Page 13 of Kurt's 1970 Senate Transcript
The CHAIRMAN. This Sam Napier bought from you, too
?
Mr. Sisco. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Is he the Sam Napier that is circulation
manager for the Black Panther Publications'
Mr. Sisoo. Oh, no. Sam Napier is an old vigilante
in southern California.
The CHAIRMAN. You have a Sam Napier.
Mr. Sisco. It is not the same one. I think both
would be insulted.
Senator GURNEY. I have one or two final questions.
Mr. Sisco, you testified that you at one time were a member
of the Minutemen and also the American Nazi Party. What motivated you to
join the rightwing organization?
Mr. Sisco. I was painting a house. The phone rang
inside. The lady went in to answer it. She came out and she said President
Kennedy had been shot. That shook me up because he was a personable man.
I disagreed with his politics but he was personable and a good symbol and
all that.
Then I learned that it was a Communist that had
done it. I figured if they got so bold that they are killing our officials
now, it is best I should get into action. I thought, big deal; I will join
the Birch Society.
I was on a letter-writing kick for a while, like
writing to Xerox and telling them they were left wing, and writing to Fulbright
and telling him. These people all know their own political ideologies so
why should I write them and tell them about it ?
So, the Minutemen had put out some of their literature
on the Minutemen. Well, in the American Opinion Bookstore, they had slipped
it between the covers of certain books. So, I read one of them. I liked
the idea. I joined and nothing really happened.
Then I was at this friend's house. Then there was
this American Nazi visiting him. The guy seemed like a clean-cut guy. So,
I decided I would check on the party. I went out to headquarters on a Sunday
morning. They were all getting ready for church.
There were about three babies and it smelled miserable
in the place. They had one guy guarding the place while they were at church.
I sat around talking to him. He told me of an elaborate plan he had that
when the riots and the war came they were going to close off Glendale and,
of course, there would be too little food to eat, so they were going to
use the blacks as human meat for the whites. I figured this was such a
nutty idea that I could not resist joining just to see what this bunch
of people were all about.
Of course, fortunately they weren't all that bad.
A lot of them were real nice, clean-cut guys, a little idealistic, a little
fanatic.
Senator GURNEY. The rest weren't cannibals?
[At this point there is so much laughter the court reporter
failed to get all of Kurt's answer]
Mr. Sisco. They were not cannibals; I would have
to say that. Generally, the party type were pretty nice fellows.
Senator GURNEY. This is really what I am interested in.
Is it fair to say that your motivation to join these well-known
rightwing organizations was the activities of the left that you were suspicious
of and distrusted and felt that there should be some counteracting force
on the right ?
Mr. Sisco. Yes; that is right. Maybe very anxious.
Senator. GURNEY. Would you also say from your knowledge
of the membership of these rightist organizations and their purposes and
you have been, of course, a member of them, that that would be the motivating
force of many people who joined them?
Mr. Sisco. Definitely; yes. It seems that in every
society there is a counterbalance. If you have a violent left, you are
going to have a violent right. Unfortunately, there are too few violent
rightists to do any good.
Senator GURNEY. Your opinion is the extreme left greatly
outnumber the extreme right:
Mr. Sisco. Yes; extremely.
Senator GURNEY. One final question here for the record.
You mentioned some publications that you advertised in. Did you advertise
in a publication known as Statecraft of May-June 197O for your "Militant's
Formulary?"
Mr. Sisco. Yes.
Senator GURNEY. What publication is that ?
Mr. Sisco. I am looking for it. Here it is. It is
sort of a comic magazine on the right.
Senator GURNEY. Who publishes it ?
Mr. Sisco. A person by the name of C. B. Baker.
Senator GURNEY. Who is he ?
Mr. Sisco. I don't know. I have never met the man.
Senator GURNEY. Is he connected with any organization
you know of?
Mr. Sisco. No; I am sure he is independent. He simply
puts out a newspaper.
Senator GURNEY. But it is what you would call a far right
publication ; is that right ?
Mr. Sisco. Yes. Do you have my ad there?
Senator GURNEY. Yes; I do.
Mr. Sisco. If you will read it, you will see that
it has a provisional statement there that when the police call it quits,
you will need the "Militant's Formulary," which means that you don't do
anything while you still have the police in a functional situation in the
country.
(Senator GURNEY. Is it the belief of the people who publish
the Statecraft that our police are ineffective ? Is that it ?
Mr. Sisco. I don't really know. I should suppose
so.
Senator GURNEY. That is your belief ?
Mr. Sisco. For instance, I was riding around on
the bus this morning and about three-quarters of the windows were smashed.
It seems that the bus driver said they had been smashed for several weeks
and never gotten around to be repaired.
I go around Washington and I see it is just crumbling
from vandalism and degeneracy. I don't think that the police, however hard
they try, are up to the job.
Senator GURNEY. I don't have any more questions.
The CHAIRMAN. Very well. Thank you, sir. You may stand
aside.
Mr. Sisco. Thank you, sir.
