Grand Jury Acquits 13 Black Panthers

A New York grand jury yesterday acquitted on all counts 13 Black Panthers charged with conspiring to bomb public buildings and murder policemen.

The jury, which included five blacks, needed just four hours' deliberation to return the innocent verdicts and conclude a trial that lasted eight months and had been preceded by seven months of pretrial hearings.

The defendants, most of whom had spent more than two years in jail since their arrests in April 1969, listened intently as the jury foreman re-sponded "not guilty" to the 156 separate counts, which also included charges of conspiracy to bomb police buildings and unlawful possession of weapons and explosives.

The final day of the trial was marked by a courtroom disruption. As the prosecution countered a defense charge that the jury had been biased and prejudiced against the defendants, Curtis Rowe, one of the defendants, leaped to his feet and shouted "Pig" at the prosecuting attorney.

Rowe was ordered from the courtroom, but was readmitted later to hear the innocent verdicts.