Editing Lester C. Hunt (section)

==Son's arrest and Hunt's suicide==
On June 9, 1953, Hunt's 25-year-old son Lester Jr., known as "Buddy", who was a student and president of the student body at the [[Episcopal Divinity School|Episcopal Theological School]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]],<ref name="CST" />{{efn|Buddy (September 5, 1927 – January 6, 2020) attended the University of Wyoming and then transferred to [[Swarthmore College]], graduating in 1949. His politics were more liberal than his father's and he had participated in campaigns against McCarthyism and in support of [[academic freedom]]. Commenting on his arrest in 1989, he said, "I wasn't framed. I guess technically it was entrapment, but I was ready for the trap."<ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013 |pages=246–50, 254}}</ref>}} was arrested in Washington, D.C., for soliciting sex from a male undercover police officer in [[President's Park|Lafayette Square]], just north of and adjacent to the [[White House]] property. It was his first offense, which police normally handled quietly as a matter for the offender's family to address, but the arrest became known to Senate Republicans.<ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013 |pages=253–4, 280–4}}</ref> According to [[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson]]'s "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column published after Hunt's death, Senators [[Styles Bridges]] and [[Herman Welker]] threatened that if Hunt did not immediately retire from the Senate and agree not to seek his seat in the 1954 election, they would see that his son was prosecuted and would widely publicize his son's arrest.<ref name="pearson1">{{cite news|last= Pearson|first= Drew|author-link   = Drew Pearson (journalist)| date = June 22, 1954 |title = The Washington Merry-Go-Round|url = http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/get/2041/24754/b12f10-0621udisplay.pdf| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120217034036/http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/get/2041/24754/b12f10-0621udisplay.pdf| archive-date = February 17, 2012| newspaper = [[Detroit Free Press]]| location     = [[Detroit, Michigan]]| access-date  =February 2, 2011| page = 16}}</ref><ref name="pearson2">{{cite book| last = Pearson| first= Drew| author-link   = Drew Pearson (journalist)| editor-last  = Abell| editor-first = Tyler| date =February 21, 1974| title = Diaries, 1949-1959| publisher= [[Henry Holt and Company|Holt, Rinehart and Winston]]| oclc= 707040| isbn= 0030014263| page= 325| hdl = 2027/uc1.$b325265}}</ref>

In a closely divided Senate, Hunt's resignation would have allowed Wyoming's Republican governor to appoint a Republican to fill the remainder of Hunt's term and to run as an incumbent in the 1954 election, possibly affecting the balance of power in the Senate in favor of Republicans.<ref>David K. Johnson, ''The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government'' (University of Chicago Press, 2004), 141</ref> Hunt refused, and in response, Republican Senators threatened Inspector [[Roy Early Blick|Roy Blick]] of the Morals Division of the Washington Police Department with the loss of his job for failing to prosecute Buddy Hunt.<ref name="pearson1" /><ref name="pearson2" /> Buddy Hunt was prosecuted, and Senator Hunt attended the trial. On October 7, 1953, Buddy Hunt paid a fine for soliciting a plainclothes policeman "for lewd and immoral purposes", and on the same day, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' published the story. Buddy Hunt's attorney was quoted in an October 8 ''[[New York Times]]'' account as saying his client preferred "to avoid any further publicity."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/10/08/archives/senator-hunts-son-pays-fine.html |title=Senator Hunt's Son Pays Fine |date=October 8, 1953 |access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> Aside from these brief media accounts, the arrest and prosecution of Buddy Hunt was not widely publicized at the time.<ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013 }}</ref>

In December 1953, Hunt told journalist Pearson that he would not stand for re-election if the opposition used his son's arrest against him,<ref name="pearson1" /><ref name="pearson2" /> fearing that the publicity would have a negative effect on his wife's health.<ref name="p323">Pearson, ''Diaries, 1949-1959'', 323</ref> Despite the threats of publicity from his political opponents, including a specific threat to distribute in Wyoming 25,000 leaflets about his son's arrest,<ref name="storrow" /> Hunt did announce on April 15, 1954, that he would be a candidate for re-election.<ref>Larson, ''History'', 520n5</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013|page=258}}</ref>  A poll taken on April 5, 1954, gave Hunt 54.5% support, with his nearest opponent at 19.3%.<ref name="CST" />

In May 1954, as a member of the Senate's "liberal bloc", he proposed rules for Senate committees designed to eliminate some of  McCarthy's tactics.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/27/archives/democrats-draft-code-on-inquiries-kefauver-and-17-colleagues-will.html |title=Democrats Draft Code on Inquiries |date=May 27, 1954 |access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> Later that month, Bridges renewed his threat to publicize Hunt Jr.'s offense to Wyoming voters.<ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013 |pages=280ff}}</ref><ref>Nicholas Von Hoffman, ''Citizen Cohn'' (NY: Doubleday, 1988), 231–2. Von Hoffman notes the use of a comparable threat of homosexual exposure by McCarthy staff member Roy Cohn against [[Samuel Reber]].</ref> The Eisenhower administration, taking a different tack, offered Hunt a high-paying position on the [[United States International Trade Commission|U.S. Tariff Commission]] if he agreed never to run for the Senate again.<ref name="storrow" /> On June 8,<!-- 1954,--> following a medical examination at [[National Naval Medical Center|Bethesda Naval Hospital]], Hunt changed his mind about running again, and wrote to the chair of the Wyoming Democratic party, citing health concerns as the reason: "I shall never again be a candidate for an elective office."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/09/archives/senator-hunt-retiring-wyoming-democrat-says-iii-health-dictates.html |title=Senator Hunt Retiring |date=June 9, 1954 |access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> He did not, however, resign from the Senate.

On June 19, 1954, Hunt shot himself at his desk in his Senate office, using a [[.22 caliber]] rifle he apparently brought from home. He was taken to Casualty Hospital<!-- now Specialty Hospital of Washington - Capitol Hill -->, where he died a few hours later at age&nbsp;61.<ref name="alwyto">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W8deAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KjIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1735%2C4230910 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Ailing Wyoming Democratic solon takes own life in Senate office |date=June 20, 1954 |page=1}}</ref><ref name="wshkswg">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SXgbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HE4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5465%2C824615 |work=Pittsburgh Press |agency=United Press |title=Wyoming's Sen. Hunt kills self with gun |date=June 20, 1954 |page=2}}</ref><ref name="CST" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that he acted "in apparent despondency over his health" and left four sealed notes.<ref name="nytsui">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/20/archives/hunt-takes-life-in-senate-office-wyoming-democrat-fires-shot.html |title=Hunt Takes Life in Senate Office |work=The New York Times |date=June 19, 1954 |access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref>

Just one day before Hunt's suicide, McCarthy had accused an unnamed member of the Senate of "just plain wrong doing". After Hunt's suicide, McCarthy's ally Senator [[Karl Mundt]] of South Dakota denied that McCarthy was referring to Hunt.<ref name="nytsui" /><ref>Drew Pearson did not believe McCarthy's remarks affected Hunt's decision to commit suicide. Pearson, ''Diaries, 1949-1959'', 323</ref>

===Aftermath===
The day after Hunt's suicide, Pearson published his charges about how Republican Senators had threatened Hunt, but described Hunt's motives as complex:<ref name="pearson1" />
{{Blockquote|Two weeks ago he went to the hospital for a physical check and announced that he would not run again. It was no secret that he had been having kidney trouble for some time, but I am sure that on top of this, Lester Hunt, a much more sensitive soul than his colleagues realized, just could not bear the thought of having his son's misfortunes become the subject of whispers in his re-election campaign.}}
In private, he confirmed that Hunt had no serious health problem and wrote in his diary that "Unfortunately I am afraid that the morals charge against his son and the experience Hunt suffered was the main factor."<ref>Pearson, ''Diaries, 1949-1959'', 321</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McDaniel |first=Rodger |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt |year=2013|pages=269ff}}</ref>

Hunt was buried on June 22 in [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]] at Beth El Cemetery following a brief church service<!-- in Cheyenne-->.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/23/archives/senator-hunt-buried-600-fill-cheyenne-church-for-senators-funeral.html |title =Senator Hunt Buried |date=June 23, 1954 |access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> At the time of his death, Hunt was a [[Major (United States)|major]] in the [[United States Army Reserve|Army Reserve Corps]].<ref name="nytobit" />

On June 24, <!-- 1954,--> acting Wyoming Governor [[Clifford Joy Rogers|C.J. Rogers]] appointed Republican [[Edward D. Crippa]] to fill the remainder of Hunt's Senate term, which expired in January.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000906 Crippa, Edward David - Biographical Information] - Congressional Biography Directory</ref> On&nbsp;July&nbsp;4,<!-- 1954, --> the conservative ''[[Washington Times-Herald]]'' reported Buddy Hunt's arrest and conviction from the previous year, with Hunt's death giving the story wider circulation than it had previously received.<ref>Shelby Scates, ''Maurice Rosenblatt and the Fall of Joseph McCarthy'' (University of Washington Press, 2006), 97</ref><ref>{{cite news| date = July 28, 1954| title = Congressional Quiz| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19540728&id=i6leAAAAIBAJ&pg=2720,1918675&hl=en| newspaper = [[The Free Lance–Star]]
| location= [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]]| agency = [[Congressional Quarterly]]| access-date  = May 3, 2018| volume = 70| issue = 176}}</ref>

On July 9, Blick signed an affidavit exonerating Bridges and Welker of pressuring him, but his decision to prosecute Buddy Hunt under circumstances which did not normally warrant prosecution remained unexplained.<ref>James J. Kiepper, ''Styles Bridges: Yankee Senator'' (Sugar Hill, NH: Phoenix Publishing, 2001), 146</ref> On November 9, the Senate eulogized its members who had died recently and Bridges called Hunt "a man who demonstrated the best qualities of an American. He was loyal and he served well".<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/10/archives/senate-pays-tribute-to-4-who-have-died.html |title=Senate Pays Tribute to 4 who have Died |date=November 10, 1954 |access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> Hunt's cousin, William M. Spencer, president of the [[GE Capital Rail Services|North American Car Corporation]] in Chicago, wrote Welker after learning he had eulogized Hunt:<ref>Kiepper, 147; also quoted in part: Scates, 97-8</ref>
{{Blockquote|I was shocked when I read this. It recalled to my mind so vividly the conversation with Senator Hunt a few weeks before he died, wherein he recited in great detail the diabolical part you played following the unfortunate and widely publicized episode in which his son was involved. Senator Hunt, a close personal friend of mine, told me without reservation the details of the tactics you used in endeavoring to induce him to withdraw from the Senate, or at least not to be a candidate again. It seems apparent that you took every advantage of the misery which the poor fellow was suffering at the time in your endeavor to turn it to political advantage. Such procedure is as low a blow as could be conceived. I understood, too, from Senator Hunt, that Senator Bridges had been consulted by you and approved of your action in the matter.}}

Democrat [[Joseph C. O'Mahoney]] won Hunt's Senate seat in the election on November&nbsp;2, defeating the Republican nominee, Congressman [[William Henry Harrison III]].<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000088 O'Mahoney, Joseph Christopher - Biographical Information] - Congressional Biography Directory</ref>

Buddy Hunt later worked on the staff of Catholic Charities in Chicago and then for the Industrial Areas Foundation of Chicago. With his co-worker there, [[Nicholas von Hoffman]], he co-authored a paper, "The Meanings of 'Democracy': Puerto Rican Organizations in Chicago", that appeared in ''ETC: A Review of General Semantics'', an academic journal of linguistics in 1956.<ref>[[S.I. Hayakawa]], ed., ''Our Language and Our World: Selections from ETC: A Review of General Semantics'' (NY: Harper & Brothers, 1959), 52–65</ref> In October 2015, Buddy completed his first on-camera interview about his arrest and his father's suicide, for the Yahoo News documentary “Uniquely Nasty: The U.S. Government’s War on Gays.”<ref>{{cite news |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |date=October 7, 2015 |title=U.S. Senator Urges Probe Into Cold War-era Antigay Blackmail Plot |url=https://www.yahoo.com/politics/us-senator-urges-probe-into-cold-war-era-antigay-135116917.html |url-status= live| access-date = December 15, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231215005108/https://www.yahoo.com/news/web/20231215005108/https://news.yahoo.com/politics/us-senator-urges-probe-into-cold-war-era-antigay-135116917.html | archive-date= December 15, 2023|publisher=Yahoo News |location=San Jose, CA}}</ref> Buddy Hunt died in Chicago on January 6, 2020, at the age of 92.<ref>{{Cite web| website = Legacy.com | access-date = December 15, 2023| url = https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/lester-hunt-obituary?pid=194948270 | date=January 6, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231215003750/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/lester-hunt-obituary?pid=194948270 | archive-date = December 15, 2023 | title = Lester Hunt Obituary | quote = He was married to Jean Hunt for 58 years before her death in February 2017.... Lester's two daughters and granddaughters will miss his humor... }}</ref>