The existence of an orchard in New London, run by a local anarchist group, is illegal. It sits upon private property, and the group, the New London Mutual Aid Collective, did not seek permission. But the property itself is not without controversy: it was seized by the government in a controversial move that wound up in the U.S. Supreme Court in the mid-2000s. We spoke to two members of the group to find out more about their controversial “guerrilla” orchard.

Extended Interview with Adam O. and Hayward Gatch:

Citations: 

#1: Benedict, Jeff. Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage. 1st ed., Grand Central Publishing, 2009.

#2: Little Pink House. Directed by Courtney M. Balaker, Perf. Catherine Keener. Dada Films, 2017.

#3: Smith, Greg. “Group is Planting Fruit Trees, Vegetables on Fort Trumbull Eminent Domain Land.” The Day, 4 Aug. 2019, http://www.theday.com/article/20190804/NWS01/190809745. Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.

#4: Fort Trumbull Memorial Orchard. “”We have received a credible tip that RCDA…”.” Facebook, 27 July 2019, http://www.facebook.com/FortTrumbullMemOrch/posts/103500940992504. Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.

#5: Anonymous. “New London, CT: Anarchists Reclaim Land Left to Rot by Eminent Domain.” It’s Going Down, 26 July 2019, itsgoingdown.org/new-london-ct-anarchist-reclaim-land-left-to-rot-by-eminent-domain/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.

#6: American Conservative Union, 10 Jan. 2018, http://www.conservative.org. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.

#7: American Civil Liberties Union, http://www.aclu.org. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.

#8: NAACP, http://www.naacp.org. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.

#9: “File:George-W-Bush.” Wikimedia Commons, 14 Jan. 2003, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George-W-Bush.jpeg. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.

#10: “File:Pfizer.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, 18 Feb. 2015, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pfizer.svg. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.

#11: Song in video: Himalahya. “Noite De Novembro.”