Roger Lippman

Roger Henry Lippman (born 1947) is an American political activist. He was a member of the anti-Vietnam War groups Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Seattle collective of Weatherman. He is most commonly noted as a member of the Seattle Seven, who were accused of, and tried for, conspiracy charges in 1970.

Roger Lippman was born in Seattle in 1947. He went to school at Reed College in Oregon. He is one of four brothers, one of whom, David Lippman, was also active in SDS.

While at Reed College, Lippman became the editor of an underground radical publication called, The Agitator, and became involved in radical politics as a member of SDS. In April 1968, he organized and attended the Northwest Draft Resistance Conference, where he represented the Reed College chapter of SDS. There, he published an article entitled, "Talking to McCarthyites about McCarthy." During this time, New Left Notes, the national publication of the SDS, named Lippman as the keyman for the SDS summer project in Seattle. According to released government documents, this project, "called for infiltration of industries and business there 'for sabotage and recruitment.'" That year, Lippman left his studies to devote himself to organizing for the peace movement.

In June 1969, Lippman attended the SDS national convention at the Chicago Coliseum, which saw the disintegration of SDS into various factions. During the SDS "Days of Rage" that October, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and mob actions. While the first charge was vacated, Lippman was convicted of mob action and sentenced to eleven days in jail and a fine of $90.

On April 16, 1970, Lippman, along with members of the Seattle Liberation Front, was indicted on conspiracy charges. Lippman had been arrested in California in conjunction with an anti-war demonstration, along with his brother, David, on April 15. His co-defendants in the Seattle case were Chip Marshall, Jeff Dowd, Susan Stern, Michael Lerner, Joe Kelly, Michael Abeles,and Michael Justesen. The latter disappeared before he could be arrested. The charges stemmed from a February 1970 demonstration in Seattle, considered to be the biggest and most violent anti-war demonstration in the city at the time. It was part of a nationwide movement called "The Day After," meant to express solidarity and outrage at the jailing of the Chicago Seven, who organized protests of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Lippman, while indicted in Seattle with his other alleged co-conspirators, had moved to San Francisco the month before to edit a radical newspaper there. In the complaint, other co-defendants were alleged to have "spok[en] to assemblages of persons in Seattle," and "led a march to the United States Courthouse," attempting to establish a timeline of events that culminated with property damage at the United States Courthouse and the Federal office Building. Lippman was only mentioned in the complaint as having "met" with the others on two occasions.

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