Nauvoo Expositor

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The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue. Its publication, and the destruction of the printing press ordered by Mayor Joseph Smith and the city council, set off a chain of events that led to Smith's arrest for treason and subsequent killing at the hands of a lynch mob.

Smith, leader of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, had a practice of secretly marrying his followers, including other men's wives. Smith is estimated to have married nearly fifty wives. While promoting polygamy in private, Smith publicly denied the practice of polygamy. In response, a handful of high-ranking church leaders denounced Smith as a fallen prophet, founded a reformed church, and announced plans to publish a newspaper -- acts that resulted in their excommunication from Smith's church. Based on their testimony, Smith was indicted on state criminal charges of perjury and "fornication and adultery".

The Nauvoo Expositor, published on June 7, 1844, exposed Smith's practice of polygamy and accused him of promoting polytheism by teaching that church members can become gods.^[1] Smith and the Nauvoo City Council declared the paper a public nuisance and ordered the press to be destroyed.^[2][3][4] The town marshal carried out the order during the evening of June 10.^[5] Smith and other members of the council were charged with inciting a riot; after an arrest warrant was issued for Smith, he declared martial law and mobilized the city militia, the Nauvoo Legion of which he was the commander-in-chief holding the rank of Lieutenant General.^[6] In response, Governor Ford raised a militia, peacefully entering Nauvoo to search for Joseph Smith, who had fled the state.

On June 25, after he received guarantees of safety, Smith surrendered on the riot charges expecting to be freed on bail. Once in Carthage, Smith was also charged with treason against Illinois for declaring martial law. Treason, a capital crime, was not a bailable offense. Smith, Hyrum, and other leaders was incarcerated in the Carthage Jail, guarded by only seven men. Though expecting to be rescued by his followers, Smith and Hyrum were killed by a lynch mob on June 27.^[7]