United States v. John William Simpson, AKA Brother John Simpson

ELY, Circuit Judge:

On December 24, 1970, Simpson took a container of gasoline to the offices of the Local Board of the Selective Service System in San Jose, California. He intended — despite his knowledge that such acts were illegal — to burn some of the Board’s records in an effort to move the United States toward terminating the conflict in Southeast Asia.

After surreptitiously gaining access to the Board’s file room, he opened one of the file drawers, doused the contents with his gasoline, ignited a match, and set the files ablaze. When the heat from the fire became unbearable, Simpson…