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Washington

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Washington.

280Documented
1In custody
270Released
2Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in Washington

Where Washington’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1910s 141 2000s 22 1950s 21 2020s 19 1970s 19 2010s 11

Documented cases

280 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

James H. Manning
Released
James H. Manning, a laborer from Seattle, Washington, was convicted at the mass IWW trial in Chicago, sentence...
Walfred E. Marker
Released
Walfred E. Marker was a Jehovah's Witnesses conscientious objector from Washington imprisoned during World War...
John Martin
Released
John Martin, a lumberjack from Seattle, Washington, was convicted at the mass IWW trial in Chicago, sentenced...
Janet McCloud
Released
Janet McCloud, born on the Tulalip Reservation and a descendant of Chief Seattle, was a Tulalip-Nisqually fish...
I. P. McDowell
Released
I. P. McDowell was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
James McInerney
James McInerney was an Irish-born logger and I.W.W. member, actively working to organize among Pacific Northwe...
C. D. McLennan
Released
C. D. McLennan was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
W. E. Mead
Released
W. E. Mead, from Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to five years in prison, which he served in McNeil Island...
Tyre Wayne Means Jr.
Released
Tyre Wayne Means Jr. is a man who, during BLM protests in Seattle on May 30, 2020, helped set fire to a Seattl...
James Franklin Melton
Released
James Franklin Melton began serving a prison sentence on December 10, 1918, in McNeil Island Penitentiary.
Carl Miller
Released
Carl Miller was a Seattle SNCC organizer jailed after the Franklin High School protest. His conviction was lat...
Harold Miller
Released
Harold Miller was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
John Mitchell
Released
John Mitchell was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
Jeff Monson
Released
Former UFC heavyweight title challenger and self-identified anarchist. Joined the May 23-24, 2006 PMR human-ch...
William Moran
Released
William Moran, a seaman from Spokane, Washington, was convicted at the mass fWW trial in Chicago, sentenced to...
James Mulrooney
Released
James Mulrooney, a laborer from Seattle, Washington, was convicted at the mass IWW trial in Sacramento and sen...
George Murphy
Released
George Murphy was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
Frank Nash
Released
Frank Nash, a member of the IWW, received a five-year prison sentence for violating the state's criminal syndi...
Malachi O'Neill
Released
Malachi O'Neill was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail an...
Jack Paterson
Released
Jack Paterson was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
William Pennock
Released
William Pennock was president of the Washington Pension Union and a Progressive Party figure prosecuted under...
Harston Peters
Released
Harston Peters was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and...
Terry Pettus
Released
Terry Pettus was the editor of the People's World and a Communist prosecuted under the Smith Act during the Mc...
James Powers
Released
James Powers was one of the 74 Industrial Workers of the World members held in the Snohomish County jail and c...

Institutions in Washington

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Washington that appear in the census’s case files.

Snohomish County JailEverett, Washington
75 cases
McNeil Island Federal PenitentiarySteilacoom, Washington
63 cases
USP McNeil IslandSteilacoom, Washington
46 cases
Washington State PenitentiaryWalla Walla, Washington
10 cases
SeaTac Federal Detention CenterSeaTac, Washington
8 cases
Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla / U.S. District Court, W.D. WashingtonWalla Walla, Washington
7 cases
Washington State Penitentiary at Walla WallaWalla Walla, Washington
5 cases
Washington State ReformatoryMonroe, Washington
5 cases