Biography
William “Preacherman” Fesperman was national chair of the socialist, anti-racist Patriot Party. New York police arrested him and the organization’s entire leadership on February 22, 1970 after legally registered firearms were carried into a building. All charges were later dropped. In a signed account in the March 21, 1970 Patriot, Fesperman described being taken to a police station near Harlem after the February 22 raid and confined in a crowded holding cell. He and Larry Moore were then taken downstairs in handcuffs while police inspected the group’s cars. The account establishes actual station custody, but does not give a release date or establish an overnight stay.
Photo credit
Patriot Party leaders arraigned in New York: 1970, Washington Area Spark Flickr archive. Portrait crop from the documentary photograph; used with permission.
In a signed account in the March 21, 1970 Patriot, Fesperman described being taken to a police station near Harlem after the February 22 raid and confined in a crowded holding cell. He and Larry Moore were then taken downstairs in handcuffs while police inspected the group’s cars. The account establishes actual station custody, but does not give a release date or establish an overnight stay.
