Weather Underground victim Richard J. Elrod dies

Dohrn. left, Ayers, center, at an
Occupy Chicago rally in 2012

Former Cook County sheriff and later judge Richard J. Elrod, a forgotten victim of the Weather Underground, died over the weekend at his suburban Chicago home of cancer

Elrod's neck was broken as he confronted members of the terror group during their Days of Rage riot. The Weather Underground's leaders included Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who of course later became friends with Barack Obama.

From the Chicago Tribune:

What happened on Oct. 11, 1969 is subject to dispute, but during a demonstration led by the Weathermen faction of Students for a Democratic Society, Judge Elrod suffered a broken neck and was left paralyzed from the neck down.

The protester, Brian Flanagan, 22, said Elrod tried to tackle him and hit a building. Witnesses in a subsequent trial also said Elrod made a flying tackle in trying to grab Flanagan. Elrod said he grabbed the protester, who kicked him in the head and neck.

Flanagan was acquitted of aggravated assault in a jury trial.

Judge Elrod initially was unable to move any part of his body below his neck. However, in time, he became a quadriparetic instead of a quadriplegic, meaning that he had weakness in all of his limbs but that he did have some limited use of them.

Of his days as a terrorist, Ayers said in 2001, "I feel we didn't do enough."

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