After Order 66 was called and the Republic was reorganized into the first galactic Empire,
a group of Senators, led by Mon Mothma was quickly arrested and brought to one of the
Galaxy’s toughest prisons before being executed.
So why did Palpatine arrest these 63 Senators and did any survive?
I’m going to break down exactly why palpatine executed these senators and how it led directly
into the rebellion.
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Exactly one day after the formation of the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Security Bureau
arrested 63 imperial senators, charging them with conspiracy and treason against emperor
Palpatine.
Every senator that was arrested, belonged to a group of senators known as the delegation
of 2000, who were opposed to the rule of the emperor, and were worried about his increasing
power.
This group of 2000 was actually formed during the Clone Wars, as the powers of Supreme Chancellor
continued to grow as the war went on.
The group was formed in response to Palpatine’s growing power, in an attempt to force him
to return his emergency powers as soon as the Clone Wars war was over.
Of course we know this would never happen, because Chancellor Palpatine had been granted
the legal power to create a new Empire, and appoint himself to be the Emperor.
But make sure you let me know down below who your favourite Republic Senator was.
And no, you can’t say Jar Jar, because he was a representative, not a senator.
The group of 2000 created and signed a document known as the Petition of 2000, which was a
formal protest against Palpatine’s massive amount of executive power and his emergency
powers, which he still had from the Clone Wars.
Unfortunately, the members who signed the petition were ultimately signing their death
notice, because Palpatine was furious.
He immediately ordered the Imperial security bureau to investigate the people involved
in the group, and hunt them down for execution.
Immediately after declaration of the Empire, the senators were arrested on Coruscant, and
the HoloNet news network reported on the incident, calling it a dramatic victory against the
Jedi rebellion.
The network also revealed the names of the Senators arrested, which included: shea sadashassa
from the planet Herdessa, Ivor Drake, from the planet Kestos Minor, Fang Zar, From Sern
Prime, Steamdrinker from Tynna and Tanner Cadaman from the planet Feenix.
These were the only names from the 63 that were revealed by the Imperial News station,
with the other names being kept confidential to protect the safety and security of the
empire.
Interestingly, Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were actually also arrested, but were
quickly released after pretending that they were completely loyal and dedicated to the
protection of the Empire.
Following the arrests, all 63 senators were moved onto a Theta-class transport shuttle
by Coruscant Guard shock troopers, being transported to the Arrth-Eno prison complex on Coruscant.
Once there, covert rebel agents on Coruscant attempted to rescue them and even tried to
assassinate Emperor Palpatine.
This failed rescue mission and assasination attempt on Palpatine’s life eventually led
him to detonate blast charges on the prison complex where the senators were being held,
killing all of them.
Mon Mothma’s experiences with the arrests were documented in a collection called “The
Rebel files”, which were a non-electronic central data repository for sensitive rebel
information.
Mothma recounted how she and Bail Organa avoided being sent to the Coruscant Imperial prison
after professing their fake loyalty to the empire.
Mon Mothma and Bail Organa deeply regretted their actions, because they led to their lives
being spared, while other senators were being killed.
Mothma stated that her guilt after the incident for being one of the only survivors was one
of the main reasons she fought so strongly against the Empire, and went on to form the
Rebel alliance.
So that is the reason Palpatine arrested and executed 63 Senators after the declaration
of the Empire and the creation of his new order.
Palpatine considered each member who signed the petition of 2000, to be a traitor and
threat to the empire.
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