Weathermen Rally Backs Witness for Prosecution

About 60 Weathermen and their supporters rallied for 15 minutes outside the Cambridge police station yesterday afternoon "in support of Jimmy Paradise, and to build people in support of the armed struggle."

James W. Paradise, a 16-year-old ninth grade dropout, was the chief prosecution witness last Saturday at the trial of 24 Weathermen accused of firing shots into the Cambridge police station November 8.

Paradise testified in court that police had slapped and bribed him to secure his statement implicating the 24 Weathermen. He said his statement was false.

One Weatherman said that Paradise is still being held in protective custody, and has been beaten by police since the trial. Police refused comment.

A Weatherwoman made a brief speech at the demonstration about police oppression, and the Weathermen's intentions to escalate the armed struggle into a victory "on the side of the Vietnamese people and on the side of the black people."

Cooperation

Later in the afternoon. the demonstrators met at the M.I.T. student center and discussed cooperation with members of the Black Panthers.

Weathermen leaders claimed that the Panthers and the North Vietnamese government are attempting to arrange the release of jailed Panthers in exchange for American airmen held in North Vietnam.

"The only way that we're going to be people is when we destroy-when we kill! They think that we're trying to destroy the people of the world and that means yes-that we're trying to move white youth to armed struggle-that's what we're doing here," the Weatherwoman added.

Members of the group chanted "Free Jimmy, live like him." "Right on." "Off the pigs." and "Build an army, smash the state." They left. Weathermen said, when they sensed growing police hostility and feared they would be beaten up.