Apr. 12, 1963 - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama this afternoon when he defied a court injunction and led a march of Negroes toward the downtown section of the city. In addition to Dr. King, the Rev. Dr. Ralph D. Abernathy and more than 60 others were taken into custody. There was no violence. Safety Commissioner T. Eugene “Bull” Connor, who directed the arrests, said Dr. King would be charged with violation of a city ordinance concerning parading without a permit and also with defying a state court injunction against demonstrations. The penalty on conviction of the city charge is 180 days in jail and a fine of $100. Punishment for the injunction violation could be far more severe. “That’s what King came down here for,” said Mr. Connor today, “to get arrested. Well, now he’s got it.” The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth had also been a leader of today’s march, but he was not among those arrested. “We didn’t get him, but we’re after him,” said Mr. Connor. “He turned and run. We’re going to get him. He’s as guilty as the rest.”
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