Berrigan, Five Others Charged in Kissinger Kidnap, Bombing Plot

Attorney General John N. Mitchell announced yesterday that the U. S. government has indicted anti-war priest Father Philip Berrigan and five other persons on charges of plotting to kidnap presidential adviser Henry A. Kissinger '50 and blow up heating systems in federal buildings.

Berrigan and his brother Daniel, also a Roman Catholic priest, were accused of the plot by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover late last year in testimony before a Senate subcommittee. Hoover linked the plot to a move to force the United States to leave Vietnam and to release alleged political prisoners.

Both Berrigan brothers are serving federal prison terms for destruction of Selective Service records at Catonsville, Md. in 1968.

Daniel Berrigan was not named as a defendant in the indictment, but was cited as a conspirator along with seven other persons. No charges were filed against the eight co-conspirators.

According to the indictment, dynamite was to be exploded in five locations on Feb. 22, 1971 to destroy the heating systems in government buildings. Kissinger was to be kidnaped the following day and held until certain demands on the government were met. The indictment did not specify the demands.

Charges for the six defendants include conspiracy to damage government property and conspiracy to kidnap and take the victim across state lines.

Kissinger

Kissinger, President Nixon's Special Assistant for National Security, was on a leave of absence until Jan. 31, 1970 from his post here as professor of Government. By not returning to his professorship before that date, he forfeited his tenure in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and in the Faculty of Public Administration. His part in the formulation of U. S. policy in Vietnam has made him a highly visible target for anti-war demonstrators.