Biography
Joseph H. Downer was arrested with a fellow worker in Flint, Michigan, on September 14, 1919 after a restaurant meeting held without a permit. The New Solidarity reported that officials charged them under criminal-syndicalism law, jailed them for three weeks, and then released them on bond. Their prosecution was presented by the paper as a threat to workers organizing for freedom of speech. The eventual verdict is not established by this report.
Joseph H. Downer was arrested with a fellow worker in Flint, Michigan, on September 14, 1919 after a restaurant meeting held without a permit. The New Solidarity reported that officials charged them under criminal-syndicalism law, jailed them for three weeks, and then released them on bond. Their prosecution was presented by the paper as a threat to workers organizing for freedom of speech. The eventual verdict is not established by this report. The New Solidarity reports three weeks of actual jail custody followed by release on bond. It forecasts trial for November 10, 1919; that forecast is not a conviction, sentence, or release date. Exact jail admission and discharge days and the eventual disposition remain unverified.
