The Salvation Army Jailbreak
When Nooksack officials imprisoned Salvationists for the crime of 'obstructing the highway,' the town rose up to tear down the jail.
Nooksack, Oct. 1.—The officers of the Salvation Army of Nooksack who were arrested yesterday had a hearing this afternoon. They were tried for obstructing the highway, and as they refused to pay the fine, were sent to jail for six hours. A howling mob surrounded the prison and endeavored to tear it down. The whole police force was called out, and with difficulty saved the building and dispersed the crowd. The Salvationists were released this evening, and paraded the town with nearly a thousand followers.
“A howling mob surrounded the prison and endeavored to tear it down.”
This incident echoes the long-standing tension in Washington between civic authorities attempting to regulate public space and marginalized groups—like the Salvation Army in its early days—asserting their right to exist and organize on city streets. Today, this conflict continues in the form of debates over homelessness, public park usage, and the policing of non-commercial gatherings in the rapidly densifying Seattle metro area.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.