◆ SpookStack

4 I ° CONFIDARTIAL CG 176-31 About this time on August 28, 1968, it was getting dark, and the crowd moved out onto Michigan Avenue in the vicinity of the Conrad Wilton Hotel and completely bbcked traffic. The crowd was yelliny such thinys as "Peace now," "Stop the war," "Dump the hump," and "F--- (obscene) you LBJ." Occasionally, some individual] in the crowd would yell "Pigs," at the police, although it seemed oC that most of the crowd disapproved of this and did not use the term "pig" toward police. GF: :: it was his feeling that most of the e in the crowd simply wanted to march to the area of 2 h mphitheatre to make their voices heard in protest, primarily against the War in Vietnam. He never considered for a moment the idea of actually trying to get into the Amphitheatre and does not believe anyone else had that idea; certainly, no speaker said this was an objective. In reality, he never felt that they could march to the area of the Amphitheatre because of his belief that the City would not like a big crowd escorted possibly by National Guardsmen marching through the Negro ghetto. He felt that Negroes might object to the presence of troops in the ghetto and possibly sniping might result. So actually he did not feel the City would allow a march to the Amphitheatre although it was his hope to engage in such a march as a means of legitimate dissent. He does not believe in violent confronta- tion with the police and henever heard any speaker advocate any attempt to disrupt the DNC itself. peon) 5 z™ the A In the area of Balbo Stree:: and Michigan Avenue, while the crowd was in the street, a mule train of the Poor Peoples March which apparently had a march permit, made its way through the crowd alth other traffic had been halted.by the demonstrators. estimated the crowd at this point at from 2,000 to 5,000 people. From his position near Balbo Street he saw between 50 and 100 police march east along Balbo on Michigan into the crowd in an attempt to clear the street. At first, police were jabbing their night sticks shead of them and later, started swinging the night sticks. eke ow wt we Sate Bre bel heel amuwe 7 The crowd cleared the street and moved east into Grant Park. 40m... a CONFIDQNTIAL dE ee ee