Dillard Stokes

Dillard Stokes was a Washington DC lawyer and columnist for the Washington Post. Stokes was instrumental in getting the Justice Department to file indictments against 30 defendants in what later became known as the Great Sedition Trial. Using the aliases Jefferson Breem and Quigley Adams he solicited publications from the individuals who were suspected of holding anti-Jewish or anti-government opinions and had them mailed to his residence in the District of Columbia. This tactic allowed the government to put the defendants on trial in one location and to break them financially, removing them from their employment, family and homes. The Chicago Tribune described Stokes as an agent provocateur.

Stokes did his military service during the war, came home, and married news writer Jane Smith.