The Arrest and Trial of an FBI Agent

In the turbulent 60s there was a local FBI agent who was assigned to the campus area. He was reputed to have been an Olympic-class runner in college. One of his responsibilities was to monitor protest and demonstration activities on campus. Several student members of SDS claimed that they had been told by the Agent that if they continued their activism he would contact their draft boards and try to change their draft status.

At an informal meetings of SDS members it was concluded that the Agent was infringing on free speech rights and the right to engage in public protest. There was general agreement that there should be a people's arrest of the Agent and that he should be tried in a people's court. This may sound bizarre today, but in the moment there was extensive discussion of participatory democracy and the need for people to confront established authority because it was held to be corrupt.

A plan was developed. A member of SDS would contact the Agent saying he wanted to talk with him about his activism and wanted to avoid any change in his draft status. He would offer to meet the Agent in the Sweet Shop in the Union building. The plan was that when the Agent sat down with the student other SDS members who were already in the Sweet Shop would swarm over the Agent and bring him to the lawn in front of the Union where a trial would be held. The plan went awry. The Agent came to the door of the Sweet Shop but would not enter because he didn't like the look of things. He turned and started to walk away and the remaining SDS students went after him. The agent exited the east door of the Union and proceeded to run north on Grant Street. Students gave chase but the Agent's alleged running prowess became a reality and there was no way that anyone was going to catch him.

The activists were discouraged but they decided to proceed with the trial with the the defendent in absentia. About 20 people gathered on the originally designated spot and the trial proceeded. The prosecutor was Don and the judge was Robert Perrucci. There is no memory of a defense attorney, but the jury consisted of all present. Witnesses described the Agent's attempts to harrass and intimidate them. The judge asked for a decision by a show of hands. The decision was unanimous: guilty!

ADDENDUM: Correction

There is a correction to this account of the arrest and trial of the FBI Agent. We uncovered a story in the local newspaper about this event. It reports about 100 persons at a "people's tribunal." and lists Robert Perrucci as chairman of the jury that issued the verdict. There is no mention of Don, but Jeff is mentioned. The account of the Sweet Shop incident in the newspaper matches the above account in general, but there is no mention of the foot race on Grant Street with the swift Agent.

In the search for the article on the "people's tribunal" we also uncovered a newspaper article and a photo of Robert and Carolyn at the base of the steps of the Executive building as 135 Black students are placing the bricks on the steps. Homer is prominent in the article as a spokeperson for the group.

Sometimes memory and data work together, but memory is a questionable source without supporting evidence. See Robert's article with Beth on the "Social Structure of Memory" in the International Journal of Contemporary Sociology.