In August 1678, an Anglican cleric named Titus Oates claimed to have uncovered a massive Catholic conspiracy dubbed the Popish Plot. Oates insisted that the Jesuits were planning to assassinate King Charles II, massacre Protestants, and place the King's Catholic brother, James, on the English throne. Despite Oates's dubious past and inconsistent testimony, England was gripped by intense anti-Catholic paranoia.
His wild fabrications were taken seriously by Parliament and the courts, leading to widespread panic across London. Oates was treated as a hero, awarded a luxurious apartment in Whitehall Palace, and given a generous state pension. Over the next three years, Oates's accusations led to the arrest and trial of dozens of innocent people.
At least 22 men were executed on charges of treason based entirely on perjured testimony. The mass hysteria only began to wane when inconsistencies in Oates's stories became too glaring to ignore, and Charles II personally mistrusted him. By 1685, following the ascension of King James II, Oates was finally arrested for perjury.
He was sentenced to be stripped of his clerical vestments, whipped through the streets of London, pilloried annually, and imprisoned for life. However, Oates survived his brutal punishment and was later pardoned during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, receiving a small pension until his death in 1705.