On January 2, 1920, local and state authorities, as part of a nationwide communist-hunting “Red Raid” organized by J. Edgar Hoover, arrested more than a thousand Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Flint residents, nearly all of whom were innocent of any crime except that of being a “foreigner” or of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Justice Department officials finally admitted that they had arrested innocent individuals but asked reporters not to mention that fact in their stories then praised Michigan law-enforcement for their cooperation in ending the “red menace” in their state.
Sources:
Mich-Again’s Day.
2,800 REDS BAGGED IN NATION WIDE RAIDS, 500 IN DETROIT: ROUND-UP SMASHES RECORDS; AGENTS USE 4,000 WARRANTS; DEPORTATION OPENLY SOUGHT PLOT TO ROUSE NEGROES BARED Trouble Is Yet Feared Because of Subtle Propaganda for “Race Equality.” All Efforts Centered on Getting Men “With Goods on;” 33 Big Cities in Drive.
Detroit Free Press (1858-1922) via Proquest Historical Newspapers, Jan 3, 1920: 1.