How did Cicero’s actions during the Catilinarian conspiracy later lead to his exile?
Cicero’s actions during the Catilinarian conspiracy led to his exile because he ordered the execution of Roman citizens without a trial.12
While Cicero was consul in 63 BCE, he uncovered a plot by Catiline to overthrow the government. After securing evidence of the conspiracy, Cicero had the captured conspirators executed on December 5, 63 BCE, by decree of the Senate.31
This decision became a major political liability. In 58 BCE, Publius Clodius, who had become a tribune, introduced a bill that specifically forbade the execution of a Roman citizen without a trial. Clodius then passed a second law that declared Cicero an exile, forcing him to flee Rome. Cicero remained in exile until he was recalled in 57 BCE through the efforts of Pompey and the tribune Titus Annius Milo.2