In February of 1918, the Montana Legislature was the first in the nation to pass The Sedition Act, a law that carried fines of up to $20,000 and a jail sentence of up to 20 years if someone were to “print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous or malicious writing’” about the U.S. government or the war effort.
Under this act, 79 Montana citizens, including a German immigrant named Herman Bausch, were arrested for violations ranging from failing to buy liberty bonds to refusing to kiss the American flag. The act was repealed in 1921.
