Biography
Mary Nardini was one of eleven defendants imprisoned after a September 9, 1917 confrontation at a pro-war gathering in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. All received twenty-five-year sentences. The trial followed the November police-station bombing, although the defendants were already jailed when that separate crime occurred. On April 2, 1919, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered discharge from custody in this criminal case. The appellate decision rejected the prosecution’s claimed conspiracy and distinguished the evidence against each defendant. An order ending the criminal case does not establish release from subsequent immigration detention. Sources: Bianchi v. State, 169 Wis. 75 (1919), University of Minnesota Law Library; Dean Strang interview, PBS Wisconsin, “Milwaukee Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice.”
