A Brief History
On August 22, 1971, Cold War anti-communist zealots FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General of the US John Mitchell announced the arrest of “The Camden 28,” anti-Viet Nam War protesters that had broken into a Camden, New Jersey draft board to destroy documents necessary for the administration of the military draft for that area.
Digging Deeper
The 28 anti-war activists included priests and former seminarians, and quite a few people that had experienced Catholic high school or college education, and some were involved in the priesthood (2 priests and a minister, plus a Franciscan Brother) social work, medicine, cab driving, government work, counseling and other occupations. The fact that so many were Catholic and had Catholic schooling was readily apparent, the group being labeled part of the “Catholic Left.”
Buffoons John Mitchell (later to go down in flames with the Watergate scandal) and J. Edgar Hoover (cross dressing persecutor and possibly black mailer of homosexuals and self promoting egoist) were eager to crow about the mighty blow struck against the anti-war subversives, but their pride would be short lived.
It turned out that the FBI had an informant in the group, and had promised him that no group members would face jail time. Hard to believe it, but they lied. The defendants faced 7 felonies apiece and 40 years in prison, causing the informant to switch sides and testify for the defense. All 28 activists plead not guilty, and were tried together, spurning a plea bargain that would have them plead guilty to a single misdemeanor apiece.
At the trial it was divulged that the FBI had supplied the funds for the break in, as well as some of the equipment and even the walkie-talkie radios used. The government was seen by the jurors as the real instigators behind the operation and all 28 of the defendants were acquitted. The trial was used by the defense to publicize the government’s methods in a most unflattering light, including the COINTELPRO operations where the FBI had run many legally questionable schemes.
The Camden 28 had certainly broken the law and were working against the lawful exercise of government operations, but the over-zealousness and underhanded tactics of the FBI ruined the case before the jury and caused the government to actually be the ones tried.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Do the ends justify the means? For the government and or the protesters? Is this philosophy valid?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Giacchino, Anthony, dir. The Camden 28. First Run Features, 2007. DVD.
