Breakdown of Rhodes Press Conference, May 3, 1970 (selected excerpts)
“We have seen here at the City of Kent especially probably the most vicious form of campus oriented violence:” this is a gross overstatement that is reminiscent of Nixon’s speech that would follow the shootings. These types of speeches served to contort the way people felt about the protests and the shootings.
“These people just move from one campus to the other and terrorize a community. They’re worse than the Brown Shirts [Nazis] and the Communist elements and also the Night Riders and Vigilantes. They’re the worst type of people that we harbor in America and I want to say that they’re, they’re not going to take over a campus and the campus now is going to be a part of the County and the State of Ohio:” Rhodes demonstrated his complete hatred for the students. The accusations of them being worse than Nazis and other threatening groups are insulting, provocative, and ignorant. Strong, negative, compassionate feelings, such as the ones Rhodes showed, oftentimes lead to violence.
“There is no sanctuary for these people to burn buildings down of private citizens of business in the community, then run into a sanctuary. It’s over with in Ohio... We are going to eradicate the problem:” Those are very threatening statements. For these to be uttered and the next day for a shooting by the National Guard to happen that kills students is probably not a coincidence.
Del Corso, Ohio National Guard Head: “We will apply whatever degree of force is necessary to provide protection for the lives of our citizens and his property:” Spoken by the head of the guardsmen who killed four students the next day, it can easily be inferred that the shootings were premeditated.
Rhodes: “We are now organized for the protection of the citizens of our City. We will take all necessary -- I repeat, all necessary action to maintain order with the cooperation of the Ohio National Guard and other law enforcement agencies which have been very cooperative:” This sounds very incriminating- the if the, “National Guard and other law enforcement agencies... have been very cooperative,” was a deal made between Rhodes and the law enforcement agencies?
“Questioner: ‘General Del Corso, how long do you expect to keep the Guard at Kent?’ The Governor: ‘I’ll answer that: Until (sic) we get rid of them [the protestors]:’” The next day, protestors were killed, and Rhodes directly alluded to that happening. Since he worked with the law enforcement agencies, he probably influenced them to do his will.
Rhodes: “There is no place off limits in this hour. Let me assure everyone that there is no place, there is no sanctuary, no place off limits and we are going to disperse crowds. We are going to help the Mayor enforce the curfew:” Rhodes is practically saying that no force is off limits to terminate the protests. Once again, he adverted to the tragedy that occurred the following day.
Rhodes: “I think we are up against the strongest, well-trained militant revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America:” This is such a paranoid overreaction it is a feat that anybody believed Rhodes. The protestors threw some rocks at the guardsmen, were hardly a military, and were not trained in the slightest. All they did was protest in a pretty peaceful way. Even the Scranton Commission later decided that the protestors were hardly dangerous, if dangerous at all.
Rhodes: “We are going to employ every weapon possible:” That sums up why Rhodes is most likely guilty of planning the conspiracy. He literally admitted to using weapons. It should be noted that he said “every weapon possible,” not every weapon necessary.
General Del Corso: “ I’ll be right behind the National Guard to give our full support, anything that is necessary, like the Ohio law says, use any force that is necessary even to the point of shootings. We don’t want to get into that but the law says that we can if necessary:” If the shooting was indeed premeditated, then it didn’t fall under Ohio law because it was prematurely deemed “necessary.” General Del Corso and Governor Rhodes spent a suspicious amount of time focusing on how they would use any force they wanted.
“We have seen here at the City of Kent especially probably the most vicious form of campus oriented violence:” this is a gross overstatement that is reminiscent of Nixon’s speech that would follow the shootings. These types of speeches served to contort the way people felt about the protests and the shootings.
“These people just move from one campus to the other and terrorize a community. They’re worse than the Brown Shirts [Nazis] and the Communist elements and also the Night Riders and Vigilantes. They’re the worst type of people that we harbor in America and I want to say that they’re, they’re not going to take over a campus and the campus now is going to be a part of the County and the State of Ohio:” Rhodes demonstrated his complete hatred for the students. The accusations of them being worse than Nazis and other threatening groups are insulting, provocative, and ignorant. Strong, negative, compassionate feelings, such as the ones Rhodes showed, oftentimes lead to violence.
“There is no sanctuary for these people to burn buildings down of private citizens of business in the community, then run into a sanctuary. It’s over with in Ohio... We are going to eradicate the problem:” Those are very threatening statements. For these to be uttered and the next day for a shooting by the National Guard to happen that kills students is probably not a coincidence.
Del Corso, Ohio National Guard Head: “We will apply whatever degree of force is necessary to provide protection for the lives of our citizens and his property:” Spoken by the head of the guardsmen who killed four students the next day, it can easily be inferred that the shootings were premeditated.
Rhodes: “We are now organized for the protection of the citizens of our City. We will take all necessary -- I repeat, all necessary action to maintain order with the cooperation of the Ohio National Guard and other law enforcement agencies which have been very cooperative:” This sounds very incriminating- the if the, “National Guard and other law enforcement agencies... have been very cooperative,” was a deal made between Rhodes and the law enforcement agencies?
“Questioner: ‘General Del Corso, how long do you expect to keep the Guard at Kent?’ The Governor: ‘I’ll answer that: Until (sic) we get rid of them [the protestors]:’” The next day, protestors were killed, and Rhodes directly alluded to that happening. Since he worked with the law enforcement agencies, he probably influenced them to do his will.
Rhodes: “There is no place off limits in this hour. Let me assure everyone that there is no place, there is no sanctuary, no place off limits and we are going to disperse crowds. We are going to help the Mayor enforce the curfew:” Rhodes is practically saying that no force is off limits to terminate the protests. Once again, he adverted to the tragedy that occurred the following day.
Rhodes: “I think we are up against the strongest, well-trained militant revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America:” This is such a paranoid overreaction it is a feat that anybody believed Rhodes. The protestors threw some rocks at the guardsmen, were hardly a military, and were not trained in the slightest. All they did was protest in a pretty peaceful way. Even the Scranton Commission later decided that the protestors were hardly dangerous, if dangerous at all.
Rhodes: “We are going to employ every weapon possible:” That sums up why Rhodes is most likely guilty of planning the conspiracy. He literally admitted to using weapons. It should be noted that he said “every weapon possible,” not every weapon necessary.
General Del Corso: “ I’ll be right behind the National Guard to give our full support, anything that is necessary, like the Ohio law says, use any force that is necessary even to the point of shootings. We don’t want to get into that but the law says that we can if necessary:” If the shooting was indeed premeditated, then it didn’t fall under Ohio law because it was prematurely deemed “necessary.” General Del Corso and Governor Rhodes spent a suspicious amount of time focusing on how they would use any force they wanted.
Header: Governor Jim Rhodes (http://www.governorsresidence.ohio.gov/residence/rhodes.aspx)
Above: The pages from the transcript of Governor Rhodes’ press conference that were marked up by the plaintiff in the Kent State cases. (ACLU of Ohio Kent State Project Records (MS 1800), Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.)
Above: The pages from the transcript of Governor Rhodes’ press conference that were marked up by the plaintiff in the Kent State cases. (ACLU of Ohio Kent State Project Records (MS 1800), Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.)