The roots of the opposition

A few key members of the Granville Nonviolent Action Team trace their roots to a U.S. Department of Energy proposal in the late 1980s known as the superconducting super collider. Public protests in 1988 effectively killed North Carolina's chances of getting the massive project, but they also set the stage for a bigger fight in 1989.

Oxford lawyer John Pike, who is still active in GNAT, was hired that year by an anonymous client who wanted to trace the ownership of certain parcels of land. Pike later realized that his task was related to assembling property for a hazardous waste incinerator run by Thermalchem. A citizen group, GROW -- Granville Residents Opposed to Waste -- quickly formed to fight that project.

With the incinerator project proceeding, some members of GROW felt that more aggressive tactics were needed. GNAT was created in 1990 with the understanding that civil disobedience might be used, including possible arrests and jail time.

To further derail the project, Pike borrowed money to buy property in the middle of what he strongly suspected would be the proposed site, based on his research. The property was then subdivided thousands of times into tiny parcels with separate deeds bought for as little as $5 each. The sales created a huge knot of red tape for any company wanting to reassemble the land. The property was later deeded to the county for a park.

Opposition to the proposed bio-defense lab in Butner was minimal until days before the Department of Homeland Security came to Granville County in September for a hearing. A few days after the hearing, about 15 to 20 members from GNAT's fight against the incinerator decided to raise awareness of the bio-defense lab project and recruit others in opposition.