A method of treating a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a subject in need thereof by administering to the subject an effective amount of a cationic substituted benzofuran compound. Methods of treating microbial infections, including infections from protozoan pathogens, such as Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, a Trypanosoma cruzi, and Plasmodium falciparum, and fungal pathogens, such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptococcus neoformans, in a subject in need thereof by administering to the subject an effective amount of a cationic substituted benzofuran compound. Methods of synthesizing novel cationic substituted benzofuran compounds and the novel compounds themselves.