Title: American lightning
Description: A tale of murder, deceit, celebrity, media manipulation, and film as propaganda, when the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in 1910 exposed a deadly "national dynamite plot" by trade unionists to terrorize America with one hundred bombings in a doomed attempt to force capitalism to its knees. The relentless pursuit, capture, trial, and punishment of the bombers made a national hero of master detective Billy Burns, and entangled crusading defense lawyer Clarence Darrow in a reckless, nearly career-ending scheme to bribe witnesses and jurors and throttle justice. Meanwhile, the events inspired D.W. Griffith to make his groundbreaking film The Birth of a Nation.
Subjects: Terrorism, Bombings, History, New York Times reviewed, Terrorism, united states, Otis, harrison gray, 1837-1917, Los angeles (calif.), history
Places: California, Los Angeles
People: Harrison Gray Otis (1837-1917)
Time periods: 20th century