Burlington, VT-Congressman Bernie Sanders today hosted the dedication ceremony renaming the Fair Haven Post Office in honor of Matthew Lyon. Lyon was one of the nation’s early defenders of the First Amendment, a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, Vermont’s fourth Representative to the United States Congress, and the founder of Fair Haven. Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service as well as Patricia Lyon Peterson, a descendent of Matthew Lyon, joined Sanders at the dedication ceremony. The official plaque renaming the post office was presented at the event.

Sanders said, “I am delighted to be here today to as we officially rename the Fair Haven Post Office in honor of Matthew Lyon. This post office will serve as a reminder to all those that visit here of the heroic efforts made in the past to found our nation and protect the rights of all to speak freely, no matter what political viewpoint or ideas they might have.”

Matthew Lyon was an important leader both for Vermont and the nation. He marched with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys and later served in the Vermont State Legislature as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. Lyon is best known for being the first person to be tried and convicted under the 1798 Sedition Act, a repressive law that curtailed dissent from citizens and members of the press who opposed President John Adams. Although he was jailed, he continued to exercise his Constitutional rights by expressing his views and actively opposing the Sedition Act’s anti-free-speech provisions. He was eventually pardoned by President Thomas Jefferson and, decades later, Congress passed a law that reimbursed his heirs for the fines he was forced to pay under the Sedition Act.

Sanders said, “Today we are honoring a great American. A member of the Green Mountain Boys, the founder of the great town of Fair Haven, and a strong voice for the people during the early days of our democracy. Naming the Fair Haven Post Office in honor of Matthew Lyon is a fitting tribute to his fight to protect the First Amendment and a reminder of Fair Haven’s connection to this great American patriot.