Feb. 17, 1960

The New York Times front page, May 28, 1960 Credit: The New York Times

Alabama authorities sought to stop the civil rights movement by indicting Martin Luther King Jr. for perjury, claiming he lied about his taxes. 

Under state law, income tax evasion was only a misdemeanor, but that failed to halt authorities’ efforts to punish King, making him the first person ever criminally charged in this way in state history. He was accused of failing to include nearly $45,000 on his return — the equivalent of nearly half a million today. 

At the home of singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, a committee formed to help pay for the legal fight and declared in a statement that in “no year of his life has Dr. King’s net income even approached such a figure.” 

King called the harassment nothing new, saying his taxes “have been investigated two or three times before.” 

Three months later, King went on trial, facing a white judge, a white prosecutor and an all-white jury, which deliberated for more than three hours before returning the unexpected verdict: not guilty on all charges. 

Afterward, King said, “Something happened to that jury. It said no matter how much they must suppress me, they must tell the truth.”

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.