Not Frightened at Prospect of Jail Term : Amy Carter to Stand Trial on Anti-CIA Protest

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. —  Amy Carter, daughter of former President Jimmy Carter, was ordered today to stand trial April 6 on a disorderly conduct charge stemming from an anti-CIA demonstration at the University of Massachusetts.

“This is not too much fun,” the 19-year-old Brown University sophomore said at a press conference after a brief appearance in district court.

“I’m missing my first day of classes,” she said. However, she added, she would go to jail to keep the spy agency off campuses.

Carter, aging political activist Abbie Hoffman and 58 others were arrested Nov. 24 at the Amherst campus during the demonstration.

If convicted of disorderly conduct, Carter could face six months in jail. She said she understood the legal risks involved before the protest and is not frightened at the prospect of jail.

“I don’t think of it as pleasant, but it is not my highest concern at this point,” she said. “If it is something I have to do, I will do it.”

Hoffman, 50, Carter and other protesters vow to use their court cases as a forum for putting the CIA on trial for its international conduct.

Carter’s attorney, New York lawyer Leonard Weinglass--who was a defense counsel for the Chicago Seven in 1968--has said he hopes to have his client and other protesters tried together.

On the question of whether Carter’s parents supported her political activities, she said, “Any parents who love their children would be sad to see them go to jail, especially for six months.”