It is the existence of reasonable grounds for the belief (that cause for action existed) formed at the time and in light of all the circumstances, coupled with good-faith belief, that affords a basis for qualified immunity. * * *
any group as a whole which was more noisy violent or disorderly in behavior than is normally permitted on the Capitol grounds. Any group which had a purpose to interfere with the process of Congress, any member of Congress, congressional employees, visitors or tourists. Any group which had the effect by its presence of interfering with the processes of Congress or any member thereof, or any employee or visitor. Any group which damages any part of the building, shrubbery or plant life. The behavior must be such that the group can be characterized as a whole. If only one person, or even if several persons who might be easily identifiable participate in an unlawful behavior, this will not justify characterizing a group as a group to be dispersed.
APPENDIX | ||
---|---|---|
Date Story | ||
Appeared | ||
in Post | Page | Headline, Story |
April 21 | A-1 | VETS CAMP ON MALL BANNED BY BURGER |
col. 5 | ||
April 22 | A-1 | VETS DISOBEY COURT ORDER, SLEEP ON MALL |
col. 1 | ||
A-15 | WEARY VETS QUIETLY AWAIT POLICE MOVE | |
col. 1 | ||
B-1 | PROTESTORS THREATEN MASSIVE CITY TIE-UP ... | |
col. 1 | ||
Massive civil disobedience designed to halt functioning of | ||
government here ... | ||
Protestors feel they must now resort to extra-legal | ||
tactics ... | ||
Leaders distribute Mayday Manual ... | ||
Protest leaders envision massive traffic jams, expect | ||
50,000 | ||
April 23 | A-1 | JUDGE LIFTS BAN ON VETS |
col. 7 | ||
A-6 | POLICE MOVE QUICKLY, GENTLY IN ARRESTING PROTESTING VETS | |
col. 7 | ||
A-23 | Marquis Childs, VETERANS CAMP: WHAT THEY SEEK | |
col. 7 | ||
This capital never looked more beautiful in perfect spring | ||
weather nor was it ever more troubled, confused and torn | ||
by the divisions—that wrack the country. Between the DAR | ||
... the Vietnam Veterans against the War and ... masses | ||
of tourists, it is enough to send the police right up the | ||
wall. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
... The danger is always present that violence will break | ||
out. It is a much greater danger in the upcoming mass | ||
demonstrations. | ||
April 23 | B-1 | WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY AND HOW TO (AND NOT TO) ... |
col. 1 | ||
KEEP HEALTHY, KEEP OUT OF JAIL, | ||
KEEP FROM DRIVING INTO IT ALL | ||
B-1 | HOW TO KEEP OUT OF JAIL | |
If you see a cop with a megaphone, no matter if you can't | ||
hear what he's saying or if he's saying anything at all, | ||
walk as fast as you can away from there. He's warning the | ||
crowd to disperse, and its no defense to say he didn't | ||
tell you personally. Leave. | ||
April 24 | A-1 | VETS LEAVE; MASS MARCH SLATED TODAY |
col. 7 | ||
col. 5 | WAR PROTESTS 1965-1971 | |
A-8 | Police have handled 289 demonstrations in the last year. | |
col. 1 | ||
April 25 | A-1 | END WAR NOW, THRONG DEMANDS OVER 175,000 RALLY AT CAPITOL |
col. 1 | ||
A-16 | STARTING MONDAY, PROTESTERS' AIMS TURN TO DISRUPTION | |
col. 1 | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
The planned actions signal a new order of militancy in | ||
the antiwar movement. Never before have antiwar leaders | ||
urged mass violations of the law and disruption of | ||
government functions. | ||
April 26 | A-1 | PROTESTERS SHUT N.J. TURNPIKE 10 DAY PROTEST TO BEGIN, |
col. 5 | GOVERNMENT DISRUPTION SCHEDULED | |
A-16 | Lobbying, Sit-ins to Mark Protests | |
col. 1 | ||
April 27 | A-1 | D.C. GUARD TO TRAIN; PROTESTS DISRUPT HILL |
col. 1 | ||
A-11 | DEMONSTRATORS CAMP OUT, FREAK OUT IN THE PARK | |
col. 1 | ||
April 28 | A-1 | CHURCHMEN ASK NATION TO REPENT WAR |
col. 3 | ||
April 29 | A-1 | GIRL ARRESTED AS WITNESS IN CAPITOL BLAST— |
col. 7 | ||
col. 2 | 200 ARRESTED, BOND RAISED FOR PROTESTORS | |
April 30 | A-1 | ARRESTS HALT WAR MARCH |
col. 1 | ||
224 SEIZED AFTER RAZING WALL AT HEW | ||
col. 6 | PRESIDENT SAYS PROTESTS WON'T INTIMIDATE HIM | |
May 1 | A-1 | KIDNAP PLOT DETAILS BARED; MORE INDICTED |
col. 7 | ||
A federal grand jury issued a new indictment yesterday | ||
in the alleged conspiracy to kidnap Henry Kissinger and | ||
bomb government buildings. | ||
A-1 | 370 SEIZED BLOCKING DOORS AT JUSTICE | |
col. 2 | ||
A-1 | 7,300 POLICE GUARDSMEN, READIED TO COUNTER DISRUPTION NEXT | |
col. 3 | WEEK | |
A-5 | Judges Set Night Duty to Set Bond | |
col. 1 | ||
May 2 | A-1 | TROOPS MOVE IN TO AREA VISTORS MASS TO TIE-UP CITY; |
col. 7 | 50,000 IN PARK | |
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
Several thousand federal troops were readied for | ||
possible trouble in the next three days as the city's | ||
third consecutive week of antiwar activities began | ||
yesterday.... | ||
May 2 | A-1 | The Pentagon announced that army, air force and marine |
corps troops were ready.... | ||
A-1 | Portrait of a Washington War Protest | |
col. 4 | SPIRT OF MILITANCY RISES | |
A-16 | NUMBERS TO CALL FOR TRAFFIC DATA | |
col. 5 | ||
B-6 | Lead Editorial | |
col. 1 | ||
MONDAY, MAY 3; SOME OBLIGATIONS | ||
---|---|---|
It seems almost unnecessary to say that the army of | ||
anti-war demonstrators who hope to paralyze Washington, | ||
tomorrow cannot be permitted to succeed.... For this, | ||
presumably we will have police and troops at hand, men | ||
who in the past have demonstrated a high degree of sense | ||
and restraint in coping with disorderly protest ... There | ||
has been enormous pressure on the police and officialdom | ||
over the past week, but we remain hopeful and confident | ||
that they will deal with the planned disturbance and | ||
disturbers in a firm, but disciplined and orderly way. | ||
May 3 | A-1 | CAMPERS OUSTED, STILL PLANNING TO SNARL CITY TODAY |
col. 6 | ||
DAWN SWEEP CLEANS PARKS OF 45,000 | ||
A-1 | JUSTICE CALLED SHOT ON CLOSING CAMP | |
col. 7 | ||
May 4 | A-1 | 7,000 ARRESTED DISRUPTING CITY NEW OBSTRUCTIONS THREATENED |
col. 7 | TODAY | |
May 4 | col.3 | ARRESTS SET U.S. RECORD FOR A SINGLE DAY |
col. 5 | PROTESTERS IRK CITIZENS | |
May 4 | A-1 | JAILS, COURTS OVERBURDENED |
col. 5 | ||
More than 7,000 persons were arrested in widespread | ||
hit-and-run skirmishes with police and federal troops | ||
in Washington yesterday as anti-war protesters made an | ||
unprecedented attempt to bring the government to a | ||
physical halt. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
Just before the dissidents took to the streets a message | ||
from President Nixon asking that Washington be kept “an | ||
Open City” was read over the police radio network at 5:00 | ||
a.m. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
Keeping the city open took 4,000 troops deployed and | ||
4,000 in reserve, 1,400 D.C. National Guardsmen, the bulk | ||
of the 5,100 man D.C. police force and Park and Capitol | ||
police. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
Yesterday's picture of the city looked like this: | ||
an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 demonstrators swarming | ||
through much of downtown Washington in the early | ||
morning blocking streets and tangling with police. | ||
A-13 | COMMUNICATIONS, LUCK KEEP FORCES ONE UP ON PROTESTORS | |
col. 1 | ||
A-16 | Lead Editorial | |
col. 1 | ||
THE MOVEMENT, THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
But you cannot be much swayed by a movement when its | ||
message is obliterated by its medium—the smashing of | ||
cars, the blocking of streets, the scattering of garbage, | ||
the invitation to violence, the battling with police. | ||
That is the tragedy of the ongoing upheaval in the | ||
Capital, it is not so much a protest as a rampage and the | ||
message is not just lost; it is violated so that the | ||
movement is the loser in the end. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
The only possibility would seem to be that it will all get | ||
uglier, as patience wears thin on the part of the weary | ||
and hardpressed police and on the part of private | ||
citizens. With some exceptions forebearance was the word | ||
yesterday, for which all of us, and not the least of all | ||
the main body of the demonstrators, owe some debt to the | ||
skill and discipline of the police and the security | ||
forces. | ||
May 5 | A-1 | 2,700 MORE JAILED IN PROTESTS |
col. 8 | ||
SEIZED CROWN AT JUSTICE | ||
CAPITOL RALLY SET TODAY BY REMNANTS | ||
A-1 | MASS ARRESTS DIRECTED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT | |
col. 7 | ||
A-1 | SOME LEAVE DEJECTEDLY, OTHERS DIG IN | |
col. 3 | ||
A-16 | CAPITAL WITNESSES SECOND DAY OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ... | |
col. 3 | ||
“TOMORROW WE INTEND TO BE BACK” | ||
A-24 | Chief Wilson and his men are not to blame. With some | |
col. 1 | exceptions, the Police Department as well as other area | |
police forces and the military units all performed | ||
commendably given the job they had to do. There were some | ||
serious lapses, in which individual policemen used their | ||
clubs too readily and in which innocent bystanders, | ||
particulary if they happened to have long hair, were | ||
arrested without cause. But one could not look at the | ||
buses of policemen as they sped across town without | ||
having some sympathy for the strain and near exhaustion | ||
under which they have worked. The task Chief Wilson was | ||
given—to keep the city's traffic running at almost any | ||
cost—was a formidable one. And he has gotten no public | ||
backing from the man who assigned him the task, the | ||
President, who simply left town. | ||
May 6 | A-1 | 1,200 PROTESTERS ARRESTED AT CAPITOL |
col. 5 | ||
Police arrested 1,161 singing, clapping and dancing | ||
antiwar demonstrators yeterday after the protesters | ||
forced the closing of the Capitol on the third day of | ||
their program of large scale disobedience. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
Protesters who crowded the east steps of the House of | ||
Representatives yesterday afternoon did not appear to be | ||
winding down their peace efforts. | ||
A-1 | Haynes Johnson, PROTESTERS POINT UP CONFILICT OF RIGHTS | |
col. 5 | ||
“It has long been a grave question whether any government, | ||
not too strong for the liberties of its citizens, can be | ||
strong enough to maintain its existence in great | ||
emergencies.” | ||
Abraham Lincoln | ||
---|---|---|
That old American dilemma has never been more clearly in | ||
focus than this spring week in Washington. The | ||
demonstrators have made their protests, the government | ||
May 6 | A-1 | has survived, but citizens everywhere are wrestling with |
disturbing questions in the latest aftermath of massive | ||
acts of civil disobedience. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
The basic question involves probably the most delicate, | ||
complex, and central theme of American life-rights; the | ||
citizen's right to assemble peacefully and petition for | ||
redress of grievances, and the right to move freely | ||
without impairment. The rights of a majority— and a | ||
minority. The right to due process of law, and the right | ||
to be free from excessive bail or subject to cruel and | ||
unusual punishment.... All of these came in direct | ||
conflict this week in the streets and prison compounds | ||
and courtrooms of Washington. They have left Washington a | ||
troubled city. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
A-14 | Capitol Police Chief James M. Powell announced over a | |
col. 1 | bullhorn that the demonstrators would be arrested in ten | |
minutes if they remained on the steps. His announcement | ||
was drowned out by the noise of the demonstrators. | ||
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
The mass arrests on the Capital Steps came with the | ||
approval of House Speaker Carl Albert. Albert told | ||
reporters that he had been informed by Powell that the | ||
demonstrators should be removed from the steps, and he | ||
said he answered “OK”. | ||
A-19 | William Raspberry, | |
col. 7 | MIXED EMOTIONS ABOUT MAY DAY | |
* * * | ||
---|---|---|
I am afraid, too, what might result if it were demonstrated | ||
that massive and ugly disruptions could result in major | ||
policy changes. | ||
If government decisions come to be made that way, we | ||
might wake up to discover that apartheid has become | ||
official American policy. | ||
Or genocide. | ||
May 10 | C-1 | D.C. POLICEMEN GET SOME SLEEP AS DAY IS LARGELY PROTESTLESS |
col. 5 | ||
After nineteen straight days of handling demonstrations, | ||
policemen here slept late yesterday morning ... |
April 22 | Protestors Threaten Massive City Tie Up ... Massive Civil |
Disobedience Designed To Halt Functioning Of Government Here ... | |
Leaders Distribute May Day Manual.2 | |
April 23 | The danger is always present that violence will break out. It is a |
much greater danger in the upcoming demonstrations.3 | |
April 24 | Police have handled 289 demonstrations in the last year.4 |
April 25 | End War Now, Throng Demands—Over 175,000 Rally At Capital.5 |
April 26 | Protestors Shut N.J. Turnpike—10 Day Protest To Begin—Government |
Disruption Scheduled.6 | |
April 27 | D.C. Guard To Train; Protestors Disrupt Hill.7 |
April 29 | Girl Arrested As Witness in Capitol Blast—200 Arrested, Bond |
Raised For Protestors.8 | |
April 30 | Arrests Halt War March—224 Seized After Razing Wall at |
H.E.W.9 | |
May 1 | Kidnap Plot Details Bared; More Indicted |
A federal grand jury issued a new indictment yesterday in the | |
alleged conspiracy to kidnap Henry Kissinger and bomb government | |
buildings.10 | |
May 2 | Troops Move In To Area. Visitors Mass To Tie Up City; 50,000 In |
Park—Spirit Of Militancy Rises.11 | |
Lead Editorial | |
---|---|
It seems almost unnecessary to say that the army of anti-war | |
demonstrators who hope to paralyze Washington tomorrow cannot be | |
permitted to succeed.12 | |
May 3 | Campers Ousted, Still Planning To Snarl City Today.13 |
May 4 | 7,000 Arrested Disrupting City, New Obstructions Threatened Today, |
Arrests Set U.S. Record For Single Day, Protestors Irk Citizens. | |
* * * * | |
More than 7,000 persons were arrested in widespread hit-and-run | |
skirminshes with police and federal troops in Washington yesterday | |
as anti-war protestors made an unprecedented attempt to bring the | |
government to a physical halt. | |
Jails, Courts Overburdened.14 | |
* * * * | |
Keeping The City Open Took 4,000 Troops Deployed And 4,000 In | |
Reserve, 1400 D.C. National Guardsmen The Bulk Of the 5100 man D.C. | |
Police Force And Park And Capitol Police.15 | |
* * * * | |
Yesterday's picture of the City looked like this ... an estimated | |
11,000 to 12,000 demonstrators swarming through much of downtown | |
Washington in the early morning blocking streets and tangling with | |
police.16 | |
Lead Editorial | |
---|---|
* * * * | |
But you cannot be much swayed by a movement when its message is | |
obliterated by its medium—the smashing of cars, the blocking of | |
streets, the scattering of garbage, the invitation to violence, the | |
battling with police. That is the tragedy of the ongoing upheaval | |
in the Capital, it is not so much a protest as a rampage and the | |
message is not lost; it is violated so that the movement is the | |
the loser in the end | |
* * * * | |
The only possibility would seem to be that it will all get uglier | |
as patience wears thin on the part of the weary and hard pressed | |
police and on the part of private citizens.17 |
End of Document | © 2024 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. |