Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism

Senator Burton Wheeler pressured the attorney general to replace the prosecutor. The new prosecutor was O. John Rogge, who had failed to win a conviction in the 1940 Christian Front trial. Rogge and his team decided to withdraw the previous indictments and start anew, only concentrating on charges that would stick. In 1944, Rogge released a new indictment. He alleged violations of the Smith Act, “an effort to demoralize America’s armed forces” (269). He sought to prove that the defendants had tried to recruit members of the US military to their causes in order to overthrow the US government.

Judge Edward C. Eicher presided over the trial, which began in April 1944. What ensued was “preplanned, unmitigated chaos” (244). The defendants were intentionally unruly, defiant, and disruptive, causing disorientation and frustration in the courtroom. The defendants and defense lawyers shouted at the prosecutors, drowning out their voices with insults. Some of the defendants failed to show up to court, citing excuses like dentist appointments and apartment hunting as reasons for their absence. Rogge’s painstakingly crafted statements could barely be heard over the din in court, and proceedings were marked by a halting, start-and-stop pace. What Rogge expected to take a month dragged out over several; as the summer stretched on, he still had nearly 200 witnesses to call to the stand and 9,000 documents to present.