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Michigan

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Michigan.

334Documented
1In custody
185Released
8Awaiting trial

Eras of repression in Michigan

Where Michigan’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1930s 74 1980s 51 1910s 45 1920s 33 1950s 22 2020s 21

Documented cases

334 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

S
Sorcenty Tolkevetz
Released
Sorcenty Tolkevetz was a conscientious objector from Michigan imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed f...
E
Edgar Tomkins
Released
Edgar Tomkins was a worker arrested in Battle Creek, Michigan, on November 24, 1935 for selling the Daily Work...
W
W. Ulrich
W. Ulrich was named with A. W. Mills and Steve Miller among five arrested when police broke up the Hands Off C...
A
Alex Urocky
Released
Alex Urocky was a conscientious objector from Michigan imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refu...
D
Dan Voloshin
Released
Dan Voloshin was a conscientious objector from Michigan imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for ref...
F
Francis Walker
Released
Francis Walker was one of two workers arrested when Detroit police raided the Workers Center at 2113 Lycaste A...
R
Robert D. Walsh
Released
Robert D. Walsh was jailed in Michigan for refusing the induction oath, calling the Korean War 'not our war.'...
J
Justin Ward
Released
Justin Ward was arrested on January 29, 2026 after posting threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
C
Charles B. Washington
Charles B. Washington, one of the occupants of the Sweet home, was one of eleven Black occupants arrested in D...
J
Jesse William Waters
Released
Jesse William Waters, age 30, was indicted in 2011 for his role in 1999 New Years Eve Michigan State Universit...
H
Hewitt Watson
Hewitt Watson, one of the occupants of the Sweet home, was one of eleven Black occupants arrested in Detroit o...
D
David C. Wattles
Released
Marshall identifies Wattles as a resident of North Branch, Michigan arrested on November 23, 1862. According t...
N
Nathan L. Welch
Released
Nathan L. Welch was the editor of the Michigan Socialist, from Detroit, Michigan. Nathan L. Welch served eight...
M
Mary West
Mary West was individually reported to have actually served ten days for Wurtsmith Air Force Base anti-nuclear...
R
Robert White (Michigan prisoner)
Robert White was a prisoner in Jackson, Michigan, whom the Black Panther Party included in its political-priso...
J
Jon M. Williams
Jon M. Williams was a Detroit Black Panther Party assistant breakfast program coordinator. The newspaper repor...
L
Leo Williams
Leo Williams was a Detroit Black Panther Party officer of the day. The newspaper reports police detention in a...
R
Robert Woods (Auto Workers Union organizer)
Released
Robert Woods was national secretary of the Auto Workers Union. The Daily Worker of July12,1930 names this orga...
M
Manna C. Woodworth
Released
Manna C. Woodworth was a World War I conscientious objector who refused military service and was court-martial...
G
George Young
Released
George Young was one of the "Livernois 5," five young Black men swept up in a Detroit police dragnet after the...
J
John Zydok
Released
John Zydok, a Detroit Communist born in the old Russian empire, was the subject of one of the first deportatio...
A
Alex Zysk
Alex Zysk was a nineteen-year-old worker arrested while carrying a picket sign during the Detroit Bakers Union...

Institutions in Michigan

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Michigan that appear in the census’s case files.

Federal Correctional Institution, MilanMilan, Michigan
6 cases
FCI MilanMilan, Michigan
3 cases
Bay County JailBay City, Michigan
3 cases
Michigan State Prison (Jackson)
3 cases
Wayne County Jail
3 cases
State Prison of Southern MichiganJackson, Michigan
2 cases
Marquette State PrisonMarquette, Michigan
2 cases
Detroit RRMMilan, Michigan
1 case