patrick.net

Came across a lot of talk today about all the German Saboteurs and Spies arrested and convicted in the 1910s, during WW1 when we were not a belligerent.

A huge, but seldom discussed incident, the German Sabotage of the Black Tom Munitions storage facility in NJ, 1916 which resulted in an explosion so massive it damaged the Statue of Liberty and broke windows in Times Square, 100s were injured and 7 died. While the individuals responsible ranged from a Slovak immigrant, to pro-German Irish Republicans (direct descendants of the Finians, Irishmen who attempted to invade Canada from the US), to Indian Independence actors, it was linked back to the German network described below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_explosion

Yes, I said Indian Independence movements, smuggling guns out of SFBA by Germans for anti-British Indian groups, another WW1 plot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu–German_Conspiracy

Werner Horn wasn't hanged because he took steps not to destroy the bridge when it was occupied by people, aborting several times. For that, in an age of more honest prosecution, he only received a conviction for "placing explosives on a common carrier" or such like.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_Vanceboro_international_bridge_bombing

He was recruited by the German spymaster in the USA, the ostensible Military Attache Franz von Papen, later vice-Chancellor in the first Hitler Government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_von_Papen

All under the guidance of the Ambassador of Germany, Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Heinrich_von_Bernstorff

Diversion of Phenol (which has a wide range of chemical applications) - not strictly sabotage but definitely an attempt to hijack US production
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Phenol_Plot

Forget the Lusitania. Any one of these deeds was enough to justify US entrance into WW1.