John Lilburne was one of the pre-eminent members of the Leveller movement. Not long after the Commonwealth government took control with the execution of Charles I, however, he began to protest against what he saw as the unconstitutional rule of the Rump Parliament and the Council of State, and voiced his opinions in
England's New Chains Discovered. As a result, he was arrested in March 1649, and charged with sedition. In October he came to trial, but fought his case hard, and was found Not Guilty, a verdict which reputedly met with cheers from his many supporters.
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