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VVAW/WSO Is Attacked

By VVAW

The trial of the Gainesville 8 has brought to the public attention the attempts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to infiltrate the organization and out of this infiltration to falsely charge VVAW/WSO with trying to commit acts of violence. The key witnesses in the case are paid agent provacteurs, who by their very nature are shown to be the scum of the earth. But as the agents uncover and perjure themselves in efforts to conceal their mental inconsistencies, the true nature of the Bureau will also be uncovered.

VVAW/WSO has had a long history of infiltration by the FBI and the FBI is still questioning and trying to harrass chapters across the country. Just recently two FBI agents were found in the ?broom closet' of the Gainesville Courthouse, in a room adjacent to the defense lawyers chambers. This room provided for the defense was for the lawyers and defendants to discuss matters that were pertinent to the trial which were to be held in the strictest of confidence. The two agents from the Jacksonville office of the FBI admitted that they had worked on the Gainesville case and that they had prior to this attempt, installed wiretaps on phones.

Judge Winston Arnow discounted the defense objections to this devious plotting by the FBI and stated that the defense was ?making a mountain out of a molehill.? And even as the agents had in their possession, two amplifiers and transmitters, earphones, soldering equipment, propane gas, jimmy bar and a book entitled ?The Electronic Invasion', Arnow ruled against the defense stating, ?I find no basis here for the belief that there has been electronic surveillance by anyone in this case.? This ruling by Judge Arnow is not surprising. Paid government officials and agents have free reign in the courts in this country.

The FBI has resorted to other attempts to harrass VVAW/WSO members. Dade County Coordinator, Jim Hale has recently been the target of the FBI and the IRS. Las summer, Jim worked on the convention demonstrations by obtaining camping permits. He is also a defense witness at the Gainesville trial. Jim is married to a Vietnamese woman and works for VVAW/WSO at Homestead AFB. On July 6 undercover police came to his house with a search warrant for LSD. They tore the house apart and allegedly found some marijuana. During their search they tore down articles that Jim had on his wall, and insulted his wife by referring to her with the racist slur, Viet Cong.

Jim was arrested and several hours later, at 9PM, was visited by the IRS who charged that he would be jailed for 5 years for every year since his discharge from the military. Jim was discharged 3 years ago, which means he would be jailed for 15 years! Shortly after the IRS left the jail, Jim was visited by the FBI who tried to get him to sign a statement about the Gainesville case. Jim refused. Several hours later, Jim was bonded by his close friend, a retired Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps.

The IRS has confiscated Jim's savings of $800 and his 1964 van. They claim that he owes $7,000 in back taxes since January 1, 1973. It is important to remember that in one night, Jim was visited by undercover police, the IRS and the FBI. A co-incidence?

Another case of government harrassment of VVAW/WSO involves the military and Jim Christopher, a member of the Harrisburg chapter. While in Vietnam, Jim received a letter from his wife, who was in the hospital, stating that she didn't know where their son was. Jim got emergency leave and came home. As the situation grew worse he asked for another 15 day extension and was refused. He went AWOL, and after months of harassment, he was finally given a discharge on January 17, 1971. He joined VVAW/WSO in Elizabeth, NJ. The apartment he was staying in was raided by the police and his suitcase containing his discharge paper was taken.

The military has just notified him that they are going to arrest him and charge him with desertion. Jim tried many channels in an effort to get a copy of his discharge, but even with the aid of a US Senator, the army denies its existence, after having told the Senator's aid that it did exist. In addition, the Elizabeth police no longer has on file the contents of the suitcase, which it did have at one time. Jim is now trying to go through the courts in order to finally stop being intimidated for working with VVAW/WSO. Hopefully, he won't get a judge like Winston Arnow.

The FBI and other government surveillance agencies have approached members in California, Colorado, Kansas, Wisconsin, New York, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, etc. They have consistantly been rebuked by an informed membership. They will continue to harrass the organization, but they will suffer utter defeat. VVAW/WSO understands now, by the example of the Gainesville case, that the FBI is no longer an agency that attacks crime. It has evolved into an agency that tries to suppress the right of political dissent. From their viewpoint peace and justice is more threatening than organized crime. Demonstrating peacefully is a greater crime than pushing dope. The FBI stands for the Federal Bureau of Intimidation.