On Tuesday, July 28, during Elbit Out of South Carolina’s (EOSC) weekly picket outside of the Elbit Systems of America factory, three protestors were wrongfully arrested by an off-duty North Charleston Police Department (NCPD) officer. The officer, who was acting as paid security for Elbit Systems, arrested EOSC protestors on bogus charges for the crime of calling attention to Elbit Systems’ profiting from the manufacturing of weapons used by Israel to commit genocide.
The EOSC coalition formed in Spring of 2024 in response to the opening of Elbit Systems' Ladson facility on Palmetto Commerce Parkway. Its organizational membership includes Free Palestine Charleston (FPC), Charleston Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).
Elbit Systems’ Ladson factory manufactures bomb bodies and Howitzer cannons used by Israel to commit genocide in Palestine and war crimes in Lebanon. A 2026 Mask Off Maersk report shows that 925 tons of bomb bodies have been manufactured at the Ladson facility since it first opened in 2024.
Collin Holloway, one of the Ladson 3, remarked, “The officer and all the NCPD officers being paid $60/hour by Elbit Systems have a long history of lying about the behavior of picketers and ignoring the crimes of Elbit workers who cover their license plates and try to run us over. Yesterday, I was issued a speeding ticket while I was a pedestrian and then arrested. It just goes to show the absurd lengths they will go to while working as mercenaries for a company complicit in genocide"
This is a clear case of repression against our campaign and an attempt to target our members, but we will not back down. NCPD has targeted our members in the past during pickets and made arrests on charges that haven’t once stood in court.
Chris Newhard, an regular picket photographer, stated "In my past year of witnessing protests at the facility, Elbit's private enlistment of public officers enables such blatant breakdowns in discipline and delinquent behavior that it puts the entire department into disrepute.”
Despite yesterday's arrests, EOSC plans to continue to hold its weekly picket outside of the Elbit facility. We remain committed to raising awareness about Elbit's major role in Israel’s genocide of Palestine, Israel’s escalated attacks in Lebanon, and the tax breaks the company receives that were approved by Charleston County council.
Reflecting on the arrests, EOSC organizer Autumn Waddell noted, “History repeats itself as those of us standing up for peace, life, and humanity are targeted, harassed, repressed, and arrested while those whose greed knows no bounds, who profit off killing and destruction, and those who protect them walk free. We will continue to fight until true justice is served and the Elbit Systems Ladson factory is shut down and can no longer aid in war crimes.”