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One day after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Imperial Intelligence arrested sixty-three Imperial senators on charges of conspiracy and treason. All those arrested were members of the Delegation of 2,000, a group of senators who made a failed bid to limit the growing executive powers of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine during the Clone Wars. The arrests were reported on by the state-sanctioned HoloNet News, which declared the event a "dramatic victory over the Jedi rebellion."

Prelude[]

As the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems entered its final stages in the year 19 BBY,^[6] Republic Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine^[1]—secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious^[5]—continued to gain emergency powers from the Galactic Senate. In response, former senators of the Loyalist Committee, displeased with the Chancellor's increasing authority, formed the Delegation of 2,000 to counter Palpatine's growing political power.^[1] The delegation crafted the Petition of 2,000, a formal protest to Palpatine's political gains and an effort to return emergency powers back to the Senate at the end of the war.^[7]

Palpatine eventually sent his Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, to the planet Mustafar to destroy the Executive Separatist Council and shut down the Separatist Droid Army, effectively ending the Clone Wars. Meanwhile, before a gathering of the Senate, the Chancellor declared the Jedi, the guardians of the Republic, to be traitors and revealed the foiling of a supposed Jedi rebellion. With strong public support, Palpatine took the opportunity to proclaim that the Republic would be transformed into the first Galactic Empire, with himself ruling as Emperor—though certain senators, such as Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala, only looked on with dismay.^[5]

The arrests[]

One day after the formation of the Empire, Imperial Intelligence,^[1] the state's espionage and anti-sedition agency,^[8] cracked down on Palpatine's political opponents on Coruscant, conducting a mass arrest of sixty-three senators—all signatories of the Petition of 2,000—on charges of conspiracy and treason. Included in the arrests were a number of senators from prominent Core Worlds and many alien senators from the Outer Rim Territories. Senators Mon Mothma and Bail Organa were detained during the incident but later released after professing their loyalty to the Empire. Those arrested were herded onto a Theta-class shuttle by Imperial clone troopers.^[1] Following^[4] the initial day of the arrests,^[1] Senator Tanner Cadaman was arrested within several days, while Senator Ivor Drake was arrested shortly after Padmé Amidala's funeral.^[4]

Aftermath[]

Post-arrests[]

Following the arrests, HoloNet News,^[1] the official state-sanctioned news agency of the Empire,^[9] reported on the incident, labeling it a "dramatic victory over the Jedi rebellion." Before press time, a partial list of those taken into custody was released, revealing that Senators Shea Sadashassa of Herdessa, Ivor Drake of Kestos Minor, Fang Zar of Sern Prime, Streamdrinker of Tynna, and Tanner Cadaman of Feenix were among those arrested.^[1] Also arrested was Nee Alavar, who vanished shortly after her arrest.^[4]

Sadashassa, Drake, and Cadaman were ultimately incarcerated at the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant.^[10] Drake was pressured into identifying her allies, but refused.^[4] They were executed there shortly after the Battle of Yavin when a Rebel Alliance mission to assassinate Palpatine and rescue imprisoned senators sympathetic to the Rebellion went awry.^[10]

Reminiscence[]

The Rebel Files, a non-electronic central data repository of sensitive rebel information, documented Mon Mothma's recollections of the arrests, as she recounted how she and Bail Organa avoided being arrested after professing their Imperial loyalty. Mothma noted that her guilt over having done so motivated her to continue secretly opposing the Emperor and building up the Rebel Alliance.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The senatorial arrests were first mentioned in the current Star Wars canon in Star Wars: The Rebel Files, a 2017 reference book written by Daniel Wallace.^[1] The event was originally created for the Star Wars Legends article "Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241," written by Wallace and Pablo Hidalgo for the eighty-fourth issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine^[11] on September 26, 2005.^[12]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The Rebel Files (First mentioned)
• Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
• Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

Notes and references[]