By this time, Crapsey had become a socialist. In October 1912, Crapsey learned of a strike at a mill in Little Falls, New York. In spite of the fact that both public assembly and public speaking were prohibited, Crapsey spoke to a crowd in a park next to the mill about the Sermon on the Mount. A police officer arrested him and took him to jail. At the jail, the Little Falls police chief asked him to "please go home." Crapsey replied, "I can't go home I'm under arrest." The chief told the judge that Crapsey was charged with "disorderly conduct." Crapsey pleaded "not guilty." The judge then discharged Crapsey.