Goldman is convicted of obstructing the draft and sentenced to two years in prison.
On July 9, 1917, Emma Goldman was convicted in federal court for conspiring to obstruct the draft. She was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000 under the Espionage Act. Her conviction marked a sentinel moment in the struggle for free speech, drawing attention to the limits of dissent permissible under U.S. law during wartime.