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Bruce Beyer

Born: 1948
Death: 2019

Bruce Beyer was a resident of the City of Buffalo who resisted being drafted to fight in  the Vietnam War. On August 19, 1968, Beyer and fellow draft resister Bruce Cline were arrested at the Unitarian Universalist Church where they were seeking symbolic sanctuary. Seven others on the scene were also arrested and together the group became known as the Buffalo Nine.

Though not a student at the University at Buffalo, Beyer visited the university to garner support for the Buffalo Nine and to speak out against the war. He gained a loyal following of like-minded students. After one such occasion, Beyer was charged with inciting a riot when students ransacked the ROTC offices located in Clark Gym.

On March 19, 1969, Beyer was sentenced to three years in prison. UB students, protesting his conviction, occupied Hayes Hall, which at the time housed the Office of the President and many other high-level UB administrators. They also burned constructions shacks related to Themis, a research project conducted by members of the Department of Physiology and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

While out on bail, Beyer fled first to Canada and then to Sweden where he was granted asylum. He returned to Buffalo in 1977 and served a sentence that had been reduced to thirty days.


Affiliation(s): Buffalo Connection Only
Record Group(s): 30
Biographical File Contains:
  • Obituary