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According to historian Gerald Nicosia, whose "Home to War" is the authoritative account of the movement, VVAW was becoming increasingly divided by 1971.

IIRC, Drudge relayed months ago the story of Gerald Nicosia's home being burglarized this year. Nicosia said that selected files he kept as original sources on Kerry and the VVAW were missing.

The FBI kept careful tabs on the protesters through a network of informers, who tracked Kerry's movements. The FBI records help to disprove a long-standing claim by Kerry that he resigned from the VVAW leadership in the summer of 1971, before the organization began to flirt with proposals for radical civil disobedience and even violence.

The FBI records show that Kerry was present for a particularly contentious meeting in Kansas City, Mo., in November 1971, at which plans were discussed for the assassination or kidnapping of government officials or the takeover of the Statue of Liberty. The proposal was overwhelmingly voted down, and the files record that Kerry wanted VVAW "to stay strictly non-violent." According to the FBI files, he resigned from the organization in Kansas City after an angry showdown with radicals led by a firebrand named Al Hubbard.

Wasn't Al Hubbard exposed as a fraud who never served in Vietnam?

"There was no way he would have forgotten about being in Kansas City," said Nicosia, who is generally sympathetic to Kerry.

Former VVAW Kansas state coordinator John Musgrave, who served with the Marines in Vietnam, expressed extreme doubt about Kerry's stated recollection. "He had a tremendous confrontation with Hubbard at that meeting. How can he claim not to have any memory of it?"

Discussing political assassinations and taking over the Statue of Liberty probably could only be forgotten by being simultaneously intoxicated. It doesn't pass the smell test.

Bob Dornan tonight on H&C said that he followed Kerry and Co. around the Mall for 8 hours, and has lots of film of him. There may be film of Kerry near where VVAWs were burning and pissing on American flags, with VC and NV flags flying. This must be giving Kerry the sweats. If such film exists, and is being saved for the final days.....

The FBI records show that Kerry was present for a particularly contentious meeting in Kansas City, Mo., in November 1971, at which plans were discussed for the assassination or kidnapping of government officials or the takeover of the Statue of Liberty. The proposal was overwhelmingly voted down, and the files record that Kerry wanted VVAW "to stay strictly non-violent."

VVAW ultimately DID take over the Statue of Liberty in late December 1971. It's in the FBI files on wintersoldier.com, near the end of the file here.

Wasn't Al Hubbard exposed as a fraud who never served in Vietnam?

He was clearly a fraud.

He claimed to have been an Air Force officer, a pilot who was wounded in Vietnam. He was actually a sergeant. He was in supply, if I recall the story correctly.

While I'm not 100% certain of it, I don't believe he was ever stationed in Vietnam.