The Briar Patch

On April 2, 1969, New York policemen, armed with shotguns and wearing bulletproof vests, rounded up members of the Black Panther party. Thirteen of 21 suspects were then charged and tried for attempted arson, attempted murder, and conspiracies to blow up various police stations, school buildings, a railroad yard, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens. But the forces of "law and order" behaved in a decidedly less lawful manner than the defendants. This text examines the proceedings, illuminating not only the story of the Panther 21 but the quality of justice in America.