William Thomas Hallenback Jr.

AKA: William Doubting Thomas; William Thomas (White House Peace Vigil)

Released

Full name:William Hallenback

Date of birth:20. 03. 1947

Date of death:23. 01. 2009

Age:61^{† Deceased}

Gender:Male

Era:1980s

State:District of Columbia

Time Imprisoned:

30 Days

Support

Biography

William Thomas Hallenback Jr. was also known as William Thomas and Doubting Thomas and maintained a long-running anti-nuclear vigil opposite the White House beginning in 1981. He and Ellen Thomas contested the use of park camping rules against their protest and served jail sentences in the resulting case.

Two distinct camping proceedings

The original sentencing transcript's closing pages specify immediate commitment on January 28, 1988, while the participant newsletter independently confirms jailing. The additional March sentence concerns different citations; contemporary reports disagree about its exact day, so only the month is recorded. The reply brief corroborates thirty days actually served, not an endpoint calculated from the ordered term. Existing identified portrait retained. Indexed primary text reviewed; failed direct retrievals are not claimed successful. January 28 transcript; February newsletter; Appellants' brief; Reply brief; Contemporary April account.

Contemporary 1983–1984 custody evidence

The issue explicitly identifies Thomas as William Thomas, maintaining the Pennsylvania Avenue/White House vigil since summer 1981. It reports repeated earlier nights in jail after sign confiscations. The six months he was then facing were exposure, not completed service. These pre-1984 events are not merged into his 1988 camping cases, and the source does not isolate exact individual intervals.

The Nuclear Resister No. 23, February 12, 1984, original PDF 3 / printed 2.

Cases

Charges: Camping in Lafayette Park, 36 C.F.R. § 7.96(i)(1).

Sentenced: March 1988

Sentence: Additional 30-day sentence in March 1988 arising from March 1987 camping citations, separate from the January 28 sentence for December 1986 activity. Reports differ March 2 versus March 3; MONTH precision only. The appellants' reply brief states they spent thirty days in jail. Exact admission and discharge remain unknown; January 1 was a YEAR placeholder, not actual sentencing day.

Judge: Thomas A. Flannery

Convicted: Yes

Charges: Camping in Lafayette Park under 36 C.F.R. § 7.96(i), arising from December 22, 1986 citation

Sentenced: Jan 28, 1988

Incarcerated: Jan 28, 1988

Sentence: 60-day custodial sentence and $25 assessment. Original January 28 transcript orders immediate commitment and denies a stay; the contemporary February newsletter confirms actual jailing. December 22 citation is not represented as a custodial arrest. Actual discharge remains unverified; the later additional 30-day sentence is not substituted into this proceeding.

Judge: Charles R. Richey