THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING

[Music] scat 101 [Music] in the areas of Mont circle their relation iron gates on [Music] 1497 [Music] before [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] this was the spring offensive the mobilization of masses of people at the given time and place attracts worldwide news coverage and attention for the protest organizer insider and promoter it is a vital and necessary tactic on April 24th 1971 the National Peace Action Coalition supported by welfare rights groups labor unions and others held a massive demonstration in Washington DC some 175 thousand people from all walks of life with differing ideologies and purposes marched from the White House to the Capitol Washington has grown accustomed to this method of voicing dissent though larger than most this was an organized demonstration with parade permits marshals and responsible leadership the demonstrators came their positions on the war racial discrimination and other political issues were made known throughout the rally officers of the Metropolitan Police were directed to maintain a low visibility profile their role was as always to protect the constitutional rights of citizens intervening only to meet unusual or emergency situations there were few laws broken few arrests most who came in the name of peace returned to their homes jobs or schools but some who came to break the peace stayed on in West Potomac Park for them the April 24th rally was only a prayer due to Mayday an opportunity to advance their own well-defined aim to shut down the federal government the country should respond from coast to coast with demonstrations at universities and communities and across this country months before these militant and violence-prone members of the new level decided that the style discipline and tactics of peaceful assembly were no longer acceptable as early as June 1970 strategy conferences were held by radical leaders in Milwaukee and Ann Arbor here a new tactic was adopted massive civil disobedience and confrontation instead of large crowds peaceably assembling to petition their government activity would move to unlawful direct action stop the government paralyze the judicial system challenge law enforcement and embarrassed the establishment a detailed 24 page tactical manual was printed and distributed across the country prepared by the made a collective of the People's Coalition for peace and justice it scheduled ten days of massive civil disobedience between April 26 and May 7 2 take advantage of the planned April 24th March early disruptive activities focused on the Selective Service Health Education and Welfare Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department in each action the tactics vary but the objective was the same to disrupt the governor on Tuesday April 27 made a action called for demonstrators to obstruct entrances to the Selective Service Building when federal employees refused to be intimidated demonstrators turn to less violent forms of protests money and trap cards were burned the national anthem and the American flag were made a mockery [Music] the next morning mayor's again took up their positions at employee entrances police ordered them to disperse those that did not were taken into custody leaving behind only their traces of trash and litter [Music] [Music] although rain cancelled wednesday's march on the Internal Revenue Service the made a collective joined demonstrators at the Department of Health Education and Welfare on Thursday [Music] when they were refused access to the entire building they ripped down a large retaining wall and later attempted to march on the White House again police ordered the crowd to disperse again those that did not were methodically arrested in each action recognized organizations such as the Quakers the Southern Christian Leadership Conference national welfare rights organization and others played a role in the agenda planned by the made a leader [Music] [Applause] [Music] on Friday May Day leaders unveiled a new strategy at the Department of Justice demonstrators moved in in waves to block entrances the manual instructed units of ten to 25 people to sit down and pass the pipe and play music until arrested [Music] [Music] as each unit was broken up or arrested another wave took its place the tactic was designed to test the ability of police to handle arrests of large groups but the action failed [Music] police utilized field arrest reports on the scene to facilitate booking procedure that afternoon southern christian leadership members acting under a parade permit authorized by the city we're joined by more mayday demonstrators at the justice department [Music] when the permit expired the police command was given to disperse those who refused to leave were arrested from April 26 to April 30th Metropolitan Police arrested over 1,000 lawbreakers each was properly processed collateral or personal bond was posted and the demonstrators released many would be arrested again in other Mayday demonstrations during this period the West Potomac Park campsite became the command communications and training center for all Mayday activities initial Mayday tactics called for headquarters in Rock Creek Park a rugged wooded 1,700 acre park that runs through the heart of Washington recognizing the surveillance and logistics problems with such a site the departments of justice and interior limited their assembly permit to the more confining West Potomac Park area although the permit prohibited camping the made a manual advised people to bring tents blankets food and communication equipment the list of essentials also included wire cutters for fences water bottles for tear gas and dope to share with fellow demonstrators my early Saturday morning May 1st armies of blue denim and khaki had streamed into West Potomac Park collegians hippies and high-school students professional freaks with their drugs and well-heeled agitators with pamphlets and newspapers subsequent investigations and arrests showed 75% of the participants came from outside the Washington area [Music] some came for a widely-publicized weekend marathon rock festival some came to get high some came for some action and some came to stop the war [Music] during the rock festival hundreds of cases of drug overdose and excessive drinking were reported a mobile unit set up to disseminate drug information quickly turned into an emergency treatment center the attending physician personally treated over 600 narcotics cases [Music] by midday police aerial surveillance indicated that crowd had grown to over 25,000 early evening photos showed 45,000 had spilled over the confines of the park posing health hazards and threatening the destruction of public property these repeated and flagrant violations of the park permit which was negotiated and accepted by the Mayday leaders left no alternative but for the government to close the campsite down it was up to chief Wilson to execute the revocation the singularly challenging and delicate assignment for the men of the Metropolitan Police Force at 4:00 a.m. Sunday all members of the department were mobilized for a top-secret pre-dawn trip to West Potomac Park at 6:00 a.m. the announcement was made to the slumbering and surprised crowd that their permit had been revoked and they must vacate the area or face arrest [Music] violation of the law all those wishing to leave here so the made a manual had counseled the demonstrators to maintain communication prevent panic and not allow themselves to be chased out of town instead the opposite happened the demonstrators offered almost no resistance no one has permission to remain until moon everyone is leaving what you're saying is that you may begin to arrest people now that they do not move on this is possible but not probable and still we will be ready for some time within hours nearly 45,000 youths were cleared from the campsite most who left the park also left the city others who might have stayed for Monday's planned demonstrations scattered to all parts of the district in all only a handful of hardcore militants who remained in defiance of chief Wilson's order were arrested at the park [Applause] [Music] hey I love you [Music] the 15,000 demonstrators who remained in Washington were joined by several thousand more militants for the following days traffic stopping action [Music] Monday's tactics called for massive civil disobedience at 21 selected targets targets were broken into two areas traffic circles and the bridges [Music] made a leaders felt if these were blocked during early morning rush hours government business would be stopped [Music] we're going to see to it that the thousands of government workers who have a right to go to work peacefully are not interfered with by those militants those few militants who in the name of demonstrating for peace abroad presume that they have the right to break the peace at home [Music] pre-dawn Washington was quiet very shortly the task of keeping the bridges clear of demonstrators was assigned to federal troops allowing more policemen to be assigned to strategic demonstration targets at 4:30 a.m. inbound commuter traffic on Washington bridges was heavy but flowing normally as federal employees sought to avoid rush-hour disruption [Music] [Music] then at 6:00 a.m. police protesters and commuters converged a thousand demonstrators blocked Dupont Circle a thousand swarmed onto Washington Circle over a thousand more hit Georgetown some sat in busy intersections taunting police some threw trash or slashed tires others pushed cars into the street alarming innocent bystander [Applause] [Applause] the brunt of these early-morning clashes was borne by district police the tactical pattern was to first send in scooter and motorcycle officers to evaluate the situation then send in patrolman and buses to scatter and arrest protesters the military followed up to maintain security despite sporadic blockages the major traffic arteries were kept open as police responded with tear gas to drive the demonstrators off during this critical period police maintained normal booking procedures to maximize the potential for successful prosecutions at 6:23 a.m. chief Wilson made the decision to discontinue the time-consuming process of using field arrest forms violators working in groups were ordered to disperse to leave the area warnings were given every two to three minutes by both Cruiser loudspeaker and bullhorn those that ignored the opportunity were taken into custody without exception by early afternoon field arrest forms were reinstated and arrests totaled over 7,000 the largest single-day arrests total recorded in American history our nation's capital does not possess facilities for detaining 7,000 prisoners no government should stand ready to arrest and detain thousands of people at one time when the police were forced to take action they were also forced to use facilities which provided a minimum of security shelter and sanitation this was what the demonstrators wanted as stated in the manual it greatly enhances our tactical position if the jails and detention facilities are filled with demonstrators the specter of thousands of people jailed in the government's unsuccessful attempt to control Mayday will graphically demonstrate the political isolation of the war making government tens of thousands going to jail will make the choices painfully clear to America's rulers and the war or face social chaos after demonstrators filled police and court cell blocks and the DC jail police established a temporary holding facility at Robert F Kennedy Stadium to forced further confrontation some of the prisoners attempted to escape others slashed and mutilated a large tarpaulin covering the field [Applause] when it was apparent that bogged down court procedures would cause detention of many prisoners overnight they were transported to the Washington Coliseum a large auditorium nearby [Applause] by nightfall all demonstrators were indoors blankets were secured from the military and more than enough food to take care of the prisoners needs reaction of some prisoners was to destroy the sanitary facility tear up the blankets and throw the food on the floor [Applause] [Music] many refused to be properly booked and identify on Tuesday with most of their fellow demonstrators under arrest the remaining Mayday activists employed hit-and-run tactics throughout the morning [Applause] [Music] about noon police prepared for a planned march on the Justice Department official estimates indicated about eight hundred protesters would take part however these were joined by over 3,000 others who had been released by the courts police warned the demonstrators to disperse or be arrested most left peacefully but 15-hundred chose to be arrested [Applause] final Mayday action called for a massive siege of the United States Capitol to hold Congress hostage until it ratified a people's peace treaty with the North Vietnamese by now 3,000 hardcore radicals were all that was left of a mayday tribe that had numbered nearly 45,000 5 days before [Applause] at one o'clock they mounted the east steps of the Capitol to applaud political oratory against the establishment and the war shortly after the speeches police again ordered the demonstrators to disperse or be arrested some 1,200 reacted as the tactical manual dictated no matter what anyone says no matter what laws we break we will not leave our action targets until we have succeeded in creating the specter of social chaos or until we are arrested they were arrested [Music] [Applause] [Applause] the remaining few who were drawn to Washington by the romance and excitement of the movement banished the Spring Offensive was over May Day with its stated objective of stopping the government had failed for both the nation's capital and the Metropolitan Police it was business as usual [Music] as President Nixon asked the Metropolitan Police had performed its duties in a professional manner dealing fairly but firmly with violators of the law to the end that all citizens who live work and visit our nation's capital were afforded protection of the law [Music] but there will be other demonstrations other crises as protesters and police alike discovered there can be no tactical manual for a maid in each incident is unique each situation must be individually evaluated and acted upon for in law enforcement today the police officer is often the Peacekeeper in events involving national and local issues for which he is neither responsible nor empowered to resolve yet he remains the crucial pivot around which economic education racial and other issues of the day revolve [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]