 of the national AIM organization , now called AIM Grand Governing Council , claim that Churchill has worked in the past as an underground counter @-@ intelligence source for the U.S. government , for example the FBI , and local , non @-@ Indian , police forces , to subvert the national AIM organization . Specifically , they refer to a 1993 Boulder , Colorado interview with Jodi Rave , a former columnist for the Denver Post , in which Churchill stated that he " was teaching the Rapid City Police Department about the American Indian Movement . " In addition , Vernon Bellecourt accused Churchill of having ' fraudulently represented himself as an Indian ' to bolster his credentials . Bellecourt said he complained to the University of Colorado about this as early as 1986 .   Churchill has been a leader of Colorado AIM 's annual protests in Denver against the Columbus Day holiday and its associated parade . Colorado AIM 's leadership has come into conflict with some leaders in the Denver Italian American community , the main supporters of the parade . As early as 2004 , Churchill had claimed that such parades are unconstitutional , arguing that the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution provides Native Americans with a right not to be subjected to such displays , overriding the First Amendment rights of non @-@ Native Americans .   = = 9 / 11 essay controversy = =   Churchill wrote an essay in September 2001 entitled On the Justice of Roosting Chickens . In it , he argued that the September 11 attacks were provoked by U.S. foreign policy . He compared the role of financial workers at the World Trade Center in " ongoing genocidal American imperialism " to the role played by Adolf Eichmann in organizing the Holocaust . In 2005 , this essay was widely publicized when Hamilton College invited Churchill to speak . This led to both condemnations of Churchill and counter @-@ accusations of McCarthyism by Churchill and supporters . Following the controversy , the University of Colorado interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano said , " While Professor Churchill has the constitutional right to express his political views , his essay on 9 / 11 has outraged and appalled us and the general public . "   A documentary called Shouting Fire : Stories from the Edge of Free Speech , broadcast on HBO , prominently features Churchill 's case in addressing the issues of free speech and First Amendment rights .   = = Research misconduct investigation = =   The controversy attracted increased academic attention to Churchill 's research , which had already been criticized by the legal scholar John LaVelle and historian Guenter Lewy . Additional critics were the sociologist Thomas Brown , who had been preparing an article on Churchill 's work , and the historians R.G. Robertson and Russell Thornton , who claimed that Churchill had misrepresented their work . In 2005 , University of Colorado Boulder administrators ordered an investigation into seven allegations of research misconduct , including three allegations of plagiarism , and four allegations of fabrication or falsification regarding the history of the Dawes Act , the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 , and statements that smallpox was intentionally spread to Native Americans by John Smith in 1614 and by the United States Army at Fort Clark in 1837 ( not to be confused with the well @-@ documented use of smallpox @-@ infected blankets at Fort Pitt in 1764 ) .   On May 16 , 2006 the University released their findings ; the Investigative Committee agreed unanimously that Churchill had engaged in " serious research misconduct " , including falsification , fabrication , and two of the three allegations of plagiarism . The committee was divided on the appropriate level of sanctions . The Standing Committee on Research Misconduct accepted the findings of the Investigative Committee but also disagreed on what sanctions should be imposed . Churchill 's appeal against his proposed dismissal was considered by a panel of the University 's Privilege and Tenure Committee , which found that two of the seven findings of misconduct did not constitute dismissible offences . Three members recommended that the penalty should be demotion and one year 's suspension without pay , while two favored dismissal .   On July 24 , 2007 , the University regents voted seven to two to uphold all seven of the findings of research misconduct , overruling the recommendation of Privilege and Tenure panel that two be dismissed . By a vote of eight to one , the regents determined to fire Churchill .   The next day , Churchill filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that the firing was retribution for his expressing politically unpopular views . The jury in Churchill 's suit for reinstatement weighed the university 's claims of academic misconduct per jury instructions it received in the case . As Stanley Fish said , " It was the jury ’ s task to determine whether Churchill ’ s dismissal would have occurred independently of the adverse political response to his constitutionally protected statements . " The jury found that the alleged misconduct would not have led to Churchill 's firing and rejected the university 's academic misconduct claim as the grounds for dismissal . On April 1 , 2009 , a Colorado jury found that Churchill had been wrongly fired , and awarded $ 1 in damages . As one of the jurors said
Ġof Ġthe Ġnational ĠA IM Ġorganization Ġ, Ġnow Ġcalled ĠA IM ĠGrand ĠGo verning ĠCouncil Ġ, Ġclaim Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġworked Ġin Ġthe Ġpast Ġas Ġan Ġunderground Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġintelligence Ġsource Ġfor Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġgovernment Ġ, Ġfor Ġexample Ġthe ĠFBI Ġ, Ġand Ġlocal Ġ, Ġnon Ġ@ - @ ĠIndian Ġ, Ġpolice Ġforces Ġ, Ġto Ġsub vert Ġthe Ġnational ĠA IM Ġorganization Ġ. ĠSpecifically Ġ, Ġthey Ġrefer Ġto Ġa Ġ1993 ĠBoulder Ġ, ĠColorado Ġinterview Ġwith ĠJ odi ĠR ave Ġ, Ġa Ġformer Ġcolumnist Ġfor Ġthe ĠDenver ĠPost Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich ĠChurchill Ġstated Ġthat Ġhe Ġ" Ġwas Ġteaching Ġthe ĠRapid ĠCity ĠPolice ĠDepartment Ġabout Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠIndian ĠMovement Ġ. Ġ" ĠIn Ġaddition Ġ, ĠVernon ĠBelle court Ġaccused ĠChurchill Ġof Ġhaving Ġ' Ġfraud ul ently Ġrepresented Ġhimself Ġas Ġan ĠIndian Ġ' Ġto Ġbolster Ġhis Ġcredentials Ġ. ĠBelle court Ġsaid Ġhe Ġcomplained Ġto Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġabout Ġthis Ġas Ġearly Ġas Ġ1986 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġbeen Ġa Ġleader Ġof ĠColorado ĠA IM Ġ' s Ġannual Ġprotests Ġin ĠDenver Ġagainst Ġthe ĠColumbus ĠDay Ġholiday Ġand Ġits Ġassociated Ġparade Ġ. ĠColorado ĠA IM Ġ' s Ġleadership Ġhas Ġcome Ġinto Ġconflict Ġwith Ġsome Ġleaders Ġin Ġthe ĠDenver ĠItalian ĠAmerican Ġcommunity Ġ, Ġthe Ġmain Ġsupporters Ġof Ġthe Ġparade Ġ. ĠAs Ġearly Ġas Ġ2004 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġclaimed Ġthat Ġsuch Ġpar ades Ġare Ġunconstitutional Ġ, Ġarguing Ġthat Ġthe ĠNinth ĠAmendment Ġto Ġthe ĠConstitution Ġprovides ĠNative ĠAmericans Ġwith Ġa Ġright Ġnot Ġto Ġbe Ġsubjected Ġto Ġsuch Ġdisplays Ġ, Ġoverriding Ġthe ĠFirst ĠAmendment Ġrights Ġof Ġnon Ġ@ - @ ĠNative ĠAmericans Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ9 Ġ/ Ġ11 Ġessay Ġcontroversy Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġwrote Ġan Ġessay Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2001 Ġentitled ĠOn Ġthe ĠJustice Ġof ĠRo ost ing ĠChick ens Ġ. ĠIn Ġit Ġ, Ġhe Ġargued Ġthat Ġthe ĠSeptember Ġ11 Ġattacks Ġwere Ġprovoked Ġby ĠU . S . Ġforeign Ġpolicy Ġ. ĠHe Ġcompared Ġthe Ġrole Ġof Ġfinancial Ġworkers Ġat Ġthe ĠWorld ĠTrade ĠCenter Ġin Ġ" Ġongoing Ġgen oc idal ĠAmerican Ġimperialism Ġ" Ġto Ġthe Ġrole Ġplayed Ġby ĠAdolf ĠE ich mann Ġin Ġorganizing Ġthe ĠHolocaust Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġthis Ġessay Ġwas Ġwidely Ġpublicized Ġwhen ĠHamilton ĠCollege Ġinvited ĠChurchill Ġto Ġspeak Ġ. ĠThis Ġled Ġto Ġboth Ġcondemn ations Ġof ĠChurchill Ġand Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġaccusations Ġof ĠMcCarthy ism Ġby ĠChurchill Ġand Ġsupporters Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġcontroversy Ġ, Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġinterim ĠChancellor ĠPhil ĠDi Ste f ano Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠWhile ĠProfessor ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġthe Ġconstitutional Ġright Ġto Ġexpress Ġhis Ġpolitical Ġviews Ġ, Ġhis Ġessay Ġon Ġ9 Ġ/ Ġ11 Ġhas Ġoutraged Ġand Ġappalled Ġus Ġand Ġthe Ġgeneral Ġpublic Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġdocumentary Ġcalled ĠSh outing ĠFire Ġ: ĠStories Ġfrom Ġthe ĠEdge Ġof ĠFree ĠSpeech Ġ, Ġbroadcast Ġon ĠHBO Ġ, Ġprominently Ġfeatures ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġcase Ġin Ġaddressing Ġthe Ġissues Ġof Ġfree Ġspeech Ġand ĠFirst ĠAmendment Ġrights Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠResearch Ġmisconduct Ġinvestigation Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcontroversy Ġattracted Ġincreased Ġacademic Ġattention Ġto ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġresearch Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġalready Ġbeen Ġcriticized Ġby Ġthe Ġlegal Ġscholar ĠJohn ĠLa V elle Ġand Ġhistorian ĠGu enter ĠLew y Ġ. ĠAdditional Ġcritics Ġwere Ġthe Ġsoc iologist ĠThomas ĠBrown Ġ, Ġwho Ġhad Ġbeen Ġpreparing Ġan Ġarticle Ġon ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġwork Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġhistorians ĠR . G . ĠRobertson Ġand ĠRussell ĠThornton Ġ, Ġwho Ġclaimed Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġmisrepresent ed Ġtheir Ġwork Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado ĠBoulder Ġadministrators Ġordered Ġan Ġinvestigation Ġinto Ġseven Ġallegations Ġof Ġresearch Ġmisconduct Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthree Ġallegations Ġof Ġplagiar ism Ġ, Ġand Ġfour Ġallegations Ġof Ġfabrication Ġor Ġfals ification Ġregarding Ġthe Ġhistory Ġof Ġthe ĠDaw es ĠAct Ġ, Ġthe ĠIndian ĠArts Ġand ĠCraft s ĠAct Ġof Ġ1990 Ġ, Ġand Ġstatements Ġthat Ġsmall pox Ġwas Ġintentionally Ġspread Ġto ĠNative ĠAmericans Ġby ĠJohn ĠSmith Ġin Ġ16 14 Ġand Ġby Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠArmy Ġat ĠFort ĠClark Ġin Ġ18 37 Ġ( Ġnot Ġto Ġbe Ġconfused Ġwith Ġthe Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġdocumented Ġuse Ġof Ġsmall pox Ġ@ - @ Ġinfected Ġblankets Ġat ĠFort ĠPitt Ġin Ġ17 64 Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠMay Ġ16 Ġ, Ġ2006 Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġreleased Ġtheir Ġfindings Ġ; Ġthe ĠInvestigative ĠCommittee Ġagreed Ġunanimously Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġengaged Ġin Ġ" Ġserious Ġresearch Ġmisconduct Ġ" Ġ, Ġincluding Ġfals ification Ġ, Ġfabrication Ġ, Ġand Ġtwo Ġof Ġthe Ġthree Ġallegations Ġof Ġplagiar ism Ġ. ĠThe Ġcommittee Ġwas Ġdivided Ġon Ġthe Ġappropriate Ġlevel Ġof Ġsanctions Ġ. ĠThe ĠStanding ĠCommittee Ġon ĠResearch ĠMisc onduct Ġaccepted Ġthe Ġfindings Ġof Ġthe ĠInvestigative ĠCommittee Ġbut Ġalso Ġdisagreed Ġon Ġwhat Ġsanctions Ġshould Ġbe Ġimposed Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġappeal Ġagainst Ġhis Ġproposed Ġdismissal Ġwas Ġconsidered Ġby Ġa Ġpanel Ġof Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġ' s ĠPriv ilege Ġand ĠTen ure ĠCommittee Ġ, Ġwhich Ġfound Ġthat Ġtwo Ġof Ġthe Ġseven Ġfindings Ġof Ġmisconduct Ġdid Ġnot Ġconstitute Ġdismiss ible Ġoffences Ġ. ĠThree Ġmembers Ġrecommended Ġthat Ġthe Ġpenalty Ġshould Ġbe Ġdem otion Ġand Ġone Ġyear Ġ' s Ġsuspension Ġwithout Ġpay Ġ, Ġwhile Ġtwo Ġfavored Ġdismissal Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠJuly Ġ24 Ġ, Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġreg ents Ġvoted Ġseven Ġto Ġtwo Ġto Ġuphold Ġall Ġseven Ġof Ġthe Ġfindings Ġof Ġresearch Ġmisconduct Ġ, Ġoverr uling Ġthe Ġrecommendation Ġof ĠPriv ilege Ġand ĠTen ure Ġpanel Ġthat Ġtwo Ġbe Ġdismissed Ġ. ĠBy Ġa Ġvote Ġof Ġeight Ġto Ġone Ġ, Ġthe Ġreg ents Ġdetermined Ġto Ġfire ĠChurchill Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġnext Ġday Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġfiled Ġa Ġlawsuit Ġin Ġstate Ġcourt Ġclaiming Ġthat Ġthe Ġfiring Ġwas Ġretribution Ġfor Ġhis Ġexpressing Ġpolitically Ġunpopular Ġviews Ġ. ĠThe Ġjury Ġin ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġsuit Ġfor Ġrein statement Ġweighed Ġthe Ġuniversity Ġ' s Ġclaims Ġof Ġacademic Ġmisconduct Ġper Ġjury Ġinstructions Ġit Ġreceived Ġin Ġthe Ġcase Ġ. ĠAs ĠStanley ĠFish Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠIt Ġwas Ġthe Ġjury ĠâĢ Ļ Ġs Ġtask Ġto Ġdetermine Ġwhether ĠChurchill ĠâĢ Ļ Ġs Ġdismissal Ġwould Ġhave Ġoccurred Ġindependently Ġof Ġthe Ġadverse Ġpolitical Ġresponse Ġto Ġhis Ġconstitutionally Ġprotected Ġstatements Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġjury Ġfound Ġthat Ġthe Ġalleged Ġmisconduct Ġwould Ġnot Ġhave Ġled Ġto ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġfiring Ġand Ġrejected Ġthe Ġuniversity Ġ' s Ġacademic Ġmisconduct Ġclaim Ġas Ġthe Ġgrounds Ġfor Ġdismissal Ġ. ĠOn ĠApril Ġ1 Ġ, Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġa ĠColorado Ġjury Ġfound Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġbeen Ġwrongly Ġfired Ġ, Ġand Ġawarded Ġ$ Ġ1 Ġin Ġdamages Ġ. ĠAs Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġjurors Ġsaid