The Tucson IRS Protest

On December 4, 1989, approximately thirty people — including the Defendant and two co-defendants — entered the Internal Revenue Service office in Tucson, Arizona. They began chanting "Keep America's tax dollars out of El Salvador" in protest of United States military involvement in El Salvador. They then splashed simulated blood — a red liquid — across the counters, walls, and floors of the office, and proceeded to obstruct its operations. A federal Police officer ordered the group to disperse or face arrest. The order was repeated several times. The Defendant, the co-defendant, and the second co-defendant refused to leave and were arrested. They were charged with obstruction of IRS activities and failure to comply with the order of a federal Police officer. At a bench trial, they proffered testimony about the violent conditions in El Salvador and argued that their acts were necessary to prevent further United States-backed bloodshed in that country — a necessity Defence. The district Court rejected the Defence as a matter of law.