Biography
Louis Lavine was an IWW member arrested near Hornbrook, California in early 1917. A March 1917 IWW account titled "The Case of Louis Lavine" describes him riding a freight train when railroad brakemen ordered him to jump at about twenty miles an hour; when they tried to force him off, Lavine reportedly displayed a pair of pliers in a manner meant to resemble a handgun. He was arrested at Hornbrook on an accusation described as shooting at a person with intent to kill — although the object he displayed was not a firearm. The formal charge as filed has not been found. A later IWW item, spelling the surname Lavie, reported him due for release on June 26, 1917; the matching circumstances and chronology make it highly probable the two names are one prisoner. The projected release is recorded in this text only — an expected date is not a documented release, so none is entered on the case.
