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Revision as of 21:52, 15 September 2007 by Astanhope (talk | contribs) (→The trial: expand)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Camden 28 were a group of "Catholic left" anti-Vietnam War activists who in 1971 planned and executed a "raid" on a Camden, New Jersey draft board.
The goal
The goal of the group was to make a bold statement in opposition to the war in Vietnam and to try to sabotage the small piece of the draft process that was administered through the local draft board in Camden, New Jersey. Their plan was to break into the draft board offices at night and upon illegally gaining access, they would search for, collect and either destroy or remove all 1A-status draft registrations. It was to be both a symbolic and real blow to the process through which tens of thousands of young American men were being drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam.
The group
The group's members weren't stereotypical anti-Vietnam War activists. While the group did include young students and "hippies," there were also blue collar workers, devout Catholics and even two Catholic priests and a Protestant minister, all eager to do whatever was in their power to stop the war in Vietnam.
An informer in their midst
One group member, Bob Hardy, a talented carpenter/handyman, was opposed to the war but was also secretly opposed to the group's plans to break the law with this action. Feeling torn between loyalty to his friends in the group and his strict law-and-order personal philosophy, Hardy approached the local FBI with his concerns. The FBI encouraged Hardy to remain with the group so that he might watch them and pass along information about their activities. Hardy agreed to become an informant, allegedly only after receiving assurances from his FBI handlers that none of the group - his friends - would ever spend any time in jail for the raid against the draft board. The FBI agreed to finance much of Hardy's role within the group.
As an FBI informant, Hardy became heavily involved with the group from a planning and training perspective. As he was a hands-on carpenter and handyman, he helped devise the plan whereby the group could break into the Federal office building within which the draft board was located. He supplied tools (mostly paid for by the FBI), expertise and training. Ladders would be used, windows would be cut with glass cutters, alarms would be bypassed, etc. 2-way radios were supplied by the FBI so that the activists could better communicate and coordinate their actions when the raid was to finally occur.
The raid
The raid was planned for the early hours of Sunday, August 22, 1971. With the activists all in their positions the raid commenced, carefully monitored and documented from the shadows by more than 40 FBI agents. The activists were allowed to break into the draft board office wherein they commenced destroying and bagging thousands of draft related documents. After a significant amount of time passed during which thousands of documents had been handled, the hidden FBI agents were ordered to spring into action and arrest everyone involved. Those arrested, including two Catholic priests and a Protestant minister, became known as The Camden 28. That Bob Hardy had betrayed them became readily apparent as the night wore on.
The trial
By the time that The Camden 28 were brought to trial in the Spring of 1973, their case was viewed by many as a referendum on the Vietnam War.
The 28 chose to be tried together. Their defense team was an amalgam of self-representation, self-representation with co-council and a handful of actual lawyers.
In the spring of 1973 all 28 defendants were acquitted on all counts.
Legacy
Supreme Court Justice William Brennan said, of the trial, "I think Camden was one of the great trials of the 20th Century."
External links
- The Camden 28 - official website for a 2007 documentary about the incident.
- About the Camden 28 - PBS
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