Mayor Foster's Lynch Mob Promise

In 1855, Los Angeles Mayor Stephen Clark Foster intervened as a mob prepared to lynch a murderer named David Brown, insisting on a lawful trial instead. Foster promised that if Brown were acquitted by the law, he would resign and lead the lynching himself. Following the court's acquittal of David Brown, Foster resigned, rallied a vigilante mob, and guided them in executing the man. The next year, Los Angeles voters re-elected him to the mayor's office.

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