ACLU to Aid Anti-Nuclear Bomb Testing Protesters
The ACLU reported on this day that it would represent nine people arrested earlier in Times Square, New York City, during a rally protesting nuclear bomb testing.
A total of 42 protesters had been arrested, most of whom were practicing civil disobedience. The ACLU represented those charged with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest after being subjected to alleged police brutality.
Nuclear weapons raised a number of civil liberties issues, including many related to government secrecy about weapons and nuclear energy. The most famous controversy occurred in 1979 when the government obtained an injunction blocking publication of an issue of The Progressive magazine, alleging that the article by Howard Morland disclosed the “secret” of the H-Bomb. It was never proven that the article actually claimed any “secret.” The government dropped the case and the article was published.
Read author Howard Morland’s book about the case: Howard Morland, The Secret that Exploded (1981)
Learn more about the Ban the Bomb movement here.
And more about the UK Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) here.