REPOST

When San Francisco was incorporated in 1850, City and County governments were formed, but the number of criminals largely outnumbered local law officials. Arson, theft and murder were commonplace and left unprosecuted, and on June 9, 1851, one of the City’s founding fathers, Samuel Brannan^[1], formed the first of two Committees of Vigilence: a group of law-abiding citizens who decided to take law and order into their own hands. 700 self-appointed armed “members” made arrests, held public trials, and issued punishment. On June 10th, one day after the Committee was formed, John Jenkins was arrested, tried and hanged for burglary. Over the course of three months four people were hanged, one was whipped, fourteen were deported to Australia, fourteen were ordered to leave California, and forty-one were acquitted before the Committee disbanded in August.

In 1855 brothel owner Charles Cora^[2] was acquitted of shooting US Marshall William Richardson, prompting speculation of jury tampering. Six months later James Casey, a City Supervisor, shot and killed James King of William, editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin, after the latter published a scandalous expose of Casey’s corruption. A second Committee of Vigilence was formed and this time, membership surged to over 6,000. Committee headquarters were set up at Fort Gunnybags on Sacramento between Davis and Front. On the evening of May 18, 1956, 2,000 Committee members descended on the City Jail and demanded the release of both Cora and Casey, who had taken refuge in the building. After pointing a canon at the jail, the Sheriff reluctantly complied and released the two men into the Committee’s custody.  Casey was tried and Cora was retried three days later. Both were found guilty and sentenced to public hanging. Mayor James Van Ness pleaded with Governor J Neely Johnson to send state militia to stop the executions, but the governor refused. Casey and Cora were hanged in Portsmouth Square and the Committee once again disbanded without taking further action.

The Committees of Vigilance led to the establishment of the City’s own political party, the People’s Party. It ruled San Francisco politics until 1867, when it was absorbed by the Republican Party. From the Committees of Vigilance comes the word vigilante.

^[1] Samuel Brannan: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4848