The Nation - News from Feb. 18, 1988

Leaders of white supremacist groups gathered in 1983 to discuss poisoning the water supplies of New York and Washington, D.C., and establishing an Aryan nation to replace the present U.S. government, federal prosecutors charged in Fort Smith, Ark. Assistant U.S. Atty. Steve Snyder outlined the meeting in his opening statement to jurors hearing the trial of 14 men, all linked with supremacist groups, charged with conspiring to overthrow the government or kill federal officials. Defense attorneys contended that the issue in the trial was freedom of speech.