When I first became acquainted with Joe Connor and other victims
of the deadly terrorist group known as the FALN (Armed Forces of
National Liberation), I could never have anticipated that it would
lead to where it has today.
The group’s goal of Puerto Rican independence historically
ranks at five percent or less among the island’s population. The
rest of the island is roughly equally divided between U.S.
statehood or the current commonwealth status. Support for the FALN
itself — especially considering their tactics — is minuscule.
Their few members had thought that they could maim, kill and
terrorize their way into forcing both Puerto Rico and the United
States into submission.
Their group, which was formed in Chicago by Carlos Torres
and Oscar Lopez-Rivera, would set off nearly 140 bombs in cities
across the country during the 1970s and '80s, and they would cause
indiscriminate death and suffering. Six were killed and more than
80 injured. Joe Connor’s father Frank was killed at the group’s
most infamous attack at the Fraunces Tavern in 1975. Joe and his
brother Tom were still just children.
The only thing that stopped the FALN’s reign of terror
would be their eventual capture and incarceration. But shockingly,
in 1999, Bill Clinton offered clemency for virtually every member
of the FALN, even including two who were caught on surveillance
tape constructing bombs.
One member who chose not to accept Clinton’s offer was
FALN co-founder and co-leader
Oscar Lopez. He was also a bomb-maker and
bomb trainer for the group, and had previously tried to escape from
prison twice. The latter attempt had included plans for violence
and murder. Over the years, Lopez has repeatedly refused to express
regret or remorse.
This past November, Joe Connor found out that Lopez was
scheduled for a hearing before the U.S. Parole Commission that was
set for January 5th. Joe put out the word for help in keeping Lopez
in prison, and I could not say no. I also realized what an uphill
battle it would be, but was determined to try.
I ended up becoming a member of a group of people that
included a few of the many victims of the FALN, including the
Connor brothers, along with a former prosecutor and retired FBI
agents who had been among those responsible for capturing and
incarcerating members of the terrorist group. For me, I was not
only doing this for the victims, but for our system of justice, and
to also make a statement against standing up to terror.
Just days before Lopez’s hearing, it began to dawn on me
that this was an almost impossible task. We were taking on the
powers that be. Just last July, and with no notice, the parole
commission released Carlos Torres. But this time, there would be
opposition. And as heinous as Carlos Torres was, Oscar Lopez was
even worse.
Joe and Tom Connor were accompanied by two other FALN
victims and a former FBI agent when they arrived on a cold, clear
Indiana morning for Lopez’s parole hearing. It took place at the
Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institute on Wednesday, January
5th.
After their phones and blackberries were confiscated, they
were led to the hearing room, where the parole commission hearing
examiner, along with Lopez and longtime FALN attorney Jan Susler
were waiting. Susler immediately tried to have the witnesses
dismissed, but the examiner would have none of it.
Besides the Connor brothers, the other victims who spoke
were a woman who lost her husband during the Fraunces Tavern
bombing and a man who was severely injured there.
Lopez spoke next, and in an often rambling and incoherent
manner, he admitted being a member of the FALN, but said there was
no blood on his hands. He seemed to blame much of his behavior on
the fact that he was a Vietnam veteran. But the examiner dismissed
that argument, and noted that he himself had also served in the
military.
And then a miracle happened. The examiner said that he was
going to recommend to the full commission that Lopez serve at least
until 2023, his scheduled release date. Depending on his behavior,
he might even serve more of his 70-year sentence, which would
actually end in 2051.
Before the hearing, I had been informed by commission
staff that Lopez’s case would likely be an “original jurisdiction
case,” which meant that his release would require a unanimous
decision among the commissioners. We have since learned that the
designation has yet to be determined. If it is not, then either one
or two commissioners would make the final ruling.
However many commissioners may be involved in the ultimate
decision, they will hopefully take the examiner’s recommendation to
heart, and look inward to their better angels, and choose to keep
Oscar Lopez-Rivera in prison.
