Today is Tuesday, January 12th, 2021.

On this day in 1971, a group of liberal Catholic activists known as the Harrisburg 7 were

indicted on numerous charges, including a conspiracy to kidnap foreign affairs advisor Henry Kissinger.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. We advise extreme caution for

children under 13. Today we're covering the indictment of the so-called Harrisburg 7, a group of

anti-war activists, including several Catholic priests, nuns, and former clergy members. Let's go back to

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1971.

A hush fell over the courtroom. It was packed with witnesses, press, and spectators in the gallery, all there for the biggest trial of the year.

That day was just the indictment, but it was sure to be a doozy.

Some federal authorities believed the defendants were more dangerous than the terrorists in Weather Underground, a radical left-wing group.

And yet the Harrisburg Seven didn't look like militant activists.

In fact, they were priests, nuns.

One was an academic.

However, these clergy members and public servants were facing a serious set of charges,

conspiracy to kidnap the presidential foreign affairs advisor

Henry Kissinger, a plot to blow up the heating system in several buildings in Washington, D.C.

It looked like extreme left-wing terrorism.

While it may sound odd, the defendants didn't see any contradiction between their religious

convictions and their liberal activism. In fact, the two stances were part and parcel of the same

belief system. The Harrisburg Seven took commandments like, love thy neighbor, and thou shall not kill seriously,

especially in their opposition to the Vietnam War.

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