By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

              SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the
              Rev. Al Sharpton to 90 days in jail for trespassing on U.S. Navy land as part of a
              protest against military exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.

              The New York civil rights activist was arrested May 1 with 12 other protesters on
              Navy land. At least 180 people were arrested during the exercises April 27 to May
              1.

              ``If Martin Luther King were alive, he would have come to Vieques and raised these
              issues,'' Sharpton said, appearing before Judge Jose A. Fuste.

              Because Sharpton had prior arrests for civil disobedience in New York, he was
              sentenced as a repeat offender. He also was fined $500.

              Sharpton was taken to the federal prison in suburban Guaynabo. His lawyers said
              they plan to file an appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

              Eleven other activists who were arrested with Sharpton also appeared in court
              Wednesday. Nine were sentenced to 40 days in prison and $500 fines. They
              included New York City Councilman Adolfo Carrion and New York state
              legislators Jose Rivera and Roberto Ramirez.

              Two defendants were put on probation because they are ill.

              Other high-profile protesters arrested during the demonstrations included
              environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, actor
              Edward James Olmos and New York labor leader Dennis Rivera.

              Earlier this month, Puerto Rican independence leader Ruben Berrios was sentenced
              to four months in jail, the stiffest sentence given to the anti-Navy protesters so far.
              Berrios had refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the U.S. court and did not mount
              a defense.

              The Navy has used its range on Vieques, population 9,400, for six decades and
              says it is vital for national security. Critics say it poses a health threat, which the
              Navy denies.

              Opposition to the exercises grew after a civilian guard was killed on the range in
              1999 by two off-target bombs. The Navy has since stopped using live ammunition,
              and islanders will vote in November whether the Navy must leave in 2003 or can
              stay, resuming the use of live ammunition.