Biography
Eugene Wells was a Philadelphia Black Panther Party member arrested in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on July 4, 1969, while distributing the Party newspaper. Contemporary Party reporting identifies a charge of soliciting papers without a permit and denounces the arrest as political harassment.
Atlantic City newspaper-selling arrest
Eugene Wells was a Philadelphia Black Panther Party member arrested in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on July 4, 1969, while distributing the Party newspaper. Contemporary Party reporting identifies a charge of soliciting papers without a permit and denounces the arrest as political harassment.
In a firsthand account reproduced in Comrades, Milton McGriff recalled that police took the group to the station and released them on bail within 24 hours. The contemporary report identifies his companions as Elijah Graham and Eugene Wells.
The 24-hour bound is not an exact one-day prison term. A precise release date and individual detention duration remain unverified. The allegation of political targeting is attributed to the Party’s contemporary report. This record documents a historical detention and does not establish current incarceration.
