Leaving 349 feet of twisted wreckage behind, Lovejoy hitched a ride to the local police station, where he turned himself in along with a four-page statement decrying the dangers of nuclear power and accusing the government and utilities of "conspiracy and despotism."

Six months later, Lovejoy stood trial for "willful and malicious destruction of personal property," a five-year felony. He insisted on conducting his own case and told the jury he had acted in self-defense. After a dramatic seven-day trial, Lovejoy went free.

Lovejoy's Nuclear War presents a cross-section of views about nuclear power, civil disobedience, and the politics of energy that were drawn together by Lovejoy's sabotage and the trial that followed it. Step by step, it traces the path left by the shock wave of the falling tower: from the streets of this small Connecticut River Valley town to the marble hallways of the Atomic Energy Commission.



Grade Level: 10-12, College, Adults
US Release Date: 2026     Copyright Date: 1975

Reviews "Lovejoy's Nuclear War is a thoroughly absorbing documentary naive enough to seek answers to fundamental questions - namely, the application of civil disobedience to something as complex as the nuclear power issue. The picture is ideally suited to academic and underground showings. . . The viewer is confronted with the kind of knotty public problems that rarely, if ever, get intelligent airing inside a film theater." Variety "The film has a pure, stunning instinct for asking the most fundamental and disturbing questions possible about the intersection between private lives and politics." Harpers Weekly "A very thoughtful and provocative account of an original and stubborn one-man war against nuclear power. Muted and underplayed, it is one of the few genuinely consciousness-changing and organically political films of the last few years. Both sides are heard, fairly; yet the filmmakers' sympathies are clear." Amos Vogel, Film Comment "Supported by a good use of film technique, the movie is excellent for public library film programs and for use in senior high school and college social studies, current events, and political science classes." American Library Association's Booklist ". . . a warmly human chronicle of a serious 20th century dilemma. Even those who oppose Lovejoy's methods will find the questions it raises both provocative and disturbing." San Francisco Examiner