83:, the group received information that during the convention the government was going to shoot someone or use explosives and blame it on the antiwar protesters. They were also going to raise the five drawbridges so that antiwar demonstrators would be trapped on Miami Beach and shot by police and soldiers during the commotion. In response to this information, the VVAW group planned to draw those police and soldiers away by attacking federal buildings, police stations, and fire stations in the two adjacent counties to occupy the government forces, then reopen bridges to aid escape of the demonstrators. These plans were typed up and distributed among the rest of the group by a VVAW member and undercover FBI agent, Bill Lemmer. The eight were accused of planning to use automatic weapons, explosives, incendiary devices, as well as slingshots and crossbows.
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violent, destructive actions on the
Washington Monument. A deposition to that effect was sent to the trial in Gainesville. During the 1973 trial it was revealed that the VVAW had been infiltrated by government agents and informants, such as Emmerson Poe and Lemmer. Showing that these agents provocateur led the illegal activities severely damaged the prosecution's case. The prosecution also tried to use the defendant's Vietnam records as indication that these were violent people.
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and they acquitted the eight men of all charges without the need for them to present a defense. In Camil's words, "We had no conspiracy to disrupt the convention. Our conspiracy, if you want to call it that, was to go down to the convention and exercise our
Constitutional rights as citizens and to defend those rights against anybody who tried to take away those rights, whether it be the government or anyone else. And the jury sided with us."
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The jury got to read the letter containing all the proposed plans on attacking the federal buildings, but they also got to read the constantly repeated admonition in the letter, "This will be done for defensive purposes only." The jury saw that their goal was to protect the rights of the protesters,
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Bill Lemmer, the
Southern regional assistant coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, revealed himself as an undercover FBI operative in May 1972. Bill Lemmer had been thrown out of a 'fast'/protest by DCVC(VVAW) on the Capitol steps in Washington D.C. in January 1972 after advocating for
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72:, Alton Foss, John Kniffin, Peter Mahoney, Stanley Michelson, William Patterson, and Don Perdue. All but Briggs were
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Jack
Carrouth was one of the attorneys for the prosecution. Brady Coleman was one of the attorneys for the defense.
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informants and agents within the VVAW about possible plans for disruption and violence, the
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152:, oral history analysis of October 20, 1992 interview by Stuart Landers. archived from
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The jury acquitted all eight after less than four hours of deliberation.
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The
Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
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investigation. Eight of the people investigated were
30:indicted on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the
44:had planned to demonstrate against the ongoing
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48:during the convention. After learning from
38:. All eight defendants were acquitted.
108:expressed support for the group, as did
68:to disrupt the convention: John Briggs,
150:Scott Camil and the Gainesville Eight
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193:American anti–Vietnam War activists
32:1972 Republican National Convention
159:Nicole Janok (September 2, 2003).
148:Rebecca Brown (February 5, 2000).
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166:The Independent Florida Alligator
64:by the government on charges of
42:Vietnam Veterans Against the War
198:Quantified groups of defendants
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128:. NYU Press. p. 160.
161:Gainesville Eight reunite
16:Vietnam War protesters
54:Department of Justice
183:Gainesville, Florida
169:on October 26, 2004.
156:on October 16, 2005.
154:Innerspace Unlimited
36:Miami Beach, Florida
122:Hunt, A.E. (2001).
188:History of Florida
135:978-0-8147-3635-7
79:While organizing
21:Gainesville Eight
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163:. archived from
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74:Vietnam veterans
25:anti-Vietnam War
23:were a group of
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139:. Retrieved
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56:initiated a
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102:Pete Seeger
70:Scott Camil
46:Vietnam War
177:Categories
141:2022-07-11
116:References
66:conspiracy
58:grand jury
110:Ron Kovic
106:Phil Ochs
28:activists
81:protests
62:indicted
132:
130:ISBN
104:and
19:The
50:FBI
34:in
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