KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A judge has ruled that an elderly nun and two other nuclear protesters must remain jailed until they are sentenced for breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex and defacing the walls of a uranium processing plant.

Sister Megan Rice, 83, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed (bohr-CHEE' OH-bed') were convicted Wednesday of interfering with national security and damaging federal property during last year's incursion. They cut through security fences, hung banners, strung crime-scene tape and hammered off a small chunk of the fortress-like Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

An attorney for the defendants asked the judge on Thursday to allow their release pending their Sept. 23 sentencing.

The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/17bibId ) reports U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar issued an order Friday that indicated he felt releasing the defendants would be too lenient.

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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com