Look back at the 1st time John Sinclair made headlines in the Free Press

Robert Cotter
·2 min read
7

Today’s Free Press Flashback is a story from Aug. 18, 1965. It reports how John Sinclair, a well-known counterculture impresario and marijuana activist who died April 2, was arrested during a raid on his Detroit home. It would be the first of dozens of articles about Sinclair over the next six decades. For this bust, two dozen cops burst into an apartment where stoned hippies were listening to John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” Sinclair ended up serving six months in the old Detroit House of Correction. In 1966, another arrest ― for giving an undercover cop two joints ― resulted in him famously serving 29 months in prison.

A bearded Wayne State University student, arrested with six others in a narcotics raid at his apartment, told police Tuesday he sees nothing wrong with smoking marijuana.

He also said he hopes to teach young children in Detroit-area schools after getting a master's degree in English.

John Sinclair, 23, of 4825 John Lodge, and William C. Wilson, 21, of 5882 Hobart, were charged with sale and possession of narcotics after a Detroit Police Narcotics Bureau undercover agent said he bought 200 grains of marijuana from them for $25.

John Sinclair, 23, of 4825 John Lodge, and William C. Wilson, 21, of 5882 Hobart (not pictured), were charged with sale and possession of narcotics after a Detroit Police Narcotics Bureau undercover agent said he bought 200 grains of marijuana from them for $25.
John Sinclair, 23, of 4825 John Lodge, and William C. Wilson, 21, of 5882 Hobart (not pictured), were charged with sale and possession of narcotics after a Detroit Police Narcotics Bureau undercover agent said he bought 200 grains of marijuana from them for $25.

Five others, including Sinclair's German-born wife, Magdalene, 25, also were arrested in the raid Monday night but were released.

Police said the undercover agent met Sinclair and Wilson about a month ago and arrested them just as a "jam session" was to begin in Sinclair's apartment.

Police defined a "jam session" as a party at which the participants entertain themselves with bongo music and marijuana.

Sinclair, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs about 250 pounds, and Wilson stood mute at their arraignment Tuesday before Recorder's Court Judge John A. Ricca. They were released on $1,000 bond each pending examination Sept. 15.

Police said Sinclair was put on two years' probation in December when he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possession of narcotics. He had been charged with sale and possession.

The maximum penalty on both charges is life imprisonment.

Police said Sinclair considers himself a prolific writer but has not had any of his work published.

He enrolled at WSU after he was graduated from the University of Michigan.

Police said Sinclair told them he comes from a "good family" in Flint.

About 25 policemen waited outside Sinclair's apartment Monday night for the signal that the undercover agent had been able to make a "buy."

After the raid, police said, they were confronted by about 27 members of the Detroit Committee to End the War in Vietnam, who arrived from a nearby meeting place.

Sinclair was identified as a member of the pacifist group.

Police said they were harassed by committee members who asked those under arrest if their civil rights had been violated.

They also challenged police to produce arrest warrants which they said were necessary to make the arrests legal.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The first time John Sinclair made headlines in the Free Press