2020.025.013

Anthony Bimba, a native of Lithuania, was a socialist turned communist who was charged with two counts of blasphemy and sedition. The common thread being freedom of speech. The trial was held in February, 1926. This trial is notable as it invoked a rare, criminal statute of Massachusetts law dating back to the seventeenth century colonial days, which forbid expression of anti-religious sentiment. The court case also included the first application of a contemporary Bay State law of 1919 outlining seditious utterances. Bimba's speech that triggered the charges occurred on January 26, 1926 and included his usual pro-bolshevik and anti capitalist criticism of the current Lithuanian regime. An attendee, activist Anthony Eudaco, swore out charges of sedition against Bimba the next day, while another attendee, Treinavich, pressed the blasphemy charge. This became the trial of Bimba, deemed to b an 'Important National & District Leader of the Communist party. The book contains a description of Bimba's youth in Lithuania and his becoming a Socialist and Communist. It documents the events leading up to the trial, Bimba's arrest and a synopsis of the trial itself. Bimba was found not guilty of blasphemy and guilty of sedition. The book wraps up with the public response to the trial and the aftermath regarding the laws remaining on the books in Massachusetts.

there some wrinkling of the back cover.