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West Virginia
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 West Virginia.
85Documented
1In custody
55Released
1Awaiting trial
Eras of repression in West Virginia
Where West Virginia’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
1930s 24
1920s 23
2010s 14
1910s 8
1970s 5
1700s 3
Recent dashboard entries from West Virginia
The newest published events and reporting located in West Virginia, updated automatically from the live dashboard.
Prosecution
Man charged with destroying Flock cameras found army of defenders on Facebook
Other
Trump's DOJ Shut Down a Criminal Investigation Into Sen. Jim Justice's Coal Companies
Protest
Teamsters beer-delivery workers strike over contract concessions near Charleston
Arrest
Six arrested for trespassing, including a congressional candidate and clergy, in a Moral Mondays sit-in at the Morgantown office of Senator Shelley Moore Capito over Medicaid and SNAP cuts
Protest
Candlelight vigil for immigrants at the Jefferson County Courthouse
Protest
Tucker County residents rally against a data center at a WVDEP air-quality hearing
Protest
Mountaineers Indivisible holds a Workers Over Billionaires protest at WVU
Protest
Six arrested in a sit-in at Sen. Capito's office over SNAP and Medicaid cuts
Documented cases
85 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
H
Hugh Gore
Moe Bragin’s The Farmers Meet, page 4 of the February 27, 1933 Daily Worker, reports that Arkansas farm-confer...
R
Red Hawk
Released
Red Hawk was a Delaware leader who accompanied Cornstalk to Fort Randolph in October 1777 to warn American off...
I
Ike Hawkins
Ike Hawkins was head of the National Miners Union’s department organizing Black miners. The Daily Worker of Fe...
N
Nathan Walker Joseph
Released
Nathan Walker Joseph, known as Ducky, is an environmental activist who joined Mountain Justice and RAMPS organ...
J
John Kaminsky
Released
John Kaminsky was one of the union miners imprisoned at the West Virginia penitentiary in Moundsville after th...
J
John Keith (Morgantown antiwar demonstration, 1933)
John Keith was arrested while speaking at the August 1, 1933 antiwar demonstration in Morgantown. A delegation...
H
H. E. Kirchner
Released
H. E. Kirchner was from Elizabeth, West Virginia. H. E. Kirchner began serving a prison sentence in March 1918...
A
Anthony Kovalsky
Released
Anthony Kovalsky was a Steel Workers’ Organizing Committee organizer. A Pittsburgh dispatch dated September 3,...
K
Kevin Kuenster
Released
Kevin Kuenster participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Vir...
T
Tadeusz Kurowski
Tadeusz Kurowski was a miner and Polish-language worker correspondent in Logan, West Virginia. A roommate’s le...
J
John M. Lynch
Released
John M. Lynch was a West Virginia coal miner serving a ten-year sentence at the Moundsville penitentiary on wh...
M
Mike Mare
Mike Mare was president of the National Miners Union local at McKinleyville, West Virginia. During the 1931 co...
R
Raymond McSurley
Released
Raymond McSurley was a West Virginia labor prisoner serving a twelve-year sentence at the Moundsville penitent...
B
Bruce Miller (Miners Right to Strike Committee)
BruceMiller was a MinersRighttoStrikeCommittee leader. The December2,1977 newspaper says he was fired and jail...
S
Sophia Morgan
Released
Sophia Morgan participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virg...
E
Ernest Mullins
Released
Ernest Mullins was a West Virginia miner imprisoned at Moundsville following the 1933 Coalburg strike. He was...
C
C. M. Nelson
Released
C. M. Nelson was sentenced to two years in prison. He served in Moundsville Penitentiary from September 13, 19...
J
Jim Parker (West Virginia prison writer, 1976)
Signed Dragon contributor, prisoner number 47910, at West Virginia State Prison, Moundsville. His letter discu...
V
Van Pham
Released
Van Pham participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virginia....
P
Pete Radocowich
Released
Pete Radocowich was one of the union miners imprisoned at the West Virginia penitentiary in Moundsville after...
R
Richard Riser
Released
Richard Riser was a steelworker and fellow union activist from Steubenville. A Pittsburgh dispatch dated Septe...
C
Clark Santee
Released
Clark Santee participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virgi...
F
Frank Sepich
Frank Sepich was Ohio district vice-president of the National Miners Union. The Daily Worker of February 18, 1...
E
Emmons Shepard
Emmons Shepard was individually named in a Daily Worker report about the National Miners Union strike near Mou...
Institutions in West Virginia
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in West Virginia that appear in the census’s case files.
West Virginia State PenitentiaryMoundsville, West Virginia
18 cases
Federal Reformatory for Women, AldersonAlderson, West Virginia
10 cases
West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville
10 cases
Federal Prison Camp, AldersonAlderson, West Virginia
4 cases
Mill Point Federal Prison CampMill Point, West Virginia
4 cases
Fort RandolphPoint Pleasant, West Virginia
3 cases
FPC BeckleyBeaver, West Virginia
2 cases
FPC AldersonAlderson, West Virginia
2 cases