On 10 February 1918, Black dock worker and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union activist Ben Fletcher was arrested by the FBI at his home at 1329 Grove St, Philadelphia.
The agent who carried out the arrest wrote in his report that Fletcher was: "a very black Negro while his wife is a white woman". Another agent who interviewed him reported that "he impressed me as being well read and he used exceptionally good English".
Fletcher was held on $10,000 bail (worth around $200,000 in 2023) on charges of sedition for allegedly disrupting the war effort.
While there was no real evidence of his guilt, Fletcher was convicted along with dozens of other IWW members, fined $30,000 and jailed for 10 years. When this occurred, Fletcher leaned towards IWW leader Big Bill Haywood and commented:
"The Judge has been using very ungrammatical language."
"How's that, Ben?", Haywood replied.
"His sentences are much too long."
Upon his release from prison, Fletcher resumed organising with the union.
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