Winooski 44

The Winooski 44 were a group of Vermont citizens from Winooski, Vermont, United States, that obstructed and refused to leave a hallway outside Senator Robert Stafford's office in 1984.

The protest was in response to Stafford's vote in favor of selling arms to Nicaraguan contras, and the sit-in lasted for three days in March 1984.[1] Twenty-six were tried on trespassing charges in November 1984, but were permitted to present a "necessity" defense, and all were acquitted.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Witnesses for the defense included historian and activist Howard Zinn and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ United Press International (November 18, 1984). "Activists Acquitted". The Bulletin (Bend). http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=82kPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v4YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6632,1105697&dq=winooski&hl=en. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  2. ^ Howard Zinn (2003). A People's History of the United States: 1492 - present. http://books.google.com/books?id=P8V7J5qm5-YC&pg=PA613&lpg=PA613&dq=winooski+forty-four&source=bl&ots=hsMpYdExqp&sig=iWrTU8MxUFYi3Q4gwAhzgwoKZXw&hl=en&ei=ud5gS8jbPIf8tQPJ9Ii5Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCYQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=winooski%20forty-four&f=false. 
  3. ^ "VT. GROUP PLANNING TO PROTEST US POLICY". The Boston Globe. March 31, 1985. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEADDC0F76204&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  4. ^ "'NECESSITY DEFENSE' WINS ACQUITTAL FOR 26 PEACE ACTIVISTS AFTER SIT-IN". The Miami Herald. November 18, 1984. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36110EFB397AE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  5. ^ "News Rewind: November 15, 2004". WCAX-TV. November 15, 2004. http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=2569267. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  6. ^ Ben Bradley (ed). Por Amor Al Pueblo: Not Guilty! - The Trial of the Winooski 44 (1986) (ISBN 978-0-9617504-0-4)
  7. ^ Associated Press (November 29, 1984). "Trespassing Case Turns Into A Legal Landmark". Argus-Press. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HVwiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AasFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1490,2522501&dq=winooski&hl=en. Retrieved February 8, 2010. 
  8. ^ Jack McCullough (February 2, 2010). "Howard Zinn in Vermont". Green Mountain Daily. http://www.greenmountaindaily.com/diary/5828/howard-zinn-in-vermont. Retrieved February 8, 2010.