James Hamlet, a porter in a Water Street store, was arrested on the basis of an affidavit from Mary Brown of Baltimore, signed with her mark. The black community quickly rallied and raised $800 to redeem Hamlet. The Liberator reported that a huge rally, "the first public meeting ever conducted by colored people in the [City Hall] Park," welcomed Hamlet home. On October 1, more than 1,500 people "two thirds of them women of color" thronged the Zion Church. Legal arguments mixed with prayers and calls to action.