John D. Lee played a central role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre—helping plan the killings, deceiving the victims under a white flag, and later admitting to personally murdering “five emigrants and possibly six.” He also looted the bodies, claimed that God preserved his life during the attack, and slept soundly the night after the massacre. Yet, despite these actions—and his own confessions—Lee is still sometimes remembered as a scapegoat. He helped craft that narrative himself, not by initially denying his guilt but by protesting that he alone was punished while others escaped justice.
Editorial Note: This article draws upon insights and analysis found in “Massacre at Mountain Meadows” (Oxford University Press, 2008) and “Vengeance Is Mine” (Oxford University Press, 2023).
What Did John D. Lee Actually Do?
Although later portrayed by some as a scapegoat, the historical record shows that John D. Lee was deeply involved in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Here are several of his related actions, drawn directly from eyewitness accounts and trial records as cited in Massacre at Mountain Meadows and Vengeance Is Mine.
Lee Helped Devise the Massacre Plan
John D. Lee voted in favor of the massacre when discussing it with other leaders.
Similarly, he helped devise the initial plan:
Through interpreter Nephi Johnson, Lee suggested to the Paiute leaders “that he would try and get the emigrants out of their camp as well as giving up their arms after which they would kill them.”
Massacre at Mountain Meadows, p. 187
He Led the White Flag Deception That Sealed the Emigrants’ Fate
Under pretenses of safety, Lee convinced the emigrants to surrender—only to lead them to slaughter.
He Killed a Man Fleeing for His Life
When Lee’s gun misfired during an attempted killing away from the main massacre site, he chased the fleeing herdsman down and executed him.
He Rationalized Killing a Baby
John D. Lee killed a baby when the child’s father refused to give it up. As noted in Vengeance is Mine:
He killed the baby and the man with the same bullet. Defending his actions to the stunned Harmony residents, Lee explained that he did not “consider himself under the penalty of shedding innocent blood.” The killing of the baby, he said, could not be helped.
Vengeance Is Mine, p. 51.
He Admitted to Personally Killing at Least Five or Six People
Shortly before his execution, Lee confessed to murdering “five emigrants and possibly six” with his own hands, returning to the substance of his multiple confessions in the first weeks after the massacre.
He Looted the Dead
Lee secured valuable personal items from the corpses of his victims, once showing off a gold watch and chain to Gilbert Morse and boasting that he “had eight more like it.”
He Claimed God Spared Him During the Massacre
John D. Lee claimed that God protected his life as the massacre unfolded. As explained in Vengeance is Mine:
Though he had painted his face dark in disguise, riflemen spotted him on the knoll and fired, he explained. Bullets whizzed through his sleeve and hat, but “they didn’t even as much graze” him—evidence, Lee claimed, that “the Lord had blessed him.”
Vengeance Is Mine, p. 49.
He Helped Deliver and Relocate the Surviving Children
Lee was directly involved in transporting orphaned, bloody children from the massacre site. Lee also brought one of the children into his household, a five-year-old boy named Christopher Fancher whom Lee called “Charley.”
He Ate and Slept Comfortably After the Slaughter
On the night of the massacre, Lee showed no visible remorse, enjoying food and rest as though nothing had happened.
He Lied to Church Leadership to Cover up the Truth
Lee changed his story after receiving a letter from Brigham Young. The congregation that first heard his graphic confession was threatened with death if they repeated his account, and Lee’s subsequent official report to Young falsely claimed that the massacre was solely the work of Indians.
Why Is John D. Lee Sometimes Called a Scapegoat?
Despite his clear guilt, John D. Lee is sometimes remembered as a scapegoat—an individual who paid the price while others escaped justice.
While he wasn’t innocent, there are reasons some still use the “scapegoat” label, often to highlight the lack of broader accountability—though others, including descendants, invoke it to suggest he tried to prevent the massacre.
He Self-Identified as a Scapegoat
Lee was incensed that he was the only guilty party held accountable and complained that he was being scapegoated. This claim was later published in a posthumous memoir, Mormonism Unveiled.
No Other Leaders Went to Trial
John D. Lee was the only ringleader to be tried. No other key figures, including Isaac C. Haight and William H. Dame, faced justice.
Prosecutors Admitted That Politics Were Involved
Due to complicated events and motives, it took nearly two decades to resolve Lee’s court case. While evidence of Lee’s guilt was overwhelming, prosecutors also acknowledged ulterior motives:
[The] trial of John D. Lee in July 1875 was not for the purpose of convicting the prisoner, but to fix the odium of the Mountain Meadow butchery upon the Mormon Church.”
Vengeance Is Mine, p. 362.
A Myth Formed Early On
A false narrative emerged that John D. Lee was being scapegoated to protect other participants from prosecution. Brigham Young and federal officials favored additional trials, but many indicted men evaded arrest.
The resulting optics of Lee’s singular treatment fed the narrative that he was taking the blame for everyone.
Pioneers Disproportionately Placed Blame on Lee
In the years after the massacre, leaders like Isaac D. Haight publicly shifted guilt to Lee as they disguised their own roles. It soon became popular to blame Lee by name when speaking about the massacre:
Over the years, it became increasingly easy for massacre perpetrators and their families to shift all blame to Lee—the only man convicted of the crime—even though Isaac Haight recruited Lee, William Dame authorized the final killings, and dozens of other men participated in the mass murder.
Vengeance Is Mine, p.. 383.
Lee’s Execution Cemented the Scapegoat Myth
John D. Lee was sentenced to death for his prominent role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He viewed himself as a ritual sacrifice, painfully aware that no other leaders had been prosecuted. In turn, fellow ringleaders like Haight and Dame emphasized Lee’s execution to hide their own roles.
His Church Membership Was Posthumously Reinstated
Although excommunicated by Brigham Young, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reinstated John D. Lee’s membership at the request of his descendants in 1961. Some have interpreted this as a sign that he was innocent.
The Narrative Is Still Repeated
Descendants of John D. Lee (such as Senator Mike Lee) and various media outlets continue to frame Lee as a scapegoat, renewing the complicated narrative more than 160 years later.
Conclusion
John D. Lee was guilty—but he wasn’t the only one. The full story includes a network of leaders who planned the Mountain Meadows Massacre, killed the emigrants, and then let one man take the fall.
The scapegoat narrative is problematic when it suggests Lee was innocent, but it gains meaning when used to expose how others escaped accountability.
Further Reading
- Was There a Cover-Up After the Mountain Meadows Massacre?
- Why Did Brigham Young Wait So Long to Excommunicate John D. Lee?
- Who Was Jacob Hamblin?
- What Really Happened Between Brigham Young and Jim Bridger?
- Was Marcus Whitman a Missionary—Or a Murderer?
John D. Lee: Mountain Meadows Massacre “Scapegoat” Resources
- Massacre at Mountain Meadows: An American Tragedy (Oxford)
- Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath (Oxford)
- Mike Lee’s John D. Lee Scapegoat Tweet (X)
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee Vs. A Firing Squad (True West Magazine)
- John Doyle Lee: Zealot-Pioneer, Builder-Scapegoat (Arthur H. Clark)
One reply on “Was John D. Lee a Scapegoat for the Mountain Meadows Massacre?”
You might be interested to know that if one asks the question: “What has Utah Senator Mike Lee said about John D. Lee and the Mountain Meadows Massacre?,” Google AI says: “Utah Senator Mike Lee has not made any widely publicized statements directly addressing the Mountain Meadows Massacre or John D. Lee’s role in it. While he is a descendant of John D. Lee, he has generally avoided public discussion of the massacre and his ancestor’s involvement.” Thus, it shows no awareness at all of Sen. Lee’s post on X (https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1920660484182696217). How does one get AI to correct itself? ~ Tom Gorey