200 protesters arrested at California nuclear site

September 29, 1981

More than 200 protesters, including tough-guy actor Robert Blake, were arrested Monday in a final attempt to halt operations of the $2.3 billion Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor with a "human blockade."

More than 1,600 demonstrators have been arrested during the two-week protest -- the most in any antinuclear demonstration in US history.

Demonstrators have announced they will soon leave the small coastal village about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Katherine Smith, spokeswoman for the Abalone Alliance, which planned the protest, said it was the last "large action" before the antinuclear group shifts from its civil disobedience strategy to a nationwide focus on education.