Vietnam Draft Board Raids: Part 2 - The Camden 28 and Anti-War Activism

The Broad Anti-War Movement

• 🎯 Despite media stereotypes of "hippies" and "college kids," the anti-Vietnam War movement was diverse, including groups like the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panthers, and Martin Luther King Jr.
• ✊ The movement also encompassed the Asian-American movement, Chicano moratorium marches, and significant participation from Catholic clergy and lay people.

Early Draft Board Raids and Escalation

• 💥 In 1968, the Milwaukee 14 raided a draft board, burning approximately 10,000 draft files classified as A1, leading to their conviction.
• 🗓️ Following Richard Nixon's inauguration in 1969, and despite his plan to end the war, draft board raids continued, including a large-scale destruction of 50,000 draft records in Chicago.
• ✊ The Boston 8 raided six draft boards in 1969, destroying records and taking some to Washington D.C. for further destruction, though they were not indicted due to lack of corroborating evidence.
• 📈 The number of draft board raids peaked in 1970 amidst escalating public opposition to the war, including events like the Kent State shootings and the My Lai massacre revelations.

The Camden 28 Raid and Trial

• 🎯 The Camden 28 raid on August 22, 1971, targeted a draft board in Camden, New Jersey, a city facing economic decline and disproportionately affected by the draft's impact.
• 🕵️ A key figure, Bob Hardy, a former Marine, was instrumental in planning the raid but was also an FBI informant, providing details and materials to the authorities.
• 🚨 Despite Hardy's tip-off, the FBI allowed the raid to proceed, arresting 28 individuals, with Hardy later becoming a defense witness, claiming FBI facilitation.
• ⚖️ The subsequent trial, delayed for 18 months, saw 17 defendants tried together, with the defense employing a strategy of jury nullification and highlighting government misconduct, including Watergate and the Pentagon Papers.
• ✅ On May 20, 1973, the jury found all 28 defendants not guilty on all counts, a verdict often seen as a referendum on public sentiment against the Vietnam War.

Aftermath and Legacy

• 🕊️ By the time the Camden 28 trial concluded, the draft had ended, and the last US troops had left Vietnam.
• ✊ Many involved in the draft board raids continued their activism, with figures like the Berigan brothers becoming involved in the anti-nuclear Plowshares movement.
• 🇻🇳 Vietnam was unified under the Communist Party in 1975, marking the end of the war and a significant shift in global geopolitics.
• 📚 The book "Spiritual Criminals" by Michelle M. Nickerson offers a recent perspective on the Camden 28 and their actions.