Twenty-eight anti-nuclear protesters were cited Easter for trespassing onto the Nevada Test Site, the nation's center for nuclear weapons testing located about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The Sunday demonstrations concluded the Lenten Desert Experience, a protest against nuclear testing that has been conducted during the Lenten season for the past nine years.A spokesman for the Department of Energy said about 75 protesters congregated near the test site entrance Sunday morning to conduct religious services before beginning the peaceful march toward the gate at midday.
Those demonstrators who deliberately crossed onto test site property were handcuffed and briefly held in an outdoor compound where they were issued citations and then released.
More than 160 anti-nuclear demonstrators have been arrested for trespassing onto the Nevada Test Site since April 6 when protesters stepped up civil disobedience activity during Holy Week.
The Lenten Desert Experience is sponsored by a faith-based organization called Nevada Desert Experience.