Laura Whitehorn

Laura Jane Whitehorn (born April 1945) is an American activist who participated in the 1983 United States Senate bombing and was imprisoned for 14 years in federal prison. In the 1960s, she organized and participated in civil rights and anti-war movements.

Early life Whitehorn was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1945. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1966 and later earned a master’s degree from Brandeis University. In 1968, she moved to Chicago to pursue a PhD in English literature. After working as an organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Whitehorn became a member of the Weather Underground in 1969. She traveled with them to Havana, Cuba, as part of the organization's instruction on Marxism and urban warfare, visiting one of the camps established by Soviet KGB colonel Vadim Kotchergine.

Political activity

Days of Rage

On October 6, 1969, the Weathermen blew up an 1889 commemorative nine-foot bronze statue of a policeman located in Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, preceding several days of street fighting between protesters and police. According to FBI records, the "Days of Rage" or the "National Action" descended into riots and confrontations with Chicago Police, leaving a vast amount of public property destroyed, including 100 shattered windows in the vicinity. The Weather Underground Organization (WUO) made a number of demands, primarily related to the Vietnam War. Three Weathermen died in the explosion: Terry Robbins, Diana Oughton, and Ted Gold.

Whitehorn said great care was taken during bombings to ensure that no one would be hurt. The dead end of militancy and violence for their own sake was obvious after the townhouse explosion, says Whitehorn.

Battle of Boston During the Boston desegregation busing crisis, which the WUO referred to as "the Battle of Boston", At the time of the arrests, group members Susan Rosenberg and Timothy Blunk were already under arrest, Rosenberg for explosives and weapons charges connected with the Brink's robbery, Blunk for similar charges. Fugitive group members Alan Berkman and Elizabeth Ann Duke were captured by the FBI 12 days later near Philadelphia; however, Duke disappeared before trial. The case became known as the Resistance Conspiracy case.

Indictment, plea and sentencing On May 12, 1988, the seven members of the group under arrest were indicted. The indictment described the goal of the conspiracy as being "to influence, change and protest policies and practices of the United States Government concerning various international and domestic matters through the use of violent and illegal means" and charged the seven with bombing the United States Capitol, three military installations in the Washington, D.C. area, and four sites in New York City. The military sites bombed were the National War College at Fort McNair, the Washington Navy Yard Computer Center, and the Washington Navy Yard Officers Club.

On September 6, 1990 The New York Times reported that Whitehorn, Evans, and Buck had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and destruction of government property. Prosecutors agreed to drop bombing charges against Rosenberg, Blunk, and Berkman, who were already serving long prison terms (Rosenberg and Blunk 58 years, Berkman 10) for possession of explosives and weapons. Whitehorn also agreed to plead guilty to fraud in the possession of false identification documents found by the FBI in the Baltimore apartment.

At the December 6, 1990 sentencing of Whitehorn and Evans by federal judge Harold H. Greene, in a courtroom full of supporters, Whitehorn was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Evans to an additional five years after completing a 35-year sentence being served for illegally buying guns. Buck was already serving 17 years on other convictions, and was later sentenced to a 50-year term for the Brink's holdup and other armed robberies. her father Nathaniel Whitehorn died on January 3, 1992. Whitehorn noted that not being with loved ones while they are dying and not being able to go to the memorial service is one of the way families are destroyed by prison. She lives in New York City with her partner, Susie Day.