Biography
Joseph Edwin Schock, also known as Joe Schock, was a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and later attended the University of Idaho while living in Pullman, Washington. He was arrested in Lewiston, Idaho, on May 5, 1970, following a fire that destroyed National Guard vehicles at the Lewiston armory during protests against the Vietnam War. Charged with destruction of federal property, he was held in the Nez Perce County jail until June 11, 1970, when a federal judge released him on his own recognizance.
Schock fled to Canada rather than face trial. An arrest warrant was issued in August 1970. Montreal police arrested him on February 3, 1972, on a false-identity-papers charge, and he faced extradition to the United States. Paul Brians, a Washington State University professor who knew Schock, later recounted that French Canadian separatists helped him reach Martinique, where he obtained political-refugee status. Schock subsequently settled with his family in Paris. His flight and refuge abroad form the basis for his inclusion as a political exile.