List of Weatherman actions
Encyclopedia
Weatherman, also known as Weathermen and later Weather Underground Organization, was an American
militant organization that carried out a series of bomb
ings, jailbreaks
, and riot
s from 1969 through the 1970s.
Following is a list of the organization's various activities and incidents.
a leader of the Weather Underground Organization, who was once on the FBI's Ten Most is arrested for bombing a ROTC building. His ex-wife, Judith Bissell served three years for the attempted bombing of CA State Senator John Briggs
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
militant organization that carried out a series of bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
ings, jailbreaks
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
, and riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
s from 1969 through the 1970s.
Following is a list of the organization's various activities and incidents.
1969
- June 18-22 – Students for a Democratic SocietyStudents for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
SDS National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois. Publication of "Weatherman" founding statement. Members seize control of SDS National Office.
- July – Members Bernardine DohrnBernardine DohrnBernardine Rae Dohrn is a former leader of the American anti-Vietnam War radical organization, Weather Underground. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the immediate past Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center...
, Eleanor RaskinEleanor RaskinEleanor E. Raskin née Stein; was a member of Weatherman. She is currently an associate professor at Albany Law School, teaching transnational environmental law with a focus on catastrophic climate change.- Early life :Eleanor E...
, Dianne DonghiDianne DonghiDianne Marie Donghi is a former member of Students for a Democratic Society and Weatherman .-SDS:...
, Peter Clapp, David Millstone and Diana OughtonDiana OughtonDiana Oughton was a member of the Students for a Democratic Society Michigan Chapter and later, a member of the 1960s radical group Weatherman. Oughton received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College. After graduation, Oughton went to Guatemala with the VISA program to teach the young and older...
travel to CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and meet representatives of the North Vietnamese and Cuban governments.
- August – Weatherman member Linda Sue Evans travels to North VietnamNorth VietnamThe Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. Weatherman activists meet in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, in preparation for "Days of RageDays of RageThe Days of Rage demonstrations were a series of direct actions taken over a course of three days in October 1969 in Chicago organized by the Weatherman faction of the Students for a Democratic Society...
" protests scheduled for October, 1969 in Chicago.
- September 3 – Female members participate in a "jailbreak"Weather High School JailbreaksJailbreaks were demonstrations staged by members of Weatherman during the summer and fall of 1969 in an effort to recruit high school and community college students to join their movement against the United States government and its policies.-Purpose:...
at South Hills High School in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, where they run through the school shouting anti-war slogans and distributing literature promoting the “National Action.” The term "Pittsburgh 26" refers to the 26 women arrested in connection with this incident.
- September 24 – A group of members confront Chicago Police during a demonstration supporting the "National Action," and protesting the commencement of the Chicago Eight trial stemming from the 1968 Democratic National ConventionDemocratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
.
- October 5 – The Haymarket Police Statue in Chicago is bombed; Weathermen later claim credit for the bombing in their book, Prairie Fire.
- October 8-11 – The "Days of Rage" riots occur in Chicago, damaging a large amount of property. 287 Weatherman members are arrested, some become fugitives when they fail to appear for trial in connection with their arrests.
- November 8th - Sniper attack on Cambridge Police Station. Two shots were fired. Two Weathermen, James Kilpatrick and James Reaves, were indicted and then subsequently released when a witness recanted his testimony.
- November-December – Karen AshleyKaren AshleyKaren Ashley is a former member of Students for a Democratic Society and The Weatherman .-SDS:In February 1968, Karen Ashley and Mark Rudd along with eighteen other SDS members traveled to Cuba as guests of the Cuban government...
and Phoebe HirschPhoebe HirschPhoebe Hirsch is a former member of Students for a Democratic Society and Weatherman .-Early Education and Activism:...
were among the few Weatherman members to join the first contingent of the Venceremos BrigadeVenceremos BrigadeThe Venceremos Brigade is a politically motivated international organization founded in 1969 by members of the Students for a Democratic Society and officials of the Republic of Cuba...
(VB) that departs for CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to harvest sugar cane.
- December 6 – Bombing of several Chicago police cars parked in a precinct parking lot at 3600 North Halsted Street, Chicago. The WUO claims responsibility in Prairie FirePrairie FirePrairie Fire can refer to:* A wildfire in grassland* A supercomputer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln* The mascot for Knox College of Galesburg, Illinois* Saskatchewan Prairie Fire, of the Rugby Canada Super League...
, stating it is a protest of the fatal police shooting of Illinois Black Panther PartyBlack Panther PartyThe Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
leaders Fred HamptonFred HamptonFred Hampton was an African-American activist and deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party...
and Mark ClarkMark Clark (Black Panther)Mark Clark was a member of the Black Panther Party. He was killed with Fred Hampton in a Chicago police raid on December 4, 1969.-Youth:...
on December 4, 1969.
- December 27-30 – Weathermen hold a "War Council" in Flint, MichiganFlint, MichiganFlint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, where plans are finalized to change into an underground organization that will commit strategic acts of sabotage against the government. Thereafter they are called "Weather Underground Organization" (WUO).
1970
- January - Silas and Judith Bissell placed a home-made bomb under the steps of the R.O.T.C. building. The bomb was made from an electric blasting cap, an alarm clock, a battery and a plastic bag filled with gasoline and explosives.
- February – The WUO closes the SDS National Office in Chicago, concluding the major campus-based organization of the 1960s. The first contingent of the VB returns from Cuba and the second contingent departs. By mid-February the bulk of the leading WUO members go underground.
- February 16: A bomb is detonated at the Golden Gate ParkGolden Gate ParkGolden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
branch of the San Francisco Police Department, killing one officer and injuring a number of other policemen (one seriously). No organization claims credit for either bombing. (See San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombingSan Francisco Police Department Park Station bombingThe San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing occurred on February 16, 1970, when a pipe bomb filled with shrapnel detonated on the ledge of a window at the San Francisco Police Department's Golden Gate Park station....
.)
- On February 21, the house of Judge Murtagh, who presides over the Panther 21 trial, is fire-bombed by a WUO cell in New York City. The same night, molotov cocktails were thrown at a police car in Manhattan and two military recruiting stations in Brooklyn.
- March – Warrants are issued for several WUO members, who become federal fugitives when they fail to appear for trial in Chicago.
- March 6 – WUO members Theodore Gold, Diana OughtonDiana OughtonDiana Oughton was a member of the Students for a Democratic Society Michigan Chapter and later, a member of the 1960s radical group Weatherman. Oughton received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College. After graduation, Oughton went to Guatemala with the VISA program to teach the young and older...
, and Terry RobbinsTerry RobbinsTerry Robbins was a U.S. leftist radical activist. A key member of the Students for a Democratic Society Ohio chapter, he led Kent State into its first militant student uprising in 1968. Robbins was credited for drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan’s song Subterranean Homesick Blues which later...
are killed in the Greenwich Village townhouse explosionGreenwich Village townhouse explosionThe Greenwich Village townhouse explosion was the premature detonation of a bomb as it was being assembled by members of the American radical left group, Weatherman – later renamed the Weather Underground – in the basement of a townhouse at 18 West 11th Street between Fifth Avenue and...
, when a nailbomb they were constructing detonates. The bomb was intended to be planted at a non-commissioned officer's dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
- March 30 – Chicago police discover a WUO "bomb factory" on Chicago’s north side.
- April 1 - Based on a tip Chicago Police find 59 sticks of dynamite, ammunition, and nitro glyerine in an apartment traced to WUO members. The discover of the WUO weapons cache ends WUO activity in this city.
- April 2 - A federal grand juryGrand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in Chicago returns a number of indictments charging WUO members with violation of federal anti-riot laws. Also, a number of additional federal warrants charging "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution" are returned in Chicago based on the failure of WUO members to appear for trial in local cases. (The Anti-riot Law charges were later dropped in January, 1974.)
- April 15 – The FBI arrests WUO members Linda Sue Evans and Dianne DonghiDianne DonghiDianne Marie Donghi is a former member of Students for a Democratic Society and Weatherman .-SDS:...
in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with the help of WUO infiltrator, Larry Grathwohl.
- May 10 – The National Guard Association building in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is bombed.
- May 21 – The WUO releases its "Declaration of a State of War" communique under Bernardine DohrnBernardine DohrnBernardine Rae Dohrn is a former leader of the American anti-Vietnam War radical organization, Weather Underground. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the immediate past Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center...
's name.
- June 6 – In a letter, the WUO claims credit for bombing of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, although no explosion has occurred. Months later, workmen locate an unexploded bomb.
- June 9 - The New York City Police headquarters is bombed by Jane AlpertJane AlpertJane Lauren Alpert is an American former radical who conspired in the bombings of eight government and commercial office buildings in New York City in 1969...
and accomplices. Weathermen state this is in response to "police repression." The bomb made with ten sticks of dynamite exploded in the NYC Police Headquarters. The explosion was preceded by a warning about six minutes prior to the detonation and subsequently by a WUO claim of responsibility.
- July 23 – A federal grand jury in Detroit, Michigan, returns indictments against thirteen WUO members and former WUO members charging violations of various explosives and firearms laws. (These indictments were later dropped in October, 1973.)
- July 25 - The United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base at The Presidio in San Francisco is bombed on the 11th anniversary of the Cuban RevolutionCuban RevolutionThe Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
. [NYT, 7/27/70] On the same day, a branch of the Bank of America is bombed in New York.
- July 28 - Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
HQ in NYC is bombed around 3:50 AM. WUO claims responsibility.
- September 15 – The WUO helps Dr. Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
escape from the California Men's ColonyCalifornia Men's ColonyCalifornia Men's Colony is a male-only state prison located northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, along the central California coast approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.-Facilities:...
prison.
- October 8 - Bombing of Marin County courthouse. WUO states this is in retaliation for the killings of Jonathan Jackson, William Christmas, and James McClain
- October 10 - A QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
traffic-court building is bombed. WUO claims this is to express support for the New York prison riots. [NYT, 10/10/70, p. 12]
- October 11 - A Courthouse in Long Island City, NY is bombed. An estimated 8 to 10 sticks of dynamite are used. A warning was given around 10 min. prior to the 1:23 AM blast by the WUO.
- October 12 - Around October 12 eight bomb explosions occur, Five in Rochester New York, Two in NYC, and One in Orlando FL. Despite WUO bomb warnings three persons are injured.
- October 14 - The Harvard Center for International Affairs is bombed by The Proud Eagle Tribe of Weather (later renamed the Women's Brigade of the Weather Underground). WUO claims this is to protest the war in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. [NYT, 10/14/70, p. 30] The bombing was in reaction to Angela Davis' arrest and was the first action undertaken by an all-women's unit of WUO.
- October - Bernardine DohrnBernardine DohrnBernardine Rae Dohrn is a former leader of the American anti-Vietnam War radical organization, Weather Underground. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the immediate past Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center...
, Katherine Ann PowerKatherine Ann PowerKatherine Ann Power is an American ex-convict and long-time fugitive, who, along with her fellow student and accomplice Susan Edith Saxe, was placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1970...
, and Susan Edith SaxeSusan Edith SaxeSusan Edith Saxe is one of only eight women ever to make the FBI's Most Wanted List. She was placed on the list in 1970, and remained on it for five years. A student of Brandeis University, Saxe was one of several young radicals who were placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list in the early 1970s...
were put on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted ListFBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1970sThe FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1970s is a list, maintained for a third decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.-FBI headlines in the 1970s:...
- December – Fugitive WUO member Caroline Tanker, who fled the country for CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, is arrested by the FBI in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
- December 5th - Five Weatherman are captured for trying to bomb First National City Bank of NY and other buildings on the anniversary of the death of Fred HamptonFred HamptonFred Hampton was an African-American activist and deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party...
. These individuals subsequently plead guilty.
- December 11th - Vivian Bogart and Patricia Mclean from the WUO are arrested after throwing an incendiary bomb at the Royal National Bank in NYC around 1:30 AM.
- December 16 - Fugitive WUO member Judith Alice ClarkJudith Alice ClarkJudy Clark, an activist with a long-standing history in the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, is currently in prison for her participation in the attempted robbery of a Brinks truck in 1981 that left a guard and two police officers dead. Clark was convicted for a secondary role in the...
is arrested on the Days of Rage indictments by the FBI in New York.
1971
- March 1 - The United States CapitolUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
is bombed. WUO states this is to protest the invasion of LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard M. Nixon denounces the bombing as a "shocking act of violence that will outrage all Americans." [NYT, 3/2/71]
- April – FBI agents discover what is dubbed "Pine Street Bomb Factory", an abandoned apartment utilized by WUO in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
- August 30 - Bombings of the Office of California PrisonsCalifornia Department of Corrections and RehabilitationThe California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...
in Sacramento and San Francisco, allegedly in retaliation for the killing of George JacksonGeorge Jackson (Black Panther)George Lester Jackson was an American convict who became a left-wing activist, Marxist, author, a member of the Black Panther Party, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang...
. [LAT, 8/29/71]
- September 17 - The New York Department of Corrections in Albany, New York is bombed, as per WUO to protest the killing of 29 inmates at Attica State PenitentiaryAttica Correctional FacilityThe Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum penitentiary in the town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services. After it was constructed in the 1930s, it held many of the most dangerous criminals of the time. A tear gas system is installed in the mess...
. [NYT, 9/18/71]
- October 15 - The bombing of William BundyWilliam BundyWilliam Putnam "Bill" Bundy was a member of the CIA and foreign affairs advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He had a key role in planning the Vietnam War. After leaving government service he became a historian.-Early years:Raised in Boston, Massachusetts he came from a...
's office in the MIT research center. [NYT, 10/16/71]
1972
- May 19 - Bombing of The PentagonThe PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, "in retaliation for the U.S. bombing raid in HanoiHanoiHanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
." The date was chosen for it being Ho Chi MinhHo Chi MinhHồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
's birthday. [NYT, 5/19/72]
1973
- May 18 - The bombing of the 103rd Police Precinct in New York. WUO states this is in response to the killing of 10-year-old black youth Clifford Glover by police.Audre LordeAudre LordeAudre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist.-Life:...
wrote a poem entitled, "Power" which was inspired by Clifford Glover. Read the poem here., 1983
- September 19 – A WUO member is arrested by the FBI in New York. Released on bond, this member again submerges into the underground.
- September 28 - The ITTITT CorporationITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company based in the United States. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control...
headquarters in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Rome, Italy are bombed. WUO states this is in response to ITT's alleged role in the Chilean coup earlier that month. [NYT, 9/28/73]
- Around October, 1973 the Government requested dropping charges against most of the WUO members. The requests cited a recent decision by the Supreme CourtSupreme courtA supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
that barred electronic surveillance without a court order. This decision could hamper prosecution of the WUO cases. In addition, the government did not want to reveal foreign intelligence secrets that the court has ordered disclosed.
1974
- March 6 - Bombing of the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare offices in San Francisco. WUO states this is to protest alleged sterilization of poor women. In the accompanying communiqué, the Women’s Brigade argues for "the need for women to take control of daycare, healthcare, birth control and other aspects of women's daily lives."
- May 31 - The Office of the California Attorney GeneralCalifornia Attorney GeneralThe California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.The...
is bombed. WUO states this is in response to the killing of six members of the Symbionese Liberation ArmySymbionese Liberation ArmyThe Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
.
- June 17 - Gulf OilGulf OilGulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
's Pittsburgh headquarters is bombed. WUO states this is to protest the company's actions in AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and elsewhere.
- July – The WUO releases the book Prairie FirePrairie FirePrairie Fire can refer to:* A wildfire in grassland* A supercomputer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln* The mascot for Knox College of Galesburg, Illinois* Saskatchewan Prairie Fire, of the Rugby Canada Super League...
, in which they indicate the need for a unified Communist PartyCommunist partyA political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
. They encourage the creation of study groups to discuss their ideology, and continue to stress the need for violent acts. The book also admits WUO responsibility of several actions from previous years. The Prairie Fire Organizing CommitteePrairie Fire Organizing CommitteeThe Prairie Fire Organizing Committee is an activist group whose members advocate the overthrow of the current capitalist system as the only solution to racism, sexism, homophobia, classism and imperialism. The group emerged from opposition to all forms of oppression that the members believe is...
(PFOC) arises from the teachings in this book and is organized by many former WUO members.
- September 11 – Bombing of Anaconda Corporation (part of the Rockefeller Corporation). WUO states this is in retribution for Anaconda’s alleged involvement in the Chilean coup the previous year.
1975
- January 29 - Bombing of the State Department; WUO states this is in response to escalation in Vietnam. (AP. "State Department Rattled by Blast," The Daily Times-News, January 29, 1975, p. 1)
- January 23 - Offices of Dept. of Defense in Oakland are bombed. In a statement released to the press, Weather expressed solidarity with the Vietnamese still fighting against the Thieu regime in Vietnam.
- Spring - WUO publishes "Politics in Command," which is its new political-military strategy. It furthers the line of building a legal, above-ground organization and begins to minimize the armed struggle role.
- March – The WUO releases its first edition of a new magazine entitled Osawatomie.
- June 16 - Weathermen bomb a Banco de PonceBanco de PonceBanco de Ponce was one the largest banks in Puerto Rico. In 1990 it merged with Banco Popular creating Puerto Rico's largest bank. At this time, Banco Popular's holding company changed its name to BanPonce Corporation. Banco de Ponce had established an agency in New York that it had converted to a...
(a Puerto Rican bank) in New York, WUO states this is in solidarity with striking Puerto Rican cement workers.
- July - More than a thousand women attend the Socialist Feminist Conference at Antioch CollegeAntioch CollegeAntioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
in Yellow Springs, OH in which WUO supporters attempt to play a major role.
- July 11-13 – The Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC) holds its first national convention during which time they go through the formality of creating a new organization.
- September – Bombing of the Kennecott Corporation; WUO states this is in retribution for Kennecott's alleged involvement in the Chilean coup two years prior.
1976
- 1976-1981 the Weather Underground slowly disbands, many members turning themselves in after taking advantage of the Federal Government dropping most charges in 1973 (illegal wiretaps and intelligence sources & methods issues) and of President Jimmy Carter’s amnesty for draft dodgers.
1977
- February - The first issue of Prairie Fire Organizing Committee's magazine, Breakthrough, is published.
- Spring - The John BrownJohn Brown (abolitionist)John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
Book Club compiles articles critical of the old WUO leadership and subsequent split in a pamphlet entitled: The Split of the Weather Underground Organization: Struggling against White and Male Supremacy.
- November - Five WUO members are arrested on conspiracy to bomb California State Senator, John Brigg's offices. It is later revealed that the Revolutionary Committee and PFOC had been infiltrated, and the arrests were the results of the infiltration. From this point on, some authors argue that the Weather Underground Organization ceases to exist.
1980
- July - Former WUO member, Cathy Wilkerson surfaces in New York City and is charged with possession of explosives arising from the 1970 townhouse explosion. She is sentenced to 3 years in prison.
- December 3 - Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers turn themselves in. Charges against Ayers are dropped in 1973 (illegal wire taps & foreign intelligence sources and methods). Dohrn is placed on probationProbationProbation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
. It was discovered that the FBI had discussed a plan to kidnap her nephew, amongst other controversial schemes.
1981
- October 20 - Brinks robberyBrinks robbery (1981)The Brink's robbery of 1981 was an armed robbery committed on October 20, 1981, which was carried out by Black Liberation Army members; including Jeral Wayne Williams , Donald Weems , Samuel Smith, Nathaniel Burns , Cecilio "Chui" Ferguson, Samuel Brown ; several former members of the Weather...
in which WUO members Kathy Boudin, Sam Brown, Judy Clark and David Gilbert and the Black Liberation ArmyBlack Liberation ArmyThe Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
stole over $1.6 million from a Brinks armored car at the Nanuet MallNanuet MallThe Nanuet Mall is a Simon operated mall located at the intersection of Route 59 and Middletown Road in Nanuet, New York. The Nanuet Mall opened in 1969 and the original two anchor stores were Bamberger's and Sears...
, near NyackNyackNyack may refer to:*Nyack, New York, a village*Nyack College, located in the village*USS Nyack, the name of two U.S. Navy vessels...
, New York on October 20, 1981. The robbers were stopped by police later that day and engaged them in a shootout, killing two police officers and one Brinks guard as well as wounding several others.
1987
Silas BissellSilas Bissell
Silas Bissell joined The Weatherman movement for a brief time before going underground after planting a bomb at the University of Washington's ROTC building. Bissell was arrested after 17 years of being underground and served 18 months in jail.- Early life :Silas Trim Bissell was born April 27, 1942...
a leader of the Weather Underground Organization, who was once on the FBI's Ten Most is arrested for bombing a ROTC building. His ex-wife, Judith Bissell served three years for the attempted bombing of CA State Senator John Briggs
John Briggs (politician)
John V. Briggs is a retired California state politician who served in the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. He is perhaps best known for sponsoring Proposition 6 in 1978, also known as the Briggs Initiative, which attempted to remove all gay or lesbian school employees or...
See also
- Greenwich Village townhouse explosionGreenwich Village townhouse explosionThe Greenwich Village townhouse explosion was the premature detonation of a bomb as it was being assembled by members of the American radical left group, Weatherman – later renamed the Weather Underground – in the basement of a townhouse at 18 West 11th Street between Fifth Avenue and...
- The Weather UndergroundThe Weather UndergroundThe Weather Underground is a 2002 documentary film based on the rise and fall of the American radical organization The Weathermen. Using much archive footage from the time as well as interviews with the Weathermen today, the film constructs a linear narrative of the militant organization.The film,...
, documentary film - UndergroundUnderground (documentary film)Underground is a 1976 documentary film about the Weathermen, founded as a militant faction of the Students for a Democratic Society , who fought to overthrow the U.S. government during the 1960s and 1970’s. The film consists of interviews with members of the group after they went underground and...
, documentary film - Weather Underground Organization
- May 19th Communist Organization
- Domestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United States between 1980 and 2000 consisted of 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts by the FBI. These 250 attacks are considered domestic by the FBI because they were carried out by U.S...
- List of incidents of political violence in Washington, D.C.
External links
- Bringing the War Home: The Weather Underground at Forty by Ron Briley, History News NetworkHistory News NetworkHistory News Network is a project of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Although the HNN resides on GMU's server, it operates independently of the university as a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State...
, July 20 2009