Republican North Dakota governor William “Wild Bill” Langer was known for being the people’s governor. According to the State of North Dakota, he busted corporations as a lawyer, issued a North Dakota wheat embargo against the United States as governor to force prices up, and used the National Guard to break up farm foreclosure auctions. But according to the U.S. Senate, he also engaged in the corrupt (but then accepted) practice of taking political “contributions” out of state employees’ salaries. At one point, however, per the 1934 issue of Time, he attempted to collect $179.50 from federal employees’ salaries. He was hit with 1.5 years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine.
The North Dakota Supreme Court promptly removed Langer from the governorship, but true to his nickname, he refused to go quietly. He declared martial law and retained the post de facto, while Liutenant Governor Ole Olson became the de jure governor. So North Dakota had two governors simultaneously. The legislature then “impeached” Langer and acquitted him before trying to impeach the new governor Olson. But Langer could not get the quorum needed, so his partisans resorted to beating and dragging members of the North Dakota Senate into the chamber to force a quorum.
According to The Bismark Tribune, Langer won out in the end. After four trials, he was acquitted of federal charges. Unlike other aforementioned politicians, he stormed back into North Dakota politics, recapturing the governorship in 1936. Eventually, he made it to the U.S. Senate, dying in office in 1959.
