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Prosecutions of Draft Registration Resisters

20 prosecutions of nonregistrants since 1980 (none since 1986)

FAQ about current Selective Service registration compliance and enforcement

History of draft registration and draft resistance since 1980

Details of individual legal cases:

picketing against prosecutions of draft resisters

picketing against prosecutions of draft resisters
[Picket line and press conference with nonregistrants and supporters in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco in July, 1982, one of more than 100 protests, marches, rallies, and vigils throughout the country within days after the first indictment of a nonregistrant, Ben Sasway, in San Diego. Each indictment of a nonregistrant prompted more young men to speak out publicly about their refusal to register. At least several hundred young men who were required to register, and perhaps as many as several thousand, actively publicized their resistance or informed the government of their refusal to comply with the law, but only 20 were ever prosecuted. Many more women and older men who weren’t required to register also violated the law by advocating, organizing, and assisting resistance to draft registration, but the Department of Justice declined to prosecute any of them. Photos by Bev Ramsay for Resistance News.]

“It’s not a hate I want to apologize for…. Not hating was giving in, and giving in was a good way to end up like the Attorney General. None of us wanted that. We knew firsthand what he was all about. He made his living putting folks in a cage, and that has always seemed to me like a low way to live.” (David Harris, “I Shoulda Been Home Yesterday”, Delacorte Press, 1976)

Ben SaswayMichael McMillan and Gillam Kerley
Rusty MartinGary Eklund
Edward HasbrouckRussell F. Ford
Paul Jacob and Jessica JacobAndy Mager
Kendal Warkentine and Chuck EppDavid Wayte
[Resistance News file photos, left to right, top to bottom: Ben Sasway outside the Federal courthouse in San Diego, CA, 1 July 1982, on the day after his indictment (photo © Nita Winter 1982); Michael McMillan (L) and Gillam Kerley (R) at press conference in Madison, WI, following their indictments on 8 September 1982; Rusty Martin at a demonstration outside the main post office in Des Moines, IA, on the first day of draft registration, 21 July 1980; Gary Eklund, prosecuted in Des Moines, IA, at West Coast anti-draft gathering, San Diego, 1985 (photo by Bev Ramsay); Edward Hasbrouck, outside the Federal courthouse in Boston, MA, before his sentencing, 14 January 1983 (photo © Ellen Shub); Russ Ford outside the Federal courthouse in Hartford, CT, on the day of his trial, 15 April 1983 (photo by Carol Bellin); Paul Jacob with his daughter Jessica, Little Rock, AR, 1984; Andy Mager, in custody following his sentencing, Syracuse, NY, 4 February 1985 (photo by Paul Pearce, some rights reserved, CC BY-NC 2.0); Kendal Warkentine (L) and Chuck Epp (R) at press conference in Wichita, KS, folloowing their indictments, 22 September 1982 (photo by Larry Cornies); David Wayte, Los Angeles, CA, 1982 (photo by Paul Trudeau).]

[Note that nonregistrants weren’t the only draft resisters to be prosecuted. Many more allies who weren’t themselves subject to the requirement to register for the draft, notably including the Boston 18, were prosecuted for sit-ins, blockades, and other draft resistance actions at Post Offices (which were used as draft registration sites), courthouses where nonregistransts were on trial, and Selective Service System offices. The first version of this summary of prosecutions of nonregistrants was compiled by Edward Hasbrouck for the National Resistance Committee, and published in each issue of Resistance News. I’ve only linked to e-mail addresses that were already on the Web, but I’m in touch with some others of the indicted nonregistrants listed above. At least five of the twenty nonregistrants who were prosecuted in the 1980s attended public hearings and events held by the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service in 2018 and 2019, including Dan Rutt, Paul Jacob, and Edward Hasbrouck, who all testified that they are still proud of their decision to resist, and would do it again.]


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This page published or republished here 1 January 1983; most recently modified 10 January 2024. This site is maintained by Edward Hasbrouck. Corrections, contributions (articles, graphics, photos, videos, links, etc.), and feedback are welcomed.