Biography
Hugh McKiernan was one of four Irish Workers’ Club members arrested and beaten by police on June 22, 1932, after resisting the eviction of an Irish family from East 147th Street in the Bronx. A magistrate raised the disorderly-conduct accusation to felonious assault. The four men were released on $1,000 bail before a grand jury indicted them on June 30. When the lower-court case was dismissed on July 1, McKiernan was immediately rearrested on a bench warrant and released again on $1,000 bail. He pleaded not guilty on July 11.
The June28,1932 Daily Worker names McKiernan among the four Irish Workers Club members arrested after the East147thStreet eviction protest and reports their completed release on $1000 bail each through the International Labor Defense. All four were allegedly beaten in jail. The scheduled Wednesday trial was prospective; no additional release day or new case is inferred. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1932/v09-n153-jun-28-1932-DW-LOC.pdf#page=2
Printed pages 177 and 179 (PDF 19,22), Martin Moriarty's Tammany Gives Relief, describes the Bronx eviction of Mrs. McPartland and her six children, neighbors and Irish Workers Club members restoring the furniture, and police beating and arresting the four individually named club members. Initial disorderly-conduct charges became felonious assault; a Bronx grand jury indicted them while the cases were pending, and all four were out on $1,000 bail each. This supports the existing June 1932 case and identifies the eviction family; no additional arrest or exact discharge day is inferred. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1932/v08n09-sep-1932-LD.pdf
Page 3 reports that after the Bronx East 147th Street eviction protest and police beatings, the four Irish Workers' Club defendants were released on $1,000 bail, but could not obtain summonses against the officers. Magistrate Harris had raised disorderly-conduct accusations to felonious assault; subsequent hearings before the magistrate printed McKinery were postponed while a grand jury secretly indicted them and bench warrants were served. ILD attorney Allan Taub sought countercharges; assistant district attorney Sylvester Ryan refused relief. This supplies procedural detail for their existing case, not another arrest episode or a completed sentence. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1932/v09-n169-NY-jul-16-1932-DW-LOC.pdf
