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KATHLEEN DUNCAN

Dennis Hallion, center, of the New Jersey State Police, holds up a sign along with others to protest the invitation of Raymond Luc Levasseur to speak at the University of Massachusetts, Thursday.

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ap photo

Widow of slain New Jersey state trooper Philip Lamonaco, Donna Lamonaco, center, and her children Sarah, right, and Michael, second from left, listen as Thomas Nee, left, president of the Boston Police Patrolman's Association, speaks Thursday at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

AMHERST - Hundreds of police officers holding candles and signs bearing slogans including "Cop killers not welcome here" stood outside as former political radical Pat Levasseur took the microphone Thursday night at the University of Massachusetts School of Management.

Police from as far away as Boston and New Jersey were on campus to protest Levasseur speaking at a public university, even though she wasn't the Levasseur who first sparked their outrage. The day's original keynote speaker, Raymond Luc Levasseur, a member of the United Freedom Federation and Pat's former husband, was unable to attend the capstone event for a colloquium on social change because of problems with the U.S. Parole Commission that barred him from leaving Maine.

"I'm sorry Ray isn't here and instead you've got me," Pat Levasseur said to an audience of about 200 people as she related formative incidents in her life: growing up in a racist town, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

"We always were well-intentioned people," said Levasseur, who was acquitted of sedition charges along with Raymond and Thomas Manning during a 1989 trial in Springfield. "We weren't going to overthrow the government; we were fighting for what is right, and if people didn't fight for what is right we'd still be singing for the queen today."

Members of the UFF were involved in a series of bombings from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s to protest U.S. policies in Central America, together with South Africa's apartheid regime that enforced racial segregation.

On Thursday, UMass held the controversial panel, "The Great Western Massachusetts Sedition Trial: Twenty Years Later," regardless of Raymond Levasseur's absence. Pat Levasseur, two defense attorneys and a jury member from the 1989 trial took questions from the audience.

The event drew criticism from police and applause from freedom of speech advocates. Under pressure from police organizations and the governor, the event was canceled last week, but was rescheduled by a group of professors who said canceling was akin to censorship.

Police officers began congregating outside the Isenberg School of Management to protest three hours before the event. A UFF member killed New Jersey State Police trooper Philip Lamonaco in 1981 during a traffic stop. A member also shot at two Massachusetts State Police officers in North Attleboro following a vehicle safety check, according to the State Police Association of Massachusetts.

In a press conference before the event, about 15 officers representing the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Western Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, and the New Jersey State Troopers called the event a "disgrace" to the university and academic freedom.

"It is shameful to have to relive this murder of Phil Lamonaco all over again because the University of Massachusetts, a public-funded institution, thought it would be a good idea to bring him (Levasseur) to campus," said Robert P. Frydryk, president of the Western Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and Palmer chief of police.

Professors who invited Levasseur to campus said they did so to preserve free speech. Outside pressures should never be allowed to cancel an address at an institution of higher education, they said.

"A university has to stand for free speech and be prepared to defend it," said Dan Clawson, a sociology professor.

Students said they came to Thursday night's panel discussion because of the controversy surrounding the event.

"I think the protesters outside are right to be here and he has a right to be here. I respect the protesters outside, this is a controversial issue, obviously," said Lauren Foley, a sophomore.

Members of Lamonaco's family were also present Thursday - his widow, Donna, son Michael, a New Jersey state trooper, and his daughter, Sarah. The family was presented with a $2,000 donation to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund in Lamonaco's name from the UMass Police Department, proceeds from officers' wages earned while working at the event.

Donna Lamonaco stood with a contingent of police officers as she addressed reporters at the afternoon press conference. She sighed heavily before making her remarks.

"He's of no use to our soul, our compassion - he's of no use whatsoever," said Donna Lamonaco, of Levasseur.

"He got 18 years (in prison); I got a life sentence," she said before stepping back from the microphones. For the remainder of the press event, Lamonaco held her daughter's hand.

Michael Lamonaco said he was disappointed no one from the university had contacted his family prior to inviting Levasseur to campus.

"There are other ways to educate people than actually having a terrorist come to school," Lamonaco said. "How are you going to glorify a terrorist in this day and age?"

When asked by reporters how she felt about Donna Lamonaco, Pat Levasseur expressed sympathy.

"Of course it's tragic," she said. "It was in the line of duty and I'm sorry it happened."

A couple of hundred officers with some students and supporters held a candlelight vigil outside the event carrying signs that said "No such thing as a former terrorist," and "UMass supports terrorism." Other carried pictures of slain officer Lamonaco.

"I'm torn between not wanting anyone here and being glad there are lots of people here. Having people here gives him (Levasseur) attention that he doesn't deserve," said Northampton Police Sgt. Andrew Trushaw who protested the event.

"There was a time you couldn't stop a family in a car without getting nervous," said Trushaw recalling Lamonaco's death.

The United Freedom Front (formerly the Sam Melville-Jonathan Jackson Unit) claimed responsibility for a string of bank robberies and bombings of government buildings in New England during the 1970s.

The bombings Raymond Levasseur was arrested for included the 1976 explosion in the Suffolk Superior Courthouse, which injured more than a dozen people. Levasseur was acquitted of this crime.

Convicted in 1986 for other bombings to protest U.S. backing of South African apartheid and right-wing death squads in Central America, Levasseur served 18 years of a 45-year sentence. He was paroled in 2004.

On the picket line, police said they were pleased Levasseur was not part of Thursday's event.

"I think we already accomplished our mission. We kept a domestic terrorist from speaking here today," said Arnie Larson, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts. "I'm all for free speech, but there are peaceful ways to do it, like we're doing tonight, to make a change."