The Innocents were an outlaw gang of road agents

Highwayman

A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

 from Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 that operated during the gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 of the 1860s. The gang attempted to steal gold while it was being transported and killed many travelers who resisted. Sheriff Henry Plummer

Henry Plummer

Henry Plummer served as sheriff of what became Bannack, Montana, from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864, when he was hanged without legal system trial by the controversial Montana Vigilantes. [Notes of historical clarification: the original Idaho Territory, declared July 4, 1863 at Lewiston,...

 of Bannack, Montana

Bannack, Montana

Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...

 was accused of leading the group. Plummer was executed by a group of vigilante

Vigilante

A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

s along with several other alleged members in January 1864.

Criminal activities

Some scholars believe that the gang consisted of over one hundred members at its height. Their headquarters was supposedly located at the Rattlesnake Ranch, twelve miles outside of Virginia City. The gang allegedly killed over one hundred people and stole a significant amount of gold while it was being transported the seventy mile distance between Virginia City

Virginia City, Montana

Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...

 and Bannack. The gang is believed by many to have been split into units in order to rob groups in different towns. Watchmen were allegedly placed in mine offices and gambling offices to determine when gold would be shipped. Many residents soon became frustrated by the amount of crime that was occurring. In 1863 they formed a committee of vigilantes (the Montana Vigilantes) to combat the rash of murders and robberies.

Vigilante justice

Plummer was initially suspected of criminal activity after two residents who had been robbed claimed that they had recognized him during the robberies. Another local resident who had been robbed claimed that after he confronted Plummer about the danger of the roads Plummer offered to return some of his money to him. The vigilante committee arrested three men in Nevada City

Nevada City, Montana

Nevada City was one of the two major centers of Commerce in what was known as one of the "Richest Gold Strikes in the Rocky Mountain West", it shared that role with its sister city Virginia City. The town site is located 1½ miles west of Virginia City, Montana on Hwy 287. Today the town is managed...

 in December 1863 and charged them with murder. One man was executed and the group banished the other two. After hearing of this event, local boot-maker George Lane

Clubfoot George

George Lane, better known as Clubfoot George, was an alleged outlaw who was hanged on January 13, 1864, in Virginia City, Montana. Lane was later alleged to be a member of a criminal gang known as the Gang of Innocents and sentenced to death...

 rode to Bannack to tell Plummer what had occurred. For the next month, the vigilante committee arrested many local men. The sentences that they passed varied from execution to flogging to banishment. Shortly before one man was hanged, he told the assembled crowd that Plummer was the ringleader behind the recent crime spree. This confirmed the suspicions held by the vigilantes and they soon arrested Plummer. After being arrested, he attempted to bribe his captors but was unsuccessful. Between December 1863 and February 1864 the vigilante committee executed Plummer and twenty two alleged members of his gang, including George Lane

Clubfoot George

George Lane, better known as Clubfoot George, was an alleged outlaw who was hanged on January 13, 1864, in Virginia City, Montana. Lane was later alleged to be a member of a criminal gang known as the Gang of Innocents and sentenced to death...

. At one point the vigilantes assembled a force of over 500 men and sealed off Virginia City in order to catch gang members. The gallows on which Plummer was hanged had been built by his own request during a previous case. Over 5,000 people assembled to watch members of the gang being led to the gallows.