Interview with Grover Krantz

Grover Krantz, a museum technician from the U.C. Berkeley campus, is interviewed in the KPFA studios. On Thursday, December 3, 1964, he and a group of four bystanders were arrested and charged with failure to disperse while watching the students protest at Sproul Hall, although they were never asked to leave the premises. He was in prison from 2:15 Thursday until 6:30 the following morning. He is considering suing for false arrest. The interviewer suggests that Krantz’s beard might have been the reason for him being arrested. Krantz says he though it was because they were the closest to the entry of Sproul Hall, and could see what was going on between police and protesters. Krantz reports that there was no activity going on when he was arrested because “police were apparently taking a break from 12:00 to 1:00 on dragging students down [the stairs].” Free Speech Movement, December 6, 1964.