Two Royal Customs officials board the SS Lydia, and demand to inspect the ship’s cargo.  John Hancock, a Boston, Massachusetts, sea merchant, who owns the Lydia, refuses access to the agents, as they do not possess a writ of assistance (general search warrant).  One of the agents, who later sneaked into the hold, is physically removed by the ship’s crew.

       Postscripts:

• The customs officers requested of Jonathan Sewall, Attorney General, that charges be brought against Hancock. But Sewall declined, ruling that Hancock had violated no statute.
• Years later, Hancock’s credited him for this as initiating the first act of physical resistance against British rule in the colonies.

        [added 2/5/2021]