how was Adam's able to defend the British soldiers accused of killing five Boston citizens without destroying his reputation as an advocate of the revolutionary cause?

Everyone knew John Adams to be a fair man. In the start of the trial of the British soldiers, people began to question Adams' motives. He did not want the British troops there in the first place and was against the King sending them there, but when the troops had killed colonists he was their lawyer defending them? This did not make sense to the colonists ... but they knew him to be a fair man. John Adams saw that they did act maybe in self defense, as he knew the crowd was shouting awful things at them, along with throwing rocks and sticks. He acted without bias in defending these men, while continuing to be a loyal Patriot. The colonists began to see this, and saw how John Adams wanted justice and liberty more than anything else. After these trials, Adams was regarded a hero, and gained enormous political status in his career from being the fair man he was.