During World War I, Montana passed the harsh Montana Sedition Act of 1918, making criticism of the government, flag, or military punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Seventy-nine people, many of them workers and immigrants, were convicted for remarks that were often casual or harmless. Although the law was repealed in 1921, the convictions remained until Governor Brian Schweitzer issued posthumous pardons on May 3, 2006, in the Montana State Capitol rotunda—the same building where the law had been passed.