In October 1900, R.C.O. Benjamin, the African American editor of The Lexington Standard, escorted a group of black citizens downtown to register to vote. At Precinct 32 in Irishtown, a neighborhood called “Bloody B” for its political violence, white poll worker Michael Moynahan harassed the would-be voters and beat Benjamin with a revolver, leading to Moynahan’s arrest for assault. After his release from jail, Moynahan waited near Benjamin's home at 60 West Main Street until Benjamin returned and on Oct. 2, 1900, shot him six times in the back, killing him. Moynahan pleaded not guilty by self-defense, and the case was dismissed.