LaRouche Brands Enemies as Drug Pushers, Insane

Lyndon LaRouche, holding one of the biggest news conferences of his no-longer-obscure political career, today characterized his enemies as drug pushers, homosexuals, insane and pro-Soviet.

He also contended that President Reagan’s chief aide, Donald T. Regan, should be in jail.

LaRouche made the statements at a National Press Club news conference that was believed to be his first public appearance since his supporters unexpectedly gained key nominations in last month’s Illinois Democratic primary.

He repeatedly accused the Soviet government, the British government, drug dealers, international bankers and financial institutions, and some journalists of being involved in worldwide conspiracies.

Calls Leaders Idiotic

He also accused American officials of formulating a “criminal or insane” foreign policy and referred to U.S. leaders as “idiotic” and “berserk.”

LaRouche said the victories of his supporters in Illinois showed that average Americans don’t believe their government and the news media and that they want LaRouche “to stick it to them in Washington.”

He suggested that Regan, the President’s chief of staff, was tied to drug money “laundering” efforts of Wall Street firms. Regan is a former executive of the brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith.

LaRouche said that to stop drug dealing, authorities must be able to trace money used in such transactions and “you have to jail the bankers who do that--like Donald Regan, presently chief of staff of the White House--put them in jail where they belong.”

He also stated that he has been marked for assassination by the Soviets and that two other people on the same list of targets have been killed.

“In 1972-73, the Soviets began running operations against me,” LaRouche said. “In 1977, these operations became very serious.”

Because of the threat on his life, LaRouche said, he has led a nomadic life in which he is sheltered from harm by supporters.

The often contentious press session ended with LaRouche, who has been called “a wacko” and an “anti-Semite” by some critics, such as the AFL-CIO and the Anti-Defamation League, cutting off an NBC reporter who asked about his finances.

‘A Bunch of Liars’

“You guys (NBC) are a bunch of liars,” said LaRouche in response to a report by the network Tuesday that quoted sources as saying he is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. “How could I talk to a drug pusher like you?”

Some LaRouche critics had mixed feelings about his being invited to address the National Press Club.

“I don’t like to see him get such a prestigious platform,” said Terry Michael, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. “At the same time, I realize every time he opens his mouth, people see how off the wall he is.”

“I don’t think LaRouche can stand exposure,” said Murray Seeger, an AFL-CIO spokesman. “He and his members are like bugs under a rock. You turn over the rock and the bugs disappear or die.”