Dec. 17, 1962 - The Communist Party of the United States was found guilty today of refusing to register as an agent of the Soviet Union and was fined $120,000 — the maximum possible penalty. Attorneys for the party immediately announced they would appeal the decision. The party’s conviction by a federal district court jury was the first to be obtained under the 1950 Subversive Activities Control Act (the McCarran Act). It came after 12 years of legal maneuvering that saw party leaders go all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to keep the case from trial. The next step in the Government’s 12-year campaign against the party will be the trial of party general secretary Gus Hall (pictured third from left) and national chairman Benjamin Davis, also on charges of failing to register with the government.
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