The Port Elizabeth 4 - Danny Creamer, Ellen Grady, Teresa Grady, and Mark Scibilia-Carver - were found guilty in a trial on Monday in New Jersey for their actions during a protest at the port in October 2025.
Municipal Court Judge Roman Montes combined the three charges - obstructing traffic, interfering with commerce, and failing to obey police orders to disperse - into one low-level charge, and told defendants to each pay a $500 fine and $33 in court costs, or complete 120 hours of community service.
Creamer told the court, attended by 20 supporters, they would opt to do community service.
"I do not want to give money to the State that is perpetuating these crimes,” Creamer told WBAI.
The case stems from the political action in the early morning of October 3, 2025 when the defendants, part of an independent coalition of 100 protesters, entered the roadway leading to Port Elizabeth to stop ZIM trucks from dropping deliveries for Maersk Sentosa whose shipments they allege carry ammunition bound for Israel. Protesters argued the truck’s contents would be used by Israel in its military campaign in Gaza, and be responsible for participating in the genocide.
Defendants, who represented themselves, argued for the “legal doctrine of necessity” - that an otherwise unlawful action may be justified when taken to prevent a great and imminent harm and sought to introduce domestic and international laws that the Israel war against Gaza violates, as well as US government support of Israel and its continuing military support.
The court would not permit the claim citing insufficient legal evidence concerning the contents of the truck and whether the transportation constituted an immediate threat to human life. The Defendants had engaged expert witnesses - former State Department official Josh Paul who resigned under the Biden Administration of its US policy toward Palestine, and Timmon Wallis, an expert on international law and nonviolent defense - both were denied a chance to give testimony as the prosecution argued it wouldn’t be relevant to charges before the court. Likewise photographic evidence of injured and killed Palestinian children was also rejected by the court.
Judge Montes took time to explain courtroom procedures to the defendants and while expressing sympathy for their concerns about Gaza and their right to protest, he maintained that disrupting traffic, potentially endangering the public, and failing to obey police orders could not be discounted.
The action at Port Elizabeth was one of several actions at ports around the world to protest military cargo linked to Israel in France, Greece and Belgium and the massive general strike in Italy in October 1-2 organized by union federations including CGIL and USB when an estimated 2 million people participated in more than 80 cities, shutting down ports, blocking highways and disruption rail lines.
Outside the courtroom Creamer said they were disappointed the court hadn’t recognized the imminent harm associated with weapons being sent to Israel,
“There’s nothing you can do with weapons except hurt people," Creamer told WBAI Pacifica Radio.
There will be another global day of action at ports over Israel’s war on the Palestinians on October 30, 2026.
