Draft:Buffalo Five
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| The Buffalo Five | |
|---|---|
| Dates active | 1971-1972 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | Opposition to the Vietnam War |
| Active regions | New York state |
| Ideology | Anti-war, Catholicism |
The Buffalo Five were five members of the American anti-war activist group the Buffalo went on trial for the 1971 theft of draft papers and Army Intelligence papers the Old Post Office building in Buffalo, New York, during the Vietnam War draft.
Members of The Buffalo, including some members of the Buffalo Five, took part in the other raids in New York state around the same time.
The Buffalo
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The Buffalo were part of the loosely organized network known as the East Coast Conspiracy to Save Lives.[1] They were inspired by the Catonsville Nine,[2][3] a group of nine Catholic anti-war activists activists who destroyed draft papers in 1967 and 1968.[4]
The Buffalo Five were three male and two female anti-Vietnam War activists who were arrested on 21 August 1971. The arrested members were:[2]
- Jeremiah D. Horrigan, from Buffalo, was 21 at the time of his arrest.[5] He was the eldest of nine siblings.[3] Horrigan studied with Tim Russert and Anthony Yerkovich and graduated from Canisius High School in 1968. He studied at Fordham University. Horrigan interrupted his studies at Fordham University, to take part in the Old Post Office raid.[2][3]
- James (Jim) R. Martin was aged 25 at the time of his arrest and lived in New York.[5] He was a former Peace Corps volunteer who worked in Africa.[6]
- Anne Marie Masters was aged 25 at the time of her arrest and lived in New York.[5]
- Charles L. Darst grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee before relocating to Buffalo. He was 22 at the time of his arrest.[5][1] He was the brother of David Darst, who was convicted of destroying draft records in Catonsville, Maryland in 1968.[7]
- Maureen Coyle Considine, from Buffalo, was 21 at the time of her arrest.[5] She was a volunteer teacher at Mount St. Joseph Academy, who had created the course "Theology of Non-Violence."[6] At the time of the raid, she was the fiancé of Charles Darst.[8]
Background
[edit]
Prior to the 1971 raid, The Buffalo members Jim Good and Jim Martin attempted to arrest Selective Service System reformer Curtis Tarr.[1]
On the same weekend in August 1971, The Camden 28 group raided offices.[9] The exact timing of the event was coincidental, although the groups had an informal affiliation.[1]
The Buffalo group believed that Army Intelligence was monitoring draft resisters travelling from Buffalo to Canada and storing their records at offices in the Old Post Office building in Buffalo, New York.[1]
Just before the raid took place, Bob Hardy, a member of the Camden 28 associated group, had informed on The Buffalo group's plans to the FBI, who mobilized to interrupt the raid.[1]
Raid of the Old Post Office
[edit]| Old Post Office Raid | ||
|---|---|---|
| Part of East Coast Conspiracy to Save Lives (informally) and Opposition to the Vietnam War | ||
 The Old Post Office | ||
| Date | August 20, 1971 | |
| Location | Catonsville, Maryland, U.S. 42°52′53″N 78°52′22″W / 42.88139°N 78.87278°W | |
| Caused by | Vietnam War | |
| Goals | Removal of government records | |
| Methods | Burglary, theft, vandalism | |
| Status | Ended, movement still active | |
| Parties | ||
| Lead figures | ||
| ||
| Sentences | ||
| Arrested | 5 | |
| Charged | Jeremiah D. Horrigan, James (Jim) R. Martin, Anne Marie Masters, Charles L. Darst, Maureen Coyle Considine (all, 1 year in prison, suspended) | |
On 20 August 1971, members of The Buffalo, including the group that would become know as the Buffalo Five, entered the Old Post Office during working hours and hid in the building's attic.[2][10]
The group had taped burglary tools to their bodies and brought bags to transport government records and an inflatable child's swimming pool and black die to destroy any records left behind.[3]
Alerted by informant Bob Hardy, the FBI rushed to the building in the early hours of 21 August, and arrested five members of the group at the scene.[11] The FBI arrived on the scene within a very short time of the attempts to take the files,[12] and arrived dressed in shorts and sandals, having abruptly department from a summer party.[3] The arrestees were dressed in their underwear, having removed their outer garments due to the high temperatures in the Old Post Office's attics.[1]
At least two people who took part in the raid escaped arrest, including Peace Corps volunteer James (Jim) Good and Michael (Mike) Hickey.[1] Later, at trial, Buffalo FBI agent Donald Adams testified that at least two other members of the group fled before the Buffalo Five were arrested.[11]
During their arrest, Horrigan gave the fake name of Joe Hill.[1] Darst refused to give the FBI information, citing his Miranda Rights, despite threats of violence from the arresting officer.[1]
The five people arrested were charged with conspiracy, theft of government records, and intent to commit burglary before being each released with $15,000 bail bond.[11][5]
Immediate aftermath
[edit]After the arrest, FBI officers took statements from former employers of the Buffalo Five members and from universities where they attended. Following the raid, journalists visited the homes of family members and sought statements. When contacted by a journalist, Jeremiah Horrigan's father Jack Horrigan refused to condemn his son and described him as a "warm, loving human being." Considine's father ejected a journalist from the family's home.[1]
The group organized their legal defence at the home of a disgruntled former FBI officer.[1] The legal defence team comprised of lawyers Joe Birmingham and Vincent E. Doyle Jr.[13][1] University of Buffalo professor Ed Powell coordinated legal defence matters.[1] The group announced themselves to the public as The Buffalo,[14] and undertook speaking tours across New York state ahead of their trial.[1]
Days after the arrest, the Buffalo Five gave the media a written statement that claimed to have destroyed the draft records of local draft boards 82 through to 89 and stolen military intelligence records.[15] The New York Times wrote that it appeared that the note's language "indicated that it was written in anticipation of success, perhaps meant to be left behind in the Selective Service and Army Intelligence offices where the militants were arrested".[15] In a public statement handed to journalists days after their arrest, the Buffalo Five stated that: "We stand against fear, hate, systems, and structures not in the service of man..."[5] In their statements, despite their loose connection,[1] the Buffalo Five denied any connection to The Camden 28 raids that damaged draft papers in Camden, New Jersey the same weekend.[7]
At a press conference in Washington, D. C., J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General John N. Mitchell called for the disbanding of the East Coast Conspiracy to Save Lives.[1]
While the defence case was being worked by some members of the Buffalo Five, others members of the Buffalo Five and the wider Buffalo group and their associates raided other army offices holding draft cards in the New York State cities of Niagara, Batavia and Geneseo. Raids were undertaken by members including Sally Hamlin, Paul Good, Betsy Feltham and Michael (Mike) Hickey.[1]
Trial
[edit]On 19 April 1972,[11] Judge John T. Curtin presided over the trial[16] at the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.[17] During the nine day trial,[16] on 22 April 1972, Charles Darst and Maureen Coyle Considine married.[13] Speaking at the trial, Jeremiah Horrigan accused the United States of "pursuing genocide in Indochina".[11] Judge Curtin denied the defence's request to call President Nixon as a witness, but gave notably leeway for the defence to make their case. The defences called a range of witnesses including military veterans, academics, a religious scholar, and a Vietnamese woman whose village was destroyed by the war.[3]
At the end of the trial the jury deliberated for four hours before returning their verdicts.[1] The Buffalo Five were found guilty of conspiracy to destroy government property and intent to committ burglary. They were found not guilty of removing Army Intelligence files because the prosecution could not establish who took the files.[1]
Sentencing occurred on 19 May 1972.[1] At the sentencing hearing, Judge Curtin acknowledged that the Buffalo Five were motivated by their love of the United States, and credited them for taking action aligned with their values. He sentenced them each to one year in prison, but immediately suspended each of their sentences.[2]
Trial aftermath
[edit]After the trial, judge John T. Curtin make public statements critical of the Vietnam War, including at a school graduation class less than a month after the trial.[1]
Maureen Coyle Considine divorced Charles Darst several years after the trial[1] and went on to work as a nurse and in international youth exchange programs.[1] Jeremiah D. Horrigan worked at the Buffalo Zoo, as a taxi driver,[1] and as a newspaper reporter for the Times Herald-Record in New York.[2][3] James (Jim) R. Martin worked as a geologist and a farmer, and died in 2024.[1] Anne Marie Masters went on to work for the New York City's Department of Sanitation.[1] Charles Darst operated a book store later in life.[1]
In 1990, prosecutor James W. Grable stated that: "the motives of the defendants in committing the charged offences were honorable, in that our involvement in the Vietnam war was wrong and lives were unnecessarily lost in that war."[17]
James (Jim) R. Martin hosted a reunion for the Buffalo Five in 2004, which was attended by many supporters.[3]
Considine met judge John T. Curtin to thank him in 2008 when he retired.[3] In 2016, Jeremiah D. Horrigan met Curtin and expressed compassion for Cartin's suspension of his sentence.[12]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Wood, Stephen (2026-03-24). "The Young Avengers Who Fought the U.S. War Machine in Their Underwear". Atavist Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Erik Brady, Catching up with rebels with a cause - Antiwar 'Buffalo Five' groups broke law; judge broke with tradition, Herald News, 29 November 2016, page 8A
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brady, Erik. "A story of fathers and sons, war and peace, and second chances". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "The Catonsville Nine File : Resistance". C9.digitalmaryland.org. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Draft-Office Raiders Say FBI at Buffalo Pretty Upset, Times-Union, 26 Aug 1971, p6
- 1 2 Army Papers Found, Ithaca Journal, 24 August 1971, page 9
- 1 2 Buffalo draft does deny Camden link, Star Ledger, 26 Aug 1971, page 4
- ↑ Buffalo Raid Jury Told War Is Issue, Daily News, 20 April 1972, page 37
- ↑ "Aug. 21, 1971: Anti-war Protesters Raid Draft Offices". Zinn Education Project. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Buffalo Give Trial Opens Amid Tears, Troy Record, 20 April 1972, page 27
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cliff Wintrode, Buffalo Five charged with three counts, The Observer, 20 April 1972, page 3
- 1 2 "The story behind the Buffalo Five". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- 1 2 Trial of 'Buffalo 5' Delayed; Judge Weighs Calling of Draft Head, Buffalo News, Section V, page 39
- ↑ Suspects Explain Raid, Asbury Park Press, 26 August 1971, page 10
- 1 2 Charlton, Linda (1971-08-24). "Buffalo's Draft Raiders Explain Their Motivation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- 1 2 Dave Ernst, Mattina Sees Hypocrisy In Stand of 'Buffalo 5', The Buffalo News, 29 April 1972, page 3
- 1 2 D'Antonio, Peter. "Written Memories – WDNY – 125th Anniversary". Retrieved 2026-10-13.