Today in Labor History June 15, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law. The law targeted leftist, anti-war and labor organizations, especially the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which was devastated because of the arrests and deportations of its members. When Eugene Debs spoke against the draft in Canton, Ohio, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He ran for president from prison in 1920, winning nearly 1 million votes (3.4%). The government used the law to arrest anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman and depart them to the Soviet Union. They used the law against the Rosenbergs, whom they executed. They also used it against Daniel Ellsberg, whose “Pentagon Papers” were published by the NY Times 52 years ago. The Espionage Act is still on the books and was used recently to prosecute Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #espionageact #redscare #freespeech #anarchism #prison #policestate #repression #soviet #emmagoldman #rosenbergs #edwardsnowden #chelseamanning #eugenedebs #IWW #warcrimes #imperialism
Notorious War Hawk is Facing Prison Time For Mishandling Classified Defense Information
In a case that seems to have largely dropped out of the mainstream media, John Bolton faces an 18‑count federal indictment for mishandling classified national defense information, a case that tests how aggressively the Espionage Act and related statute...
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