The next extradition attempt occurs not in relationship to crimes that were allegedly committed during the Mormon War of 1838, but instead in relationship to the attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs, former governor of Missouri. In early May of 1842, there is an attempt on his life. He's shot in his home. And pretty soon rumors start to spread that Latter-day Saints must have been involved. There are newspapers who are publishing rumors suggesting that Joseph Smith had prophesied of Boggs's death, even though Joseph Smith denied those claims. In May members start to take precautions against extradition. They create a night watch meant to protect Joseph Smith in the event of a possible extradition. Part of the concern arises in relationship to John C. Bennett's break from the Church and his threat that he will participate in extradition efforts on July 5. The Nauvoo city council determines to bolster the right to writ of habeas corpus. And in that ordinance, the city council determines that the municipal court has the power to not only look into all of the arresting writs to determine their validity, but also that each citizen of Nauvoo will have a right to trial in Nauvoo, essentially granting them or making sure that they have a right to trial before their peers. So the members of the Church are taking a number of precautions, legal and otherwise, to protect against Joseph Smith's extradition. And it is in July of 1842 that this threat really begins to materialize. Thomas Reynolds, governor of Missouri, has signed a requisition based on former governor Lilburn Boggs's affidavit stating that Joseph Smith was an accessory before the fact to his attempted assassination. So in light of that, members of the Church, they are petitioning Thomas Carlin to not participate in any extradition attempts in the event that that happens. Joseph Smith is, in some sense, trying to rely on the state government, but he has had bad experiences with state governments before, and so he is not at all confident that Carlin will actually honor his promise to protect him. This all comes to a head in August of 1842, when Thomas Carlin, on the second of August, signs an arrest warrant. A couple of days later, on August 8, Thomas King, the undersheriff of Adams County, and James Pittman, the constable, along with another officer, arrive in Nauvoo, and they arrest Joseph Smith. Joseph is arrested together with Orrin Porter Rockwell, and both of them immediately petition for writ of habeas corpus. The municipal court immediately meets. They elect a chief justice pro tempore, Orson Spencer, and Orson Spencer grants the writs of habeas corpus. Henry Sherwood, the marshall, takes the writs to the arresting officers between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., and they don't know what to do. They don't know if this is legal or valid. So they return to Thomas Carlin. They leave Joseph Smith in the hands of Henry Sherwood. And Henry Sherwood then allows them to be released. And both Joseph and Orrin Porter Rockwell cross the Mississippi River, and they go into hiding. So in mid- to late August and early September, as Joseph is in and out of hiding, he is considering what to do with extradition. Emma Smith is writing to Illinois governor Thomas Carlin, trying to urge him to not participate in extradition attempts. But it becomes clear that the members of the Church have to deal with another person: Thomas Ford, who has been elected governor in August. In December 1842, Hyrum Smith, William Clayton, and Willard Richards went to visit with a lawyer named Justin Butterfield. They asked Butterfield about Joseph's case. Butterfield told them that because Joseph had not been in Missouri at the time the attempted murder had taken place, he couldn't be extradited to Missouri as a result of this. The group also met with Illinois governor Thomas Ford and with several members of the Illinois State Supreme Court, and they asked what the best course of action would be. They suggested that the wisest course would be for Joseph to allow himself to be arrested on these charges, obtain a writ of habeas corpus, and then come to Springfield, where he would have a hearing before either the Illinois State Supreme Court or the United States Circuit Court for the district of Illinois. As Joseph received this information, he agreed that this was what they ought to do. On December 26, 1842, William Law arrested Joseph Smith. That evening, Joseph and several associates prepared a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On December 31, Joseph went to Illinois governor Thomas Ford to ask that he reissue the warrant for his arrest. Ford reissued the warrant, and after that, Joseph was rearrested. They took the warrant to the United States Circuit Court for the district of Illinois and obtained a writ of habeas corpus, allowing Joseph to have a hearing to determine the legality of his arrest. That hearing took place on January 2 through 5, 1843, before Judge Nathaniel Pope. During that trial, Justin Butterfield acted as Joseph Smith's lawyer. On January 5, 1843, Pope sided in behalf of Joseph Smith, discharging him from that arrest and effectively liberating him from those charges. After Joseph had returned home, he and Emma hosted a party to celebrate the discharge from arrest. This was one of the few times that Joseph was truly free. And we begin to see that during the end of January and throughout February 1843, Joseph preached freely and often, taking advantage of the liberty that he now enjoyed and feeling that he was for once free from his enemies and able to do the work that the Lord had called him to do.