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On November 2, 1970, actress Jane Fonda was arrested at Cleveland Airport for smuggling a large amount of unidentified pills into the United States from Canada. She was booked on charges of drug smuggling at the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office in Cleveland, Ohio, where the above mug shot was taken. When the pills, discovered in a plastic bag in her luggage, turned out to be only vitamins and non-prescription supplements, and the drug smuggling charges were dropped. Unfortunately, Fonda had also scuffled with police during her arrest for the drug charges, so upon her release, she was immediately taken into custody and booked for allegedly kicking a cop during the airport incident. The second mug shot, in which Fonda famously poses with a raised, clenched fist, was taken on November 3, 1970.
In the early 1970s, Fonda was famous more for her activism and radicalism than for her acting. Although she had not yet earned the scornful nickname “Hanoi Jane,” she was well on her way, associating herself with a wide range of leftist causes, ranging from Vietnam War protests to Native American and Women’s Rights. By the time of her arrest, Fonda was allegedly under FBI surveillance, most likely due to her having illegally talked to soldiers earlier in 1970 for her anti-war FTA Road Show and having a relationship with Black Panther leader Huey Newton.

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