The widely publicized Mountain Meadows massacre of September 11, 1857, during the Utah War, was a mass killing of about 130 emigrants, mostly from Arkansas and heading for California. It was led by a local leader and member of the church, John D. Lee over a Mormon militia. Lee was later excommunicated and executed for his role in the killings. After escalating rumors that some of the emigrants had participated in persecuting members of the church prior to the westward migration, the militia attacked the emigrants, and after forcing them to surrender, killed nearly all of them. A few children survived and were adopted by nearby residents. Several individuals involved in the massacre participated in a cover up, blaming the massacre on largely uninvolved Native American tribes.