John the Baptist was arrested and put in prison by Herod Antipas. John had condemned Herod because he had married his brother’s wife, Herodias, while his brother Philip was still alive. Herodias was an evil woman. She was very offended by John’s comments and had urged her husband to arrest him. So John ended up in prison for daring to speak out against King Herod. Herodias wanted her husband to execute John for treason, but Herod was afraid to do that because he knew that John was innocent. And besides, many of the people in Judea believed that he was a prophet.