Liewellyn and Edith Banks Trial: 1933

At about 10:15 A.M. on March 16, 1933, Prescott and Sergeant James O'Brien of the Oregon State Police arrived at the Banks residence. By coincidence, Banks lost his newspaper, orchards, and packing house to creditors just the day before. Banks had been warned by supporters of possible assassination attempts, and he had heard that new arrests were going to be made regarding the theft of the ballots. Therefore, Banks decided to flee on March 16 to a remote log cabin and had set out a revolver and hunting rifle in his foyer to take along when he left.

After Prescott and O'Brien knocked on the door, they told Banks's wife, Edith, that they had a warrant for her husband's arrest. Edith Banks opened the door and threw some papers at Prescott and O'Brien which, written by Llewellyn Banks, denied their authority to arrest him. Then, as Edith Banks started to shut the door, Prescott placed his foot inside just enough to prevent her from closing it. Edith stepped aside and Banks appeared with the rifle pointed at Prescott's chest. Banks fired and Prescott fell back, dying almost immediately. Banks then slammed the door as O'Brien retreated to safety. O'Brien called for reinforcements and, within minutes, more officers arrived on the scene. Banks and his wife then surrendered without further resistance.

To forestall any rescue attempt by Banks's supporters, the couple were driven 35 miles to the Grants Pass jail in neighboring Josephine County. By the end of the day, police armed with tear gas and sawed-off shotguns were patrolling the streets of Medford to prevent a feared uprising by the GGC and 23 more arrests were made regarding the courthouse break-in.