Roger Lippman
Roger Henry Lippman (born 1947)[1] is an American political activist. He was a member of the
Private life
Roger Lippman was born in Seattle in 1947. He went to school at Reed College in Oregon. He is one of four brothers, one of whom, David Lippman, was also active in SDS,[3] and another, Peter Lippman, who is also a human rights activist, is a writer, journalist, and contributor for Roger's Balkan Witness website.
Involvement with Students for a Democratic Society
While at Reed College, Lippman became the editor of an underground radical publication called, The Agitator,
Involvement with Weatherman and the Seattle Seven
In June 1969, Lippman attended the SDS national convention at the Chicago Coliseum,[3] which saw the disintegration of SDS into various factions. During the SDS "Days of Rage" that October, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and mob actions. While the first charge was vacated, Lippman was convicted of mob action and sentenced to eleven days in jail and a fine of $90.[3]
On April 16, 1970, Lippman, along with members of the Seattle Liberation Front, was indicted on conspiracy charges.[2] Lippman had been arrested in California in conjunction with an anti-war demonstration, along with his brother, David, on April 15.[3] His co-defendants in the Seattle case were Chip Marshall, Jeff Dowd, Susan Stern, Michael Lerner, Joe Kelly, Michael Abeles, and Michael Justesen. The latter disappeared before he could be arrested. The charges stemmed from a February 1970 demonstration in Seattle, considered to be the biggest and most violent anti-war demonstration in the city at the time. It was part of a nationwide movement called "The Day After," meant to express solidarity and outrage at the jailing of the Chicago Seven, who organized protests of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Lippman, while indicted in Seattle with his other alleged co-conspirators, had moved to San Francisco the month before to edit a radical newspaper there.[4] In the complaint, other co-defendants were alleged to have "spok[en] to assemblages of persons in Seattle,"[2] and "led a march to the United States Courthouse,"[2] attempting to establish a timeline of events that culminated with property damage at the United States Courthouse and the Federal office Building. Lippman was only mentioned in the complaint as having "met" with the others on two occasions.[2]
The trial was highlighted by the antics of the defendants and their antagonistic relationship with presiding judge
The story of the case was retold in Kit Bakke's 2018 book, "Protest On Trial."[8][9]
Life after the Seattle Seven Trial
In 1974, Lippman sued officials in the government and
Lippman maintains a website that contains articles he has written in his years of activism.[11] He is editor of Balkan Witness,[12] a compilation of reporting and opinions on the conflicts in Kosovo and Bosnia. In 2022 he added a compendium of sources on the war in Ukraine.[13]
Lippman is an active opponent of nuclear power and has written extensively on the issue.[14]
References
- ^ Crowley, Walt. "Seattle Liberation Front". Historylink- The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Historylink.org. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Pitkin, Stan. "Seattle Conspiracy Trial Indictment". Roger Lippman's Homepage. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Weather Underground": report of the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session. January 1975
- ^ ISBN 9780739149386.
- ^ a b c Lippman, Roger. "Looking Back on the Seattle Conspiracy Trial". Roger Lippman's Homepage. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Hannula, Don (25 November 1970). "10 Storm Out of Courtroom". Seattle Times. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ McCarten, Larry (15 December 1970). "Chaos in Court as 7 get Contempt Terms". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ Bakke, Kit. "Protest on Trial". Kit Bakke Books. Washington State University Press. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ Bakke, Kit. "Protest on Trial". WSU Press. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ a b Lippman, Roger. "Lippman v. Mitchell, Wiretap lawsuit Complaint". Roger Lippman's Homepage. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ http://roger.lippnet.us/
- ^ "Balkan Witness: News and Progressive Perspectives on the Yugoslav Wars".
- ^ "Balkan Witness: Ukraine".
- ^ "Articles by Roger Lippman".