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The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on 27 June 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. At the time of his death, Smith was serving as the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States. He was killed while being imprisoned in a jail in Carthage, Illinois, on charges relating to his destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper whose first and only edition alleged that Smith had been practicing plural marriage and that he intended to set himself up as a theocratic king. While in prison awaiting trial, an armed mob of men with painted faces stormed the jail and shot Smith and his brother Hyrum. Latter Day Saints view Joseph and Hyrum as Christian martyrs.