Biography
Robert J. Blaine was an Industrial Workers of the World member held in Sacramento County Jail while awaiting trial on federal Espionage Act charges. He became gravely ill during the 1918 influenza epidemic and was transferred to the county hospital. The Sacramento Bee reported on October 28, 1918 that Robert Blaine and fellow defendant James Nolan had died that day. The IWW pamphlet With Drops of Blood also lists R. J. Blaine among the Sacramento defendants who died before trial. These records concern the wartime prosecution of IWW workers; they do not establish that Blaine committed the governor’s mansion bombing or was convicted of an offense. His arrest date and complete custody interval remain unverified.
