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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.
B
Bert Sivert
Bert Sivert was arrested on a West Virginia highway on July 24, 1931, during the coal strike. A Wheeling repor...
C
Charlie Slom
Released
Charlie Slom was beginning to serve a prison sentence on September 13, 1918, in Moundsville Penitentiary.
M
Matthew K. Smith
Released
Matthew K. Smith participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West V...
R
Ralph Squire
Released
Ralph Squire was listed among imprisoned draft and conscientious resisters in contemporary CCCO reports from 1...
T
Tony Stafford
Released
Tony Stafford was an Italian-born union coal miner. Tony Stafford was imprisoned at the West Virginia penitent...
L
Lorry Thomas
Lorry Thomas was a Casa Romero sanctuary worker imprisoned at FCI Alderson for transporting a Central American...
J
Joseph Tracz
Released
Joseph Tracz was one of the union miners imprisoned at the West Virginia penitentiary in Moundsville after the...
G
George Vest
Released
George Vest participated in the 2012 Hobet mine protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virgin...
C
Charles H. Waters
Released
Charles H. Waters was a conscientious objector from West Virginia imprisoned during World War I. Court-martial...
R
Robert Webber
Released
Robert Webber was framed on a "dynamite" charge and sentenced to one to ten years at the Moundsville penitenti...
O
Oscar Wheeler
Released
Oscar O. Wheeler was the Communist Party's candidate for governor of West Virginia, sentenced to six to fiftee...
F
Francis Williams
Francis Williams was a Black woman convicted of murder in Raleigh County, West Virginia. A Beckley March 1 dis...
J
James Woods
Released
James Woods was from Wheeling, West Virginia. James Woods was sentenced to three years in prison and served in...
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