American Civil Liberties Union
1941

These are excerpts from a report done by the American Civil Liberties Union in 1941.  The ACLU represented the Witnesses in several of their cases.

Only a recital of the extraordinary incidents which reached their peak in May and June of this year will indicate the extent of the persecution. The following instances are taken from the volume of testimony presented to the Department of Justice based upon affidavits and reports from the field, and backed up in practically every instance by press reports. From an affidavit by Albert Stroebel of Flagstaff, Arizona dated June 26, 1940: “On Wednesday evening June 19th, 1940 my dad and I drove to Ash Fork from Williams to contact two fellow workers at a friend’s house. I drove up in front of the house and went up on the porch when three men stepped into the yard up on the porch and said, ‘Are you looking for anyone?‘-and then, ‘will you salute the flag?’ and when I replied that I respected the flag but was consecrated to do God’s will and did not salute or attribute salvation to the flag they cried, ‘Nazi spy !’ knocked me down, beat me badly, and finally knocked me out-then dragged and pushed me across the street to a service station and again tried to make me salute the flag. I was dizzy, befuddled and don’t clearly remember anything further except that a considerable crowd had gathered yelling ‘Nazi spy ! — Heil Hitler! — String him up !— Chop his head off !’

 “A deputy sheriff appeared later. He took me to a local jail and put my dad and I in a cell, as he said, ‘to protect you from the mob and rest you up.’

“After two hours he took us both to Prescott to the sheriff’s headquarters, arriving there about 9:00 p.m., some one else driving my car down. Upon arrival, all of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ literature in my car was taken in to the sheriff’s office and three men spent about three and a half hours inspecting same. At 12:30 a.m., the sheriff or District Attorney said, ‘We find nothing radically wrong in your literature and if the people would take time to read it they wouldn’t get so hysterical and excited calling you Nazi spies and the like.’ Then they let us go.”

Another Case

From an affidavit of Roy Crabb of Prescott, Arizona dated June 29, 1940: “On Wednesday afternoon June 19th, 1940 after having engaged in Kingdom service in Ash Fork for several hours my brother and I entered a friend’s home on the main street of the town when we noticed cars driving up in front of the house. Six cars in all parked around the house, which is located on a corner, the leading car being a blue Plymouth sedan driven by the local deputy sheriff named Russell. The cars were there about ten minutes when about a dozen men got out of said cars, the deputy sheriff then driving away while the men started into the house.

“The men entered the house and took my brother and I out into the street where they produced a U.S. flag and said ‘you fellows salute this’ and when we declined the assault began-the mob split and 6 or more jumped on me while the rest, about the same number, attacked my brother. After we were beaten up, knocked down and out we were kicked around and I have a dim recollection of being dragged around the streets by our legs and feet and finally left semiconscious in the street. When we recovered enough to stand we were driven out of town by the same mob. “The mob went back to the house of our friends, got our literature and portable phonographs which were reported burned. Neither my brother or I know the names of our attackers except one young fellow, Bud LaMar of Jerome who took a leading part in beating up my brother. He is reported to be a French Catholic and his grandmother resides in Ash Fork.

“We could identify the ring leaders of the attackers and in common with other cases of mob violence directed at Jehovah’s Witnesses in Yavapai County have reported the matter direct to the District Attorney’s office and to Sheriff Robbins in Prescott and requested that a deputy be sent with us to Ash Fork to enable us to identify the mobsters without inciting further violence. This was agreed to by Under-Sheriff Born last Wednesday, June 26th, but when we appeared at the sheriff’s office for this purpose the following day Sheriff Robbins was there and he declined to send the deputy. Said he’d serve all the warrants we swore out but wouldn’t send a deputy to Ash Fork with us. Ass’t District Attorney Frank encouraged this stand.”  

A So-Called Riot

 Anaffidavit by a Jehovah’s Witness concerns a so-called riot at Litchfield, Illinois, involving about one hundred Witnesses, who had come in twenty-one automobiles to distribute literature house-to-house. Twelve of the cars were wrecked beyond repair, and over $8,000 damage to cars and clothing caused. Sixty-four of the one hundred Witnesses were taken to the police station by a mob and beaten in an attempt to force them to salute the flag. Says the affidavit:

“They chased us for about two miles and then blocked the Highway forcing us to stop. Then they pulled all of us, women as well as men out of the car and beat up the men for about 10 minutes and pushed the women around. Finally they stopped and pushed us back into the car and one of the mobsters took the keys to the car from me and started driving us to the jail. Just before the car started up one of the mobsters threw a book case full of books through the car and hit me on the head, breaking the glass.

“Some of the mobsters devoted their attention to destroying our literature and personal property. Fists came from every direction, they threw us on the ground, kicking us all over. Then they dragged the men over to the car and butted my head against the flag. In the meantime, the Chief of Police was sitting in his automobile watching the mobsters beat us up. Only when the mobsters yelled to get the women did he put us in jail to protect us from the mob.”

Full text

Source(s):

American Civil Liberties Union, The Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses (New York: American Civil Liberties Union, 1941)