Evening star., 1961-05-26
RACIAL
RACIAL
Freedom Riders Arrested
At Montgomery Depot

vile (Tenn0 integration leader,
were taken into custody when
they arrived in Jackson, Miss,
with Is other Freedom Rivers
yesterday.
Mr.. King, who had been here
since the arrival of the Free
dom Riders brought rioting last
Saturday, was in Atlanta when
the arrests here were made.
He fired off a telegram to
President Kennedy saying the
arrests and the shooting of Mr..
Seay showed that "a perpetual
reign of terror still exists in
Montgomery"
He protested the withdrawal
of all but 100 of 666 United
States marshals and other Fed
eral officers who were sent here
after rioting broke out. The
Withdrawals were announced
yesterday by Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy in Wash
ington.
Additional demonstrations
against bus station racial bar
rierS in waiting rooms and
restroomS were predicted when
Negro college students start for
home in the next few days.
Suit Is Filed
In another move on the racial
front. Mr.. Abernathy and six
of the Freedom Riders involved
in last week ends rioting filed
suit in Federal Court here
challenging State laws pro-
viding for segregation in bus
terminals, The court requested
the Justice Department to
enter the case as a friend of
the court. A hearing was Sched-
uled for next Wednesday.
Arrest of the Freedom Rid
erS was made by Sheriff Mac
Sim Butler as they sat at
the white lunch counter in
the bus terminal after order
ing coffee and soft drinks.
He tapped each on the shoul-
der and told them they were
under arrest. Under the watch
full eyes Of a large Gordon of
soldiers, they were taken to
the county Jail in the patrol
wagon.
They were charged with
breach of the peace and held
under $1,000 bond each. Last
night they remained in sail,
but some of them were expect
ed to be released on bond today.
Bond Permitted
They can make bond any
time they want to-" Montgom- ,
cry County Prosecutor William
Thetford said.
In addition to Mr.. Aber-
nathy and Mr.. Walker, those
arrested were:
The Rev. William s. Coffin,
jr., 33, chaplain at Yale Uni
versity; the Rev. Gaylord E.
Noyce, 81, assistant professor
at the Yale Divinity School;
DR.. David E. Swift, Al, profess
sor Of religion at Wesleyan
University, Middleton, Conn;
DR.. John David MaGuire, an
other Wesleyan professor; the
Rev. Fred Shuttleworth, SO,
Negro integration leader from
Birmingham, Ala, and four
students.
The students gave their
names as George B. Smith, "a, /
Of Yale; Joseph C. Jones, %,
and Clyde L. Carter, 80, of
johnson c. Smith College in
North Carolina, and Bernard S.
Lee, Is, who was expelled from
Alabama State College here
after a racial demonstration
last year.
Arrests Cheered
A small crowd watched ST.
lently as they roared up to the
bus terminal after a ride under
military escort from the Aber-
nathy home. Cheers rang out
as the patrol wagon carried
them off.
The group made no attempt
to enter the restaurant on their
arrival Wednesday afternoon.
They said they wanted to con-
fer with integration leaders
and were driven off to Mr..
Abernathy's home.
At news conference before
setting out for the terminal
yesterday, one of the group
said he felt sure they would
need some refreshments before
getting on the bus.
Meanwhile, Recorders Court
in Birmingham ordered fines
and in one case Jail term,
for three white men arrested
while white crowd surrounded
the Greyhound bus station in
Birmingham last Friday night
as a racially mixed group of
Freedom Riders was inside the
station.
Judge c. H. Brown fined
James L. Jones, %, $50 and
sentenced him to 80 days in
Jail on a charge of lettering
after warning. Jones also was
fined SIS on a charge of carry
ing a concealed weapon - a
knife.
Charles L. Green, %, and
H. S. Mckinley, 26, were fined
$25 each for lettering after
warning. All three live in the
Birmingham area.