ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide Near's beliefs, which were "anti- Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-black, and anti-union." It discusses the chief of police, the county attorney, and the mayor for their willing participation in this illegal activity. In Near v. Minnesota, 283 US 697, the US Supreme Court held that "prior restraint" of printed materials violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press. Near v. Minnesota-considered the most important pre-World War II case dealing with freedom of the press-arose out of a 1925 Minnesota statute that made certain speech a public nuisance. The Saturday Press printed articles unfavorable to individuals who were active in Minneapolis politics. In fact, "the articles charged, in substance, that a Jewish gangster was in control of gambling, bootlegging, and racketeering in Minneapolis, and that law enforcing officers and agencies were not en-ergetically performing their duties."
