The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

United States convicts newspaper editor Jacob Frohwerk under the Espionage Act, June 1918

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

Jacob Frohwerk, an associate editor of the German language newspaper the Missouri Staats-Zeitung, was tried and convicted in June 1918 under the Espionage Act of 1917 for publishing articles opposing American participation in the First World War, and was sentenced to ten years in prison on each of twelve counts, to run concurrently. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the conviction on March 10, 1919.12

What happened

Jacob Frohwerk was indicted for conspiring with Carl Gleeser to violate the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917, while the two were preparing and publishing the Missouri Staats-Zeitung, a German language newspaper based in Kansas City. Twelve articles that ran in the paper between July 6 and December 7, 1917, argued against sending American soldiers to France and criticized the military draft. A federal jury convicted Frohwerk on all but one count, and the trial court sentenced him to a fine and to ten years in prison on each remaining count, the later terms to run concurrently with the first. Frohwerk appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing the prosecution violated his First Amendment right to free speech. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, writing for the Court, ruled on March 10, 1919, that criticizing the war was not automatically protected once it was joined to a conspiracy to obstruct military recruiting, and affirmed the conviction and sentence.312456

What reason was given

Stated justification

Prosecutors charged that the twelve articles amounted to attempts to cause disloyalty, mutiny and refusal of duty in the military and naval forces of the United States, in violation of the Espionage Act.4

What changed for reporting

The ruling meant an editor of a small circulation foreign language newspaper could be convicted and imprisoned for articles critical of the war, extending the standard the Court had set the same term in Schenck v. United States.56

Timeline

1918

26 June 1918
United States convicts newspaper editor Jacob Frohwerk under the Espionage Act, June 1918

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
Missouri Staats-Zeitungoutletaffected

Sources

  1. Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919)Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10, primary. Source record
  2. Frohwerk v. United States (1919)Frohwerk v. United States (1919), 2009, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. Frohwerk's trial on the Espionage Act indictment began on June 26, 1918, after the District Court overruled his demurrer to the indictment.The demurrer was overruled on June 24, and on the following day the plea of not guilty was ordered to be entered, a continuance was refused, a jury was empannelled and the trial set to begin the next morning.Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10.Claim 938, checked 2026-09-26.
  2. The indictment alleged a conspiracy between Frohwerk and Carl Gleeser, publishers of the Missouri Staats Zeitung, to violate the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917.a conspiracy between the plaintiff in error and one Carl Gleeser, they then being engaged in the preparation and publication of a newspaper, the Missouri Staats Zeitung, to violate the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10.Claim 939, checked 2026-09-26.
  3. The Supreme Court of the United States heard Frohwerk's appeal on January 27, 1919, and affirmed his conviction on March 10, 1919.No. 685. Argued Jan. 27, 1919. Decided March 10, 1919.Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10.Claim 937, checked 2026-09-26.
  4. Additional counts of the indictment charged that the newspaper's articles amounted to attempts to cause disloyalty, mutiny and refusal of duty in the armed forces.The other counts allege attempts to cause disloyalty, mutiny and refusal of duty in the military and naval forces of the United States, by the same publications, each count being confined to the publication of a single date.Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10.Claim 940, checked 2026-09-26.
  5. A jury convicted Frohwerk on all but one count, and the trial court sentenced him to a fine and ten years' imprisonment on each remaining count.Frohwerk was found guilty on all the counts except the seventh, which needs no further mention. He was sentenced to a fine and to ten years imprisonment on each count, the imprisonment on the later counts to run concurrently with that on the first.Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), 1919-03-10.Claim 941, checked 2026-09-26.
  6. Frohwerk was convicted of conspiring to violate the Espionage Act of 1917 through articles he wrote for the Missouri newspaper Staats Zeitung opposing American involvement in the war.Jacob Frohwerk was convicted of conspiring to violate provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 by writing articles published in the Missouri newspaper Staats Zeitung opposing U.S. involvement in World War I.Frohwerk v. United States (1919), Frohwerk v. United States (1919), 2009.Claim 942, checked 2026-09-26.