Bringing Down America

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PR 301978

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Copyright © 1976 by Larry Grathwohl and Frank Reagan

AII rights r e ~ r v e d . No portion of this book may be reproduced without written permissionfrom the pubJisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in connection with areview.

Manufaaured in the United States of America

Library o eoalres. e a ~ O l l a l la Publlcaüo. Data

Grathwoh1, Larry.Bringing down America.

Inc1udes indexo

1. Weatherman (Organization) lo Reagan, Frank,fr 15 joint author. I I Tit1e.

Hx86 G74 1976 322.4'2'0973 76-8497 ~ fISBN o 8 7 ~ 3 3 5 0

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1

2.3.

4.5.

6.

7.8.

9.

10 .

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~ 11.12.

13.l " 14.

Conten ts

Foreword . 7

Int toduct ion . 9

First Contaet . 13

Cincingati . 22The National Action . 33

Tbe FBI Connection . 42

Morator ium . 50

Joining the Collective .. 59

Moving In . 70

War Council Preparat ion . 82

The Council Meets . 99

Purges . 112U nderground . 123

Detroit . 135

Trying 10 Stop the Bombings .. 153

The Cover is Blown 165

Aftermath .. 180

Photo section . 93

Index .. 185



'

Forewo d

Iived with the rnembers of the Weather Underground for many

rnonths. I t w ~ u r l n this time that 1 carne to know them not only asindividuals bu t as an organization as well. A good many of these people

grew to Iike. and r rn sure would have established an endur ing fr iend-

ship with sorne of thern if the circumstances had been diflerent. Their

fixation with violence to bring about political change is what forced me

to view thefO as a threat to rnyself as well as others.

have beco asked a great many times if still fee) that the Weather

Underground is a threat. The answer is yeso The reason is simple; they

are still among uso placing bombs when it suits them and providing other

underground organizations with guidance through their comrnuniques

and other published writings.

¡ These are a highly dedicated group of people who are willing to give

if their Iives if necessary to fulfill their objectives. They work as hard at-f ,

being revolutionarles as you and do at our jobs. I t is not unusual for

thern to go for days withouteating. T o live in dirt andf i l th is rule ra ther

than exception.

Political discussions, which take place daily, often lead to criticisrn/self-

criticism sessions. This brainwashing process is used to reinforce politi-[ :

cal beliefs and reaffirm revolutionary commitment . During these ses-

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Mark Rudd, NataJie Rosenstein, and unknown person 1. to r.)

Bernardine Dohrn. Photos show how she alterad herappearance on different occasions.

Naomi Jaffee, Grathwohl s girl friend during his underground

days.Judy Clark l.) and Kathy Boudin.

94 9



bn. ;-:3 l ~ 6 , , O , 15 l b s

rOW: : { S ~ e e r l John Buttny, Mike Spiegel and Jeff Jones 1. te r.). Howard Machtinger

Bi Ayers (face te camera). Jane Alpert

96 97



Bombed poli e station San Francisco.

98

9.

The ouncilMeets

When 1 arrivcd home, [IIY molher slared al me. "Von nced a haircul, '

shc said. Then she kissed me on lhe check .. . AmI sha"e oH" lhac horrible

bcard."1 hugged her and lold her lhal 1 had lO lcavc righl away. 1 could scc

lhe shock in her e)'es. She didlÚ Sil)' an)'lhing righl away, bUl 1 kncw hol\'

deeply 1 had hun her."The only Chrisllnas \Ve m i ~ s logelher ,as whcn )'OU ",ere in Viel

nam," shc said. "1 cried and prayed lhen. BUl why do you have LO lean;hO[ll(' now? What are you doing lhal you calú be ,ilh YOllr famil\' al

Chrislmas?"Thcre wasn'l much 1 could sayo 1 poinled lO lhe Christmas presenls 1

had broughl home wilh me. was hanl 10 say good-bye.

Then 1 ,,'cm 10 sec Donna. She lhoughl whal 1 'as doing was crazy.

Fonunillcly Don was lhere, lOO, and hc gavc me sorne moral SUpporl. Healso ga\'e me $50 and said he ",ould lake care of Donna. He proll1ised LO

gel mc more money if 1 needed it.A shon lime laler 1 piled ¡ntn a 1964 Che , y ,ilh BenediCl illld four

olhers. ,,'as anolher long, cokl lrip. Thc healers in our cars e \ ' ( '1"

seemcd lo work, so ",hen ,,'e arrived in Flinllhe da)' aflcr ChriSlmas wc

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them was punched on the side of the head. The doors of the ballroomswung open, and the doorway quickIy filled up with walking uniforms.

The scuffte turned into a shouting match, but most of the action was just lpushing and shoving. J

Soon Arlo was satisfied and suggestcd we cut out before the campus

police arrived. We got Scanelli and the rest and took off. We ended up

in Scanelli's apartment for a rap session, and 1 turned on Arlo for not !- Ooi



telling any of us about his plan until the last minute. As 1 criticized Arlo,

1 was laughing inside. A potentially violent night had been heid down to • a minor incident. 1was ready for Detroit.

12.

De'lroit

I arrived in Detroit the day alter our demonstrat ion at the R O T C ha

Arlo h d hitehhiked back to pick up the disabled car and would

following as soon as he could get it repaired. Instead of immediatetdephoningthe number Dianne Donghi had given me, 1 checked into

YMCA t spend a night between c1ean sheets and en joy a steak d inn

nd a few beers. The next day 1 called the collective, and Naomi a

swered ti te phone. 1 told her 1 was at the bus terminal. She nd Be

WaIes, whom 1 met for the first t ime, carne down to pick me up in tsalDe 1962 Chevvy we had had in Cincinnati.

My reunion with Naomi was cordial, but not emotional. Naomi sa

she was gl d that 1 was assigned to Detroit, but then quickly remindm e that I was a day late. 1 told her aoout the side t r ip to Dayton Univ

sity. exaggerating my participation while criticizing our contacts thefor not being better prepared. She listened without commenting. Wh

1 finished, she asked when Arlo was due to arrive. BiII Ayers needed t1700 Arlo had collected for the Venceremos people to he lpde f r

expenses in Detroit.

As we drove over to the collective, Naomi discussed our reasons f

being in Detroit. She said it was an extremely racist pig city where tblacks not only were oppressed by the police. but were exploited

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':From now on we'll par rou $600 a month and up to $500 in expenses," he said. And we'll expect you to provide freguent reports, almostdaily, on all activities."

He said the FBI was expecting indietments against many Weather

men, stemming from the in Chicago. Once these were issued, ar

rests had to be made. Murrish wanted me to give the whereaboulS of

everybody on the indictment list when it carne out. He was talking to meas a hired hand.

When the instructions were over, he told me 1 was the star perfonner'



in the photos taken at the demonstration in Fountain Square by theArrny Intelligence. He didn't say why Army Intelligence was there. but

they definitely had an interest in me because 1 was a Vietnam veteranoNaturally, the FBI didn't admit to knowing anythingabout me.

The next night 1 boarded a bus for Buffalo.

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14.TheCo". ,isBIoIMn

1 arrived a t th Buffalo bus terminal at 7 A M on April l I t had been a12-hour r ide from Cincinnati, and 1 was tired when we pulled into thebus dock. 1 was wearing a Levi jacket. Levi's, and a headband to keep my

hair from falling iOlo my eyes. My only baggage was an old army duffel

bag that 1 had been carrying around since we went underground.After getting off the bus, 1 walked th rough the station and out the

front door. following M urrish's instructions. 1 paused a moment, lit a

cigarette. then turned right. As 1 neared the corner . a car pulled u p nextto the curb. moving slowly along with m e as 1 walked. A man in his late

30s rolled down the window.

Get in. Grathwohl: ' he said, as the car carne to a stop.

As 1 climbed iOlo the back seat. he lifted a walkie-talkie up to his

mouth. We got him. You guys can go horne.

How many other agents did you have out there?Eight: ' the guy said. We wanted to rnake sure you weren't followed.

Somebody picked you up as soon as you got off the bus. The others were

spotted around the building watching anybody who showed even a slightinterest in you.

Then he introduced himself as John Maynard; the driver , ChuckGreen. was in his late 20s.

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Bringing Down America

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