Criminal charges against Joseph Smith

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, faced about 21 criminal cases from 1826 to 1844 across New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Here is a shorter, easier-to-understand summary of what happened.

New York
- Smith was charged several times as a “disorderly person” for his seer activities. He had one disputed outcome and two acquittals.
- His first known charge came in 1826 in Bainbridge, New York, when he was about 20. He was acquitted in two trials but remained under legal scrutiny for years.
- Accounts from neighbors describe disputes and fights that fed into later stories about his early legal troubles.

Ohio
- In Ohio, he faced assault, bank-related charges, and allegations of planning murder.
- In 1835 he was found not guilty of assault in a case involving his brother-in-law. A charge of conspiracy to murder was dismissed in a preliminary hearing.
- In 1836 and later, he faced other conflicts and threats that led to more legal tension. By 1838 he had left Ohio for Missouri amid mounting lawsuits and opposition.

Missouri
- After the 1838 Mormon War, Smith was indicted for treason in Missouri and imprisoned in Liberty Jail.
- He escaped custody during a transfer and fled to Illinois. Missouri kept trying to extradite him for treason and other alleged crimes.
- While in Illinois, he faced further charges related to extenuating episodes in Missouri, including attempts at extradition and later charges of inciting a riot and treason.

Illinois (Nauvoo)
- In Illinois, Smith was charged with adultery tied to polygamy and with inciting a riot for destroying a critical newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor.
- He declared martial law in Nauvoo and led the Nauvoo Legion, a large city militia, while the governor organized a state militia in response.
- He surrendered to authorities, expecting to be released on bail, but was also charged with treason for calling out the Nauvoo Legion.
- Treason was a capital crime, so he was held without bail in Carthage, Illinois, where he and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob on June 27, 1844. At his death, several indictments remained unresolved.

Early life
- Smith was born in Vermont in 1805 and moved with his family to New York in 1817.
- His first criminal charge in New York was as a young man described in court records as “Joseph the glasslooker,” for being a “disorderly person.”
- He spent years moving between states as legal cases accumulated, always facing intense public and political opposition.

Overall
- Across four states, Smith faced numerous legal battles largely tied to religious conflict, politics, and personal conduct.
- The era's legal actions against him, combined with political and violent turmoil, left many indictments unresolved at his death.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regards Smith as a persecuted leader who faced widespread opposition and trials throughout his life.