries where they're possibly tortured.

About 60 protesters, some traveling from several states away, gathered at the Johnston County Airport Friday, and 14 of them were arrested by sheriff's deputies after they allegedly trespassed, The News & Observer reported Saturday.

The protesters asked local officials to investigate the allegations against Aero Contractors, which has leased about 8 acres (3 hectares) from the airport since 1979. The company provides planes and pilots for charter flights.

Company officials have denied the charges, which were reported earlier this year by CBS' "60 Minutes" and the New York Times.

If proven true, protesters said they want the company kicked out.

"We know what they've done," said Patrick O'Neill, a local organizer from Raleigh who was released from jail Friday on $500 (euro428) bail. "We don't have any reason to think they wouldn't do it again."

Robert Blowers, assistant general manager of Aero Contractors, said that the protests made no sense to him.

"It's an old story, and it's been beat to death," he said.

Some of the protesters posted signs pointing to the airport, located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh, that read, "This Way To CIA Torture Flights." Others, wearing orange jumpsuits with hoods over their heads, re-enacted scenes from American-run prison camps such as Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

O'Neill and other protesters slipped past a barbed-wire fence and draped the company's sign with a cloth that read: "CIA TORTURE TAXI."

Sheriff's deputies handcuffed the trespassers and took them to jail. The company had shut down on Friday.

Cookie Pope, chairwoman of the Johnston County commissioners, said the board would look at the papers the group delivered to her, but was unlikely to interfere.

"When you talk about the CIA, I leave that to the CIA," she said. "I don't try to tell anyone how to run their business."

Airport officials called Aero a good tenant. The company contributes roughly a third of the airport's annual budget, about $300,000 (euro257,000 in rent and fuel fees.

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