William J. Bichsel

William Jerome Bichsel, S.J. (May 26, 1928 – February 28, 2015), nicknamed "Bix", was Jesuit priest in Tacoma, Washington, United States. He is notable for his actions as a non-violent protester, spending time in federal prison for demonstrating on issues such as nuclear weapons and the School of the Americas.^[1]

Biography

Bill Bichsel was born in Tacoma in 1928^[2] and ordained as a priest in 1959. He was assigned to St. Leo's Parish in Tacoma, Washington. After completing his assignment there, Bichsel hitchhiked around the nation for 6 months and then worked as a community organizer in Seattle. In 1979, he returned to Tacoma to work in the Guadelupe House shelter, a Catholic Worker house.^[1] He died February 28, 2015, of heart disease in Tacoma, Washington.^[3]

Protesting

Bichsel is a non-violent activist and has served prison time for his protesting. He was arrested for protesting at the Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington while serving at Saint Leo's in the 1970s. He served various sentences in King County and Lompoc, California.^[1] In 1996, Bichsel served a year in federal prison for protesting at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.^[4] He was sentenced, along with four other protesters, to two months in federal prison for breaking through two levels of security at the Naval Base Kitsap to protest. The protesters attempted to break through to a bunker where nuclear weapons were stored, to spill blood, pray, and hang posters in opposition to the weapons, but were stopped.^[5] In 2011, he was arrested again for trespassing on the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.^[6] He was sentenced to three months in a federal jail near Seattle, Washington. He was held in solitary confinement for at least part of his sentence.^[7] Bichsel was released on February 9, 2012.^[8]

External links

• Interview discussing Nov. 2, 2009, Bangor action.

References