Marie Equi by Helquist Michael;

Author:Helquist, Michael;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oregon State University Press

On Tuesday morning, December 31, 1918, Equi returned to the courthouse, holding the hand of her three-year-old daughter. Harriet Speckart, Ruth Barnett, and several other friends accompanied them, and they settled once again in Judge Bean’s courtroom. With the session called to order, the judge asked Equi if she had any final words. She rose “white-faced, voice wavering,” according to one report. She reiterated her innocence and disclosed that while her trial was underway, a nephew, a boy she said she had helped raise, was dying of injuries sustained on the front lines in France. “While I was being persecuted, not prosecuted, here,” she said, “my boy gave his life there.”23

Judge Bean suggested there were two classes of people in the country—those who supported the war effort and those who did not. “All the government asked was that those who did not would keep quiet and not embarrass the government in its conduct of the war.” He said the evidence showed that Equi had not kept quiet, as if citizenship required silence. Equi’s attorney Fenton requested leniency for his client, explaining that she tended to be impulsive and imprudent when agitated. Bean sentenced Equi to three years in federal prison and a fine of $500. He set her bail at $10,000.24

An explosive conflict awaited Equi outside the courtroom when she confronted federal agent Bryon face to face. His disgust for everything about Equi spilled out. He reportedly told her, “Well, I got you,” and she replied, “I hope you’re satisfied.” One account said Equi called him a “dirty dog” several times. Bryon told her to get out of the way, and, according to Equi and newspaper reports, he grabbed her by the throat, struck her in the side, and shoved her to the floor. When Harriet tried to intervene, Bryon knocked her to the floor as well. Mary Jr. ran forward and yelled, “Leave my Da alone!” Bryon later gave his own version of the confrontation and said he may have brushed Equi aside and she fell backward. He noticed several Wobblies nearby and avoided a larger incident by ducking into the elevator and leaving the building. Equi and Speckart were left shaken and furious and held Mary Jr. close. The assault led to a barrage of criticism in newspapers with calls for Bryon’s removal from the bureau.25

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