 In response to public outrage generated by the "Expositor", the Nauvoo City Council passed an ordinance declaring the newspaper a public nuisance, designed to promote violence against Smith and his followers.They reached this decision after some discussion, including citation of William Blackstone's legal canon, which defined a libelous press as a public nuisance.According to the Council's minutes, Smith said he "would rather die tomorrow and have the thing smashed, than live and have it go on, for it was exciting the spirit of mobocracy among the people, and bringing death and destruction upon us."