Joseph Elsberry McWilliams (March 23, 1904 – June 30, 1996) was an American right-wing political figure of the 1940s, and the principal defendant in the federal Smith Act sedition trial of 1944.
In his earlier days McWilliams was well known for using an American-flag-draped covered Conestoga wagon for publicizing his rallies and speeches, as well as for drawing attention to his cause.
"[3] In 1940, McWilliams ran for Congress as a Republican in the 18th Congressional District of New York, which is around what was then the heavily German Yorkville section of Manhattan.
In July 1940, he was found guilty of disorderly conduct for making an antisemitic speech and ordered to either serve a 30-day jail term or pay a $50 fine.
[10] After World War II, he briefly worked on the campaign of North Carolina Democratic Senator Robert Rice Reynolds, who had been a fascist sympathizer.