Posted on 05/03/2010 6:27:24 PM PDT by jazusamo
Previously undisclosed FBI documents suggest that the Kent State antiwar protests were more meticulously planned than originally thought and that one or more gunshots may have been fired at embattled Ohio National Guardsmen before their killings of four students and woundings of at least nine others on that searing day in May 1970.
As the nation marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State antiwar protests Tuesday, a review of hundreds of previously unpublished investigative reports sheds a new — and very different — light on the tragic episode.
The upheaval that enveloped the northeastern Ohio campus actually began three days earlier, in downtown Kent. Stirred to action by President Nixon's expansion of U.S. military operations in Cambodia, a roving mob of earnest antiwar activists, hard-core radicals, curious students and others smashed 50 bank and store windows, looted a jewelry store and hurled bricks and bottles at police.
Four officers suffered injuries, and the mayor declared a civil emergency. Only tear gas dispersed the mob.
An exhaustive review later concluded that this unrest on the streets — the worst in Kent's history — was "not an organized riot or a planned protest."
But the FBI's investigation swiftly uncovered reliable evidence that suggested otherwise. Among the strongest was a pre-dawn conversation — never before reported — between two unnamed men overheard inside a campus lounge later that night. Their discussion was witnessed by the girlfriend of a Kent State student and conveyed up the FBI chain of command 15 days later.
"We did it," one man exulted, according to the inquiry. "We got the riot started."
The second man expressed disappointment at being excluded from the riot's planning. "Wait until tomorrow night," the leader replied excitedly. "We just got the word. We're going to burn the ROTC building."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I thought that was obvious.
As referenced by the later cryptic "An exhaustive review later concluded that this unrest on the streets — the worst in Kent's history — was "not an organized riot or a planned protest."
Exhaustive review by whom? The rioting students? The college admins worried about their competence? The local authorities who failed to handle the incident by themselves?
I would love to get access to the local "exhaustive review" AND the FBI documents referenced as being released recently.
Go to my homepage and listen to “The Silencing of God:The Dismantling of America’s Christian Heritage” sometime.
Dave Miller says that is the case with history books written within the past 50 years - that the left has been consistently rewriting history.
He is primarily talking about the lies told by the left about what our founders and framers believed, and meant by what they said and did. He exhorts his audience to throw away the “history” book, go read what the founders and framers said and did, and discover for themselves the lies that have been told and are being told to us.
You mean like Freepers who ignore 26 volumes of evidence and then claim LBJ killed Kennedy? You mean like that?
What does that say about this article?
You obviously do not understand the work "instigation". It's part of organizing a riot. Look it up!
What of the Frisbee with the razor blades taped on,,,, most of in the military at the time think the students got what they deserved
So what? No guardsmen wounded because the hippies missed. And the dead rioters without guns,,, were the ones that didnt have guns. Also,,, i might remind you, a lot of dead VC were found without arms, their comrades quickly remove them. It also happens a lot with criminals too,,, itls called tampering with evidence.
The left cannot think from one sentence to the next, but must follow the next passing demagogue.
Well said, the leftists in Congress at that time could not or would not hear those voices, I'd wager some hear them now.
Sadly, he has not. It's a long story, but basically, he's stuck in 1970 or so.
Picture this:
The next time you go to a tea party, some idiot throws a firecracker. The next thing you know, one of your kids is shot down from one of 67 shots fired by the local police.
The members of DU applaud.
Congratulations.
JFK was pulling out the 16,000 advisors. LBJ concocted the Tonkin Gulf "incident" but wouldn't commit before the election. After the election--November, 1965--he threw the Joint Chiefs out when they asked permission to mine Haiphong and bomb Hanoi. His target sanitation and micromanaging was costly--and he ultimately quit the office.
The Day It Became the Longest War By Lt. Gen. Charles Cooper, USMC (Ret.)
That was the month depicted in We Were Soldiers. American fighting men could have won militarily but were betrayed by the politicians and the leftist antiwar movement--John Kerry, Jane Fonda, et al.
Now that bunch runs the White House.
Not nearly as much as your puerile responses in this thread says about you.
This post (link below) has an article written by Alan Stang in 1974. It’s called Kent State, The True Story and was printed in the American Opinion...where Mr. Stang was a contributing editor. Freeper Motorcity70 posted it and bttt’s it periodically so people can read. It’s a long read but well worth it. It brings out that when the shootings occurred, the National Guard was actually retreating up a hill. One of the Guardsman turned and fired. That a shot was fired before the Guard shot was confirmed by witnessses. Also, one of the students shot had a different caliber bullet.
For those interested:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627042/posts
Yep, exactly like that. But, in those 26 volumes are hundreds of “eyewitness” testimonies that contradict each other and the JFK assassination is probably the best example of miss handling of evidence in history.
I am not saying that busting heads was the answer but if they put many of them in jail and had them do a year or so consistantly the problem would have been smaller. If I recall correctly hippies didn'r have a lot of nads at least in Boston.
If there were shots fired by someone prior to the NG volley, I'd bet a cup of coffee they were fired only to 'trigger' the NG in an effort to make them "chain" fire.
Based on this:
It also turned out that the FBI had its own informant and agent-provocateur roaming the crowd, a part-time Kent State student named Terry Norman, who had a camera. Mr. Norman also was armed with a snub-nosed revolver that FBI ballistics tests, first declassified in 1977, concluded had indeed been discharged on that day.
It would seem to me, if someone went back there and meticulously searched for spent rounds ((long shot) no pun intended, they could break this case if they got really lucky...That is if the Feds still have the revolver in some evidence property room.
No doubt these rounds were searched for, but it would not be the first time evidence went undiscovered.
I'm not say, I'm just sayin.
The consensus around seems to say it says more about your comment. What’s your intent?
This Kent State “poor innocent protesters” crap sounded like horse doo when it happened, maybe FR not the best forum to keep pushing it.
I saw the films of the Guardsmen and also did a walkthrough from the quad where the ROTC building was burned, up the hill and to the scene of the shooting. I don’t believe anyone was shooting at the Guardsmen but that doesn’t mean some of the Guardsmen didn’t believe they were being fired upon. They were volunteers, under a lot of stress and in a chaotic situation. It didn’t take much to spark a tragedy. Even if there were agitators there the people who died were all students and one of them had absolutely nothing to do with it, she was just minding her own business on the other side of campus. The Officer in Charge was also brave to the point of lunacy, stepping in front of a bunch of soldiers discharging their weapons and stopping them or else it could have been far worse.
IMHO there were no conspiracies on either side. Sometimes in voliatile situations like this bad things happen, this was just one of those times.
I also had a conversation with Jane Fonda at Kent State while she was sitting on the open toilet of a coed restroom but that’s a story for another day.
Also,, for those who have never shot a long gun while wearing a gas mask, Aim is degraded,,, a lot. Also communication suffers,,, badly.
Why does this not surprise me? Typical leftists.
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