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CHURCH COMMITTEE REPORTS

1841
ApPENDIX A
Nicholas deB. Katzenbach
Old Orchard Road, Armonk, New York 10504
December 15, 1975
Dear Senator Morgan,
This letter is in response to your request for me to submit
for the record documentation on several points which came up
during my testimony on December 3, 1975. (See page 2133 of the
transcript. )
With respect to my testimony that the Klan took credit for
the murders of the three civil rights workers, Chaney, Schwerner,
and Goodman, this fact was reflected in Bureau memoranda at the
time. One of many memoranda received by the Department in the
summer of 1965 concerning the investigation of the murders
specifically reported that at a meeting of Hinds County Klaverns
on June 26, 1964, Billy Buckles, the Grand Giant, referred to the
disappearance of the three civil rights workers and stated, "now
they know what we will do, we have shown them what we will do,
and we will do it again if necessary. "
With respect to whether all (or sUbstantially all) of the
members of certain Klaverns of the Klan participated in or
endorsed unlawful acts, I call your attention to the following:
The opinion of Judge Wisdom in United
States v. Original Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan, 250 F. Supp. 330 (E.D. La.
1965). (Attachment A)
Statement of Mr. Hoover before the
National Commission on the Causes and
Prevention of Violence, September 18,
1968, especially pages 8 - 9. (Attachment
B)
842
NOT~: The request for documentation referred to above as appearing at
transcript page 2133 can be found in this volume at page 244.
. Tht; materials referred to above as attachments A, B, C, and D can be found
In thIs .volume as attachments 1, 2, 3, and 4 at pages 843, 870, 883, and 888
respectIvely.
An "Imperial Executive Order" issued by
Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers (who was later
convicted and sentenced for criminal acts
of violence) to "all officers and members"
(emphasis added) instructing them on
methods "for effective combat against the
enemy." This was reprinted on pages 5 - 9
of Attack on Terror by Don Whitehead.
(Attachment C)
A paper written by John Doar and Dorothy
Landsberg entitled, "The Performance of
the FBI in Investigating Violations of
Federal Laws Protecting the Right to Vote
-- 1960-1967". (Attachment D)
As I am sure you appreciate, my own access to relevant
documentation concerning the connection of certain Klans or
Klaverns with unlawful activities is limited, but I feel sure the
Committee staff could get volumes of similar information from
Bureau files.
I have reviewed my testimony concerning the methods
used by the Bureau to disrupt Klan acts of violence (especially
pages 2099 - 2100) and am satisfied that it is accurate as reported.
I believe that you misunderstood that testimony when you stated
that you believed that I had testified that "anything (I) could do
to disrupt the Klan was justifiable." (Page 2130) However, in
responding to your question, I did not mean to imply that I
thought that you had mischaracterized my testimony purposely,
and to the extent my response could be so read, I apologize.
Sincerely,
lJI~hf{~
The Hon. Robert Morgan
Room 4104
Dirksen Senate Office Building
First Street and Constitution Avenue
Washington, DC 20510
cc: Senator Frank Church, Chairman
Select Committee on Intelligence Activities
NOTE: The request of documentation referred to above as appearing at
transcript page 2133 can be found in this volume at page 244. .
The materials referred to above as attachments A, B, C, and D can be found
in this volume as attachments 1, 2, 3, and 4 at pages 838, 865, 878, and 883
respectively.
843
ATTACHMENT 1
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
2. Stanton Construction Company is
the principal debtor and its rights will he
adjudicated in the within proceedings
so that it is an indispens:' hIe party pl~intiff.
:1. Rockwood Equipment L"'l,'inj1;
Company is allegedly tho' assil-,n"r "f the
claims for rental of equipment to Westinghouse
as assignee, and its righb '.viII
be adjudicated in the within proceedings
so that it is an indispensable party r;J:lintiff.
The wherefore clause in the motion
seeks a dismissal of the 1'0mpJaint or, in
the alternative, to compel plaintiff, Westinghouse,
to delete th" Bnrou!"h of
NantY-Glo and Lower Yoder Municipal
Authority as named 'plaintiffs and i"ill
Rockwood and Stanton as partirs plaintiff.
No affidavits were submitted
[1] In our opinion, Westinghou~e is
the real party in interf.'t and therefore
the names of the mun;"ipalities should
be stricken from the caption of the (':lse.
Rules 17(a) and 21, Fed.R.Civ.P.
UNITE!) STATES of America, by Nicholas
deB. KATZENBACH, Attorney Gen·
ernt flf the United States, PlaIntiff,
v.
Ol:lGlNAL KNIGHTS OF the KU KLUX
flLAN, an unincorporated Assocla·
tion, et al., Defendants.
elv. A. No. 15793.
United States District Court
E. D. Louisiana,
New Orleans Division.
Dec. I, 1965.
Action by United States against klan
for injunction to protect Negro citizens
seekinl!' to assert their civil rights. The
threc-judge District Court, Wisdom, Circuit
Judge, held that evidence established
that klan relied on systematic economic
coercion, intimidation, and physical violence
in attempting to frustrate national
policy expressed in civil rights legislation
and that such conduct must be enjoined.
Order accordingly.
3. I" junction ¢::>128
Evidence established that klan and
indidllual klansmen had adopted pattern
lind practice of intimidating, threaten-
1. Injunction e=>U4(3)
Private organizations and private
Iwrsons are not beyond reach of civil
rights act authorizing Attorney General
tn SUI' f',r injunction. Civil Rights Act of
1957. ~ 131 arid (a) as amended 42 U.S.
e.A. ~ 1971 and (a) and §§ 1983, 1985
l:n; l~ U.S.C.A. §§ 241,242.
An appropriate ordl'l will be Plltered.
2. Injunction ¢::>127
Evidence as to klan activities was admis~
ible, in suit by United States against
[3] Finally, in' our opinion, Rock- a klan for injunction to protect Negro
wood Equipment Leasin/f Company, the citizens seeking to assert their civil
assignor of the leases to Westil1p,h'",~e right~" U.S.C.A.Const. Amends. 14, 15;
is not an indispensabl.. party plaint iff. Civil Rights Act of 1957, § 131 as amend-
An assigl10r is l:enerally Il(.ithel' "11:,l pI! 111l1! Civil Ri/fhts Act of 1964, §§ 201,
parI>' in interest nor "lIl iruli"p"II.;"I>I" 2JH;, 7111, 707, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971,20lJua,
party. 2 Barron and 1I0ltZllff, I'",!pral'; 2n()l'a;'. 2000e, 2000e-6; Voting Ril:hts
Practice and Procedure. *482, Pl'. I: l!l: Act uf 1965, § 1 et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. §
~ 512, pp. 102-104; S 513.2, p. 111; 3 1973 d seq.; 28 U.S.C.A. § 1345.
Moore, Federal PracticF. ~ 17.0!!, p. 1~39:
Wright, Federal Courts, Pl'. 257 258
(1963).
[2] Further, in our opinion, Stanton
Construction Company is not an indispensable
party plaintiff. An examination
of the bonds att.'1(,lll'd to the complaint
discloses that tho .\' are con11 ,\('ts
of ·suretyship. We are Iiot aware of ',ny
authority nor has the d"rcntlant hl'Ought
allY to our attention in "'hich it has j,p,'ll
held, or even contended. that the principal
as a matter of law is an indispensable
party plainti rf in 1m aclinn
against the surety.
844
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL l(NIGHTS Of KU KLUX KLAN
n. Co"stitlltionaJ I,a\\' <>311
Inasmuch as defendant admitted that
ldan's method" w('re lawless, admissibili-
10. In,junction =128
Evidence established that defendant
klan had appeared in action by United
States for injunction to protect Negro
citizens seeking to assert their civil
righl~ contrary to contention that the
klan did not pxist, had ceased to exist, or
had made I~() appearance in cause. U.S.
C.A,Const. Amend. 14; Civil Rights Act
of 1957, § 1:31 as amended and Civil
Rights Act of 1964, §§ 201, 206, 701, 70'7,
42 U.R,CA ~§ l!l7t, 2000a, 2000a-5,
2000r, 200(1,,··(;; VOtilll( Rights Act of
1965, ~ I et Hl'l{ .. ,12 U.S.C.A. § 1973 et
seq.; 28 U,S C.A. ~ l:Jlli.
9. InJnnction =128
Evidenc~ estahlished that defendant
association \\'a~ not a bona fide independent
organization but was the defendant
klan thinly disguised under rellpectable
title. U's,C.A.Const. Amends. 14, 15;
Civil Rights Act of 1957, § 131 as amended
and Civil Rights Act of 1964, §§ 201,
206,701. 707, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a,
2000a-5, 2000e. 2000e-6; Voting Rights
Act of 1965, § 1 et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. §
1973 et seq,; 28 U.S,C.A. § 1345.
!l. ('ourts (~"'?(l2.:l·(ll)
In it~ ""veldgn capacity. the nation
had prop"" i"f('l'I",t in preserving integri~
ty of its jndicial sys('Ill, in preventing
interference with court orders, and in
making meaningfnl hoth nationally created
and nationally guaranteed civil rights.
U.S.C.A.COIIHt. Amends. 14, 15; Civil
Righb Act of 1957, § 131 as amended
and Civil Rill'hts Act of 1964, §§ 201,
206,701,707,42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a,
2000a-5, 2000e. 2000e-6; Voting Rights
Act of 191>5. § 1 et seq, 42 U.S.e.A. §
1973 ct A(q.; 28 U.S.C.A. § 1345.
7. Courts =2G2,3(1l)
Federal district court had jurisdiction
of action by United States against
a klan for injunction to protect Negro
citizens seeking to assert their civil
5. Insurrection and Sedition =1
Legal tolerance of secret societies
must cease at point where their members
assume supra-governmental powers and
take law in their own hands.
6. Courts <::=>262.3(8)
Where it appeared that defendant
klan, klan members, and klan's dummy
front association had interfered with
Negro citizens' rights derived from or
protected by Constitution and recognized
in vadous civil ril'hts statutes, defendants
would be enjoined from interfering
with court orders and with civil rights
of Negro citizens. U.S.C.A.Const.
Amends. 14, 15; Civil Rights Act of
1957, § 131 as amended and Civil Rights
Act of 1964, §§ 201, 206, 701, 707, 42
U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a, 2000a-5, 2000e,
2000e-6; Voting Rights Act of 1965, § 1
et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. § 1973 et seq.; 28
U;S.C.A. § l:l45.
4. Injunction =l2R
Evidencc cstablished that to attain
its ends, klan exploited forces of hate,
prejudice, and ignorance, relied on systematic
economic coercion, varieties of
intimidation and physical violence in attempting
to frustrate national policy expressed
in civil rights legislation. U.S.
e.A.Const. Amends. 14, 15; Civil Rights
Act of 1957, § 131 as amended and Civil
Rights Act of 1%4, §§ 201, 206, 701, 707,
42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a, 2000a-5,
2000e, 2000e-6; Voting Rights Act of
1965, § 1 et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. § 1973
et seq.; 28 U.S.C.A. § 1345.
Cih~ u.s 2:-l() F.Supp. :p\ r j"lj:-J)
ing, and coercmg Negro citizens for pur- right~. L.S.C.A.Const.. Amends. 14, 15;
pose of interfering with their civil rights. Civil Rights Act ef 1957, § 131 as amendU.
S.C.A.Const. Amends. 14, 15; Civil ed ;lTIU Ci\·jJ Right.s Act of 1964, §§ 201,
Rights Act of 1957, § 131 as amended 206,701. 707. 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a,
and Civil Rights Act of 1964, §§ 201, 206, 2000a-5, 2000e. 2000e-6; Voting Rights
701, 707, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a, Act of 1%3, § 1 et scq., 42 U.S.C.A. §
2000a-5,2000c, 2000c-6; Voting Rights 1973 d feq.; 28 U.S.C.A. § 1345.
Act of 1965, § 1 ct seq., 42 U.S.C.A.
§ 1973 et seq.; 28 U.S.C.A. § 1345.
845
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
ty of list of officers and members of
klan in action for inj unction to protect
Negro citizens in asserting. their civil
rights was not precluded on basis that
rights of members of an association to
pursue lawful interest privately and to
associate freely with others are protected
by the 14th Amendment. U.S.C.A-Const.
Amend. 14; Civil Rights Act of 1957, §
.131 and (a) as amended 42 U.S.C.A. §
1971 and (a) and §§ 1983, 1985(3); 18
U.S.C.A. §§ 241, 242.
12. injunction G=>128
Evidence established that defendants
had intimidated, harassed, and othel'Wisc
interfered with Negroes exercising their
civil rights, persons encouraging Negroes
to assert their rights, public officials,
police officers, and other persons seeking
to accord Negroes their rights and that
acts were part of pattern and practice of
defendants to maintain total segregation
of races in parish. U.S.C.A.Const.
Amends. 14, 15; Civil Rights Act of 1957,
§ 131 as amended and Civil Rights Act
of 1964, §§ 201, 206, 701, 707, 42 U.S.C.A.
§§ 1971, 2000a, 2000a-5, 2000e, 2000~;
Voting Rights Act of 1965, § 1 et seq.,
42 U.S.C.A. § 1973 et seq.; 28 U.S.C.A.
§ 1345.
13. Courts =2624(11)
Acts otherwise lawful may become
unlawful and be enjoined under Civil
Rights Act of 1957 if purpose and effect
of acts is to interfere with right to vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1957, § 131 as amended
42 U.S.C.A. § 1971.
1(, Civil Rights G=>1
Elections G=>319
Civil Rights Act of 1957 applies to
private persons and applies to interfering
with right to register and protects Negro
citizens against coercion, intimidation
and violencc. Civil Rights Act of 1957,
.§131 as amended 42 U.S.C.A. § 1971.
tion that interferes with enjoyment of
civH rights secured by the Act. Civil
Rights Act of 1964, §§ 203, 206(a), 301,
701 et seq., 707, 42 U.S.C,A. §§ 2000a~2,
2000a-·5(a), 2000b, 2000e et seq., 2000e-6.
16. Injunction =127
Defendant:;' interference with rights
of Negroes to use public facilities was
relevant to cause of action of United
States against klan and its members for
injunction protecting Negro citizens seeking
to assert their rights, where that interference
was part of pattern and practice
of total resistance to Negroes' exercise
of civil rights. Civil Rights Act of
1964, §§ 203. 206(a), 301, 701 et seq., 707,
42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000a-2, 2000a-5(a),
2000b, 2000e et seq., 2000~.
17. F.quity G=>55
The Nation has a responsibility to
supply a meaningful remedy· for right
it crpates or guarantees.
18. Elections <l:=>9
Statute that is necessary and proper
legislation to carry out power of Congress
to regulate elections for federal office
may also be appropriate legislation to enforce
provisions of 15th, 14th, and 13th
Amendments. U.S.C.A.Const. Amends.
13, 14, 15.
] 9. J<~ledlons C=>4
Congress has authority to legislate
concerning any and all elections affecting
federal officers, whether general, special
or primary, as long as they are an in·
tegral part of procedure of choice or
primary effectively controls their choice.
U.S.C.A.Const. art. I, § 4.
20. Constltntlonal Law G=>50
Under Constitution, Congress had
choice of means to execute its powers.
U.S.C.A.Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 18.
2t. 1~I('cti()ns ("-"'4
Under constitutional prOVISion
grantinJ:\' Congress auth·ority to regulate
manner of holding federal elections, Con·
gress was authorized to enact statutes
regulating registration of voters for such
elections. U.S.C.A.Const. art. I, § 4.
846
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
29. United States =25
States' power over manner of appointin.<
r presidential el~cton' is similar
to states' reserved power to establish
voting Qualifications. U.S.C.A.Const.
art. 2, § 1.
Cite ns 2;)() F.Supp. 330 l]\}f.,")
28. Elections ():::l317
Federal corrupt practice' laws operate
on campaigning stage rather than
voting stage and apply to private persons
having no part in election machinery,
U.S.C.A.Const. art. 2, § 1.
n. Elections €=>4
Statute protecting against private
interference before voting stage is necesaary
and proper legislation under constitution
whenever it is reasonably related
to protection of integrity of federal electoral
process. U.S.C.A.Const. art. 1, § 4.
U. Elections <iPH
Right to vote in federal election is
privilege of national citizenship derived
Crom constitution. U.S.C.A.Const. art.
1, § 4.
U. Elections €=>4
Congress can by law protect act of
voting, place where it is done, and man
who votes, from personal violence or intimidation
and election itself from corruption
or fraud, even though state and
federal officers are elected in the same
election. Civil Rights Act of 1957, § 131
u amended 42 U.S.C.A. § 1971, U.S.C.A.
Consl. art 1, § 4.
, U. Elections <iP4
Section of Fifteenth Amendment to
',effect that right of citizens to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by United
States or by any state on account of race.
color or previous condition of servitude
dearly establishes constitutional basis
for Congress to protect right of all citiuns
to vote in state elections free from
discrimination on account of race. U.S.
('.A.Const..Amend. 15, § 1.
%8. Elections <iP3
Protection of purity of federal political
process may be extended against intprference
with any activity having a rational
relationship with the federal politiral
process. Civil Rights Act of 1957. §
131 as amended 42 U.S.C.A. § 1971;
U.S;C.A.Const. art. I, § 4.
~t Elections €=>4
Congressional power over voting,
though limited to federal elections. extends
to voter registration activities, including
registration rallies. voter education
classes and other activities intended
to encourage registration. Civil Rights
Act of 1957, § 131 as amended '42 U.S.
e.A. § 1971; U.S.C.A.Const. art. I, § 4.
30. Elections <;=>4
Congress has implied power to protect
integrity of processes of popular
election of pre"idential eleetol's onee that
mode of selection has been chOsen by the
state. U.S.C.A.Const. art. 2, § 1.
31. Courts =262.3(8)
Acts of defendant klan and defendant
member of klan of economic coercion,
intimidation ant! violence directed at
Negro dtizens in pal'iRh for purpose of
deterring their registering to vote struck
at integrity of federal political process
and were therefore enjoinable. U.S.C.A.
Const. art. 2, § 1; Civil Rights Act of
1957, § 131 as amended 42 U.S.C.A. §
1971; Voting Rights Act of 1965, § let
seq., 42 U.S.C.A. § 1973 et seq.
32. Elections <iP98
Right to vote in federal elections, a
privilege of national citizenship secured
by United States Constitution, includes
right to register to Y'l!.e. U.S.C.A.Const.
art. 2, § 1.
33. Elections <;=>98
Right to register to vote includes
right to be free from public or private
interference of activities rationally related
to registering and to encouraging
others to register. U.S.C.A.Const. art.
2, § 1.
34. Injunction C=>1l4(3)
Puhlic ~wrontmo<1at.i()nsprovisions of
Civil Rights Act of 1964 may he enforced
by injunctive relief against prh'ate persons
seekinl!' to frustrate statutory ob- .
jective of statute. Civil Rights Act of
1964, §§ 201, 206, 71)1. 707, 42 U.S.C.A.
§§ 1971, 2000a, 2000a-5. 2000e, 2000e-6.
847
250 .I:'EllERAL :;UPPLEMENT
35. Evidence C=;>265 (2)
Defendants who admitted that they
Deal. and threatened Negro pickl'ts to
preycnt thcm from enjoying right of
equal employment opportunity must he
enjoined from such conduct. Civil Rights
Act of 1964, §§ 201, 206, 701, 707, 42
U.S.C.A. §§ 1971, 2000a, 2000a-5, 2000c,
2000e-G.
Before WISDOM, Circuit Judge, and
CHRISTENBERRY and AINSWORTH,
District Judges.
WISDOM, Circuit Judge:
This is an action by the Nation against
aklan.*
The United States of America asks
for an injunction to protect Negro citizens
in' Washington Parish, Louisiana,
seeking to assert their civil rights. The
defendants are the "Original Knights of
the Ku Klux Klan", an unincorporated association,
the "Anti-Communist Christian
Association," a Louisiana corporation,
and certain individual klansmen,
most of :w'lOm come from in and around
Bogalusa, Louisiana.'
[1] The defendants admit most of
the allegations of the complaint. Their
legal position is that a private organization
and private persons are beyond the
reach of the civil rights acts authorizing
the Attorney General to sue for an injunction.
There is no merit to this contention.
[2] S('eking refuge in silencc and secrecYl
the defenrlants object to th,' adm i~sion
qf any e\"id('nce as to klan adivitil's.
We hold,however, that what t.he klan
is imd what the klan does bear signifi-
• Althnll~h thiN oflll'r ix cast in thr form
of :Ii. upiuiol1. it rt'prr.scnts the Court'f!
fimlingH of fact :lnll ('onclusions of law.
I. ('onDsel for the individual dcfctulnnts
take the position that the defendant kInn
does not exist. 'l'he proof 8how,~ that
the klnn rOntintlf!S to exist nnd to function
os a ~Inn in tlw beni~n name of the
UAnti-Communist Christian Association".
Sec 'Rcction II, A of this opinion.
cantly on the material issues and on the
appropria\!, relief.
[:11 'n d"eiding to grant the injunction
prayed for, we rest our conclusions
on the finding of fact that, within the
meaning of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957
and 1!)G4. tile defendants have adopted
a. patt,'rn at'd practice of intimidating,
lhn'atenilll!, and coercing Negro citizens
in Washington Parish for the purpose
of interfering with the civil rights of
the Negro citizens. The compulsion within
the klan to engage in this unlawful
conduct i,e inherent in the nature of the,
klan. This is its ineradicable evil.
[4] We find t.hp.t to attain its ends,
the klan exploits the forces of hate, prejudice.
and ignorance. We find that the
klnn relics on systematic economic coerci'l!
1, varieties of intimidation, and physical
·..iolence in attempting to frustrate the
national policy expressed in civil rights
legislation. We find that the klansmen,
whether cloaked and hooded as members
of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux
Klan, or skulking in anonymity as members
of a sham organization, "The AntiCommunist
Christian Association", or
bm7enly resorting to violence on the open
strr~ets of Bogalusa, are a "fearful conspiracy
against society * * * [holding]
Illen silent by the terror of [their
acts] and [their] power for evi'''.2
As early as 18G8 General Nathan Bedford
For...est, thc first and only Grand
Wizard of the original Invisible Empire,
dismayed by mounting, uncontrollable
vir)lence laid to the klan, ordered the klan
to disband and directed klansmen to burn
thcir roheR and hoods.3 General Forrest
was a Confederate cavalry hero, a man
wit.hout fear and, certainly to most South(
·mers. a man beyond' reproach. He an-
2. H"Jlort of tlli' .Joint SC'lnct COlllOlitteo
trJ Jllfjllirr' into the' Conllition of Affairs
in till' L~lh~ In:-.t1rrectionary Stfltcs ,(\Vosh.
lR72l. p. 2R (Majority llC(lort.)
3. Tc~t.ifllnnr of General Forrest before
th~ .Joint Rr)(I(>t Committee. Note 2, p.
'1-14. 4W-f>1.
848
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
Cite as 250 F.Supp. 330 (llHi!i)
""
nounced that he would dissociate himself
from all klansmen and cooperate with
public officials and the courts in enforcing
law and order. But the founders
of the Invisible Empire had sown dragon's
teeth.
The evil that led General Forrest to
disband the original Ku Klux Klan was
its perversion of purposes by undisciplined
-ldans led by irresponsible leaders.4
The evil we find in the Original Knights
of the' Ku Klux Klan is an absolute evil
inherent in any secret order holding itself
above the law: "the natural tendency of
all such organizations * * *' to violence
and crime." 5 As history teaches,
and as the defendants' admissions and
the proof demonstrate in this case, violence
and crime follow as the night the
day when masked men conspire against
society itself. Wrapped in myths and
misbeliefs which they think relieve them
of. the obligations of ordinary citizens,
k1ansmen pledge their first allegiance to
their' Konstitution and give their first
loyalty to a cross in flames.
None of the defendant klansmen is a
leader in his community. As a group,
,they do not appear to be representative
of a cross-section of the community. Instead
they appear to be ignorant bullies,
callous of the harm' they know they are
doing and lacking in sufficient understanding
to comprehend the chasm between,
'their own twisted Konstitution
and the noble charter of liberties under
law that is the America'n Constitution.
(5,6) Legal tolerance of secret societies
must cease at the point where
their members assume supra-governmental
powers and take the law in their
o,,:n hands. We shall not allow the mis-
.. "In JaTluary lR6!l ncncrnl Forrest issued
an 'order to dif'bf1wl whidl hCJ;'nn "'Vherc·
4f1,.·thc oTtler of·tllf~· KII Klux Klnn iN in
lome 10eft1itif'~ lwin~ lH'fV('rtt'd from its.
original hon(lrnhll" Blllt llHtrintit· Jlnr..
PO~C'8 • • • to ]):l\·i~. AlIt1ll'lIti(~ HiMo
tQry: 1':11' Klux }\:lnn, l~r)-~s. (N.Y.
1028): Curter, 'l'he AlI~r,r ~('ar. 216"
(N.Y.1959).
5.. "There i. no doubt ahout the fnet thnt
great outrages were committed b.r bands
guided defendants to interfere with the
rights of Negro citizens ,derived from or
protected by the Constitution of the United
States and now expressly recognized
by Congress in various civil rights statute!!,
We mjoill the Oril'!illal Knights of
the Ku Klux Klall, its dummy front, the
Anti-Communist Christian Association,
and the individual defendants from interfering
with orders of this Court and
from interfering with the civil rights of
Negro citizens in Washinl(ton Parish.
Specifically, these rights include:
(1) the right to the equal use and
enjoyment of public facilities,
guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment;
(2) the right to the equal use and
enjoyment of public accommodations,
guaranteed by the Civil
Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000a;
(3) the right to register lo vote and
to vote in all elections guaranteed
by the Fifteenth Amendment,
by ,12 U.S.C. § 1971, and
by the Voting Rights Act of
1965; and
(4~ the right to equal employment
opportunities, guaranteed by the
Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §
2000e.
1.
[7,8) The United States sues under
authorit)· of 42 U.S.C. § 1971; 42 U.S.C.
§§ 2000a-5 and 2000e,-6. Under those
sections and ,un riel' 28 U.S.C. § 1345, this
Court.has jurisdiction of the action. We
resolve any doubt as to the reach of these
sections in favor of the Government's
standing to sue in a case of this kind. In
its sovereign capacity the Nation has a
flf (li8~nisrl1 nwn ltl1 ring thmu'! )'enrs of
lnwl(,R~t1nNR flllcl t)J1J1rl'~~i()n. The natural
t"nchml'y or nil ~l1('h orl-:llub:nt.imlK is to
\'i(\l('n('(~ nml ('rim(' ~ h{'l\('('. it w:\g that
n4'n(~r:ll Il'urrl'sf nlill IIl1lf'r 1111'11 of in·
f1Uf'lU'I' iii tlw HI:llf'. hy tht' inOneot."O
flf tlu·ir 1I1n rll1 IHH\'I·r. illlhll',~1 them to
.!isbnnll.'·· H('lIurt of the .Joint Select
Committoe, Note 2, p. 41'>3 (Minorit)'
neport.)
849
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
proper interest in preserving the integrity
of its judicial system, in preventing
klan interference with court orders, and
in making meaningful both nationally
created and nationally gu~ranteed civil
rights.6
II.
We turn now to detailed findings of
fact.
A. Background. The invisible "calm
of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux
Klan coincides with the Sixth Congressional
District of Louisiana. This district
is composed of the "Florida" parishes,
the area east of the Mississippi
River and north of Lake Pontchadrain
claimed by Spain until 1810.1 The events
giving risc to this action took place in
Washington Parish and centered in Bogalusa,
the largest municipality ill the Parish.
Bogalusa is on the Pearl Riyer at
a point where the river forms the boundary
between Louisiana and Mississippi.
It has a population of about 14,000 white
persons and 7,500 Negroes.
The Grand Dragon of the Original
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and President
of the Anti-Communist Christian
Association is Charles Christmas of
Amite in Tangipahoa Pari-h. Saxon
\<'armer, who seems to have an uncanny
capacity for being present whenever
there is racial trouble in Bog;jlusa, is the
second in command of both onranizatiolls,
Grand Titan of the Klan and Vice-Presidcnt
of the Anti-Communist Christian
Association. In February ]%5 he W<lS
el('ded to both officessimtlltaneolls!Y.
He is also the Exalted Cyclops of one of
the Bogalusa Klaverns (local units). In
. 6. In IInit",1 Stlltes v. Rnines. 11\59. :ll\2
UX 17,27. 80 S.Ct. 519, 52fi. 4 L.E,1.
211 r;24. uphoI(ling the con!oJtitntionality
o( the Civil Rights Act of lH51 in a
suit on behnlf of private per"o"s nl:nilmt
. ])1I~JIif! ·offidals. the ·Court sn i ,): "It 1.,Ur~
1'4\ thnt i.t iR b~yond th{~ POW<'l" Hf
(·on~r("~s to ::tuthorize the Ullitf'C) Xt.ntcH
to hrin;:- thiN aetion ill sl1JlIJorl of ,.rinlte
('on~tit\lti.onnJ rightg. But ther\~ is tltl'
hh.:ll~:oJt PJlhli~ interest in t1w du~ (lb·
N()f\':mr.~ of nIl the constitutioHul gun rnn·
leeR. inclmling those that ben r t.he m{)~t
dinl('t~,}· 011 prh·atc rights. nnf) we tltink
1960 this Court entered an order in the
case of United States v. McElveep et also
eC.A.No. 9146) against Saxon .Farmer
and others enjoining them from interfer.
ing with the rights of Negro citizens to
\"otl'.R That order restored to voter reg·
istration rolls of Washington Parish the
names of 1.377 Negro citizens Farmer
and others, then acti1lC in the Citizens
Couneil,had unlawfully purged from the
rolls.
[9] The evidence clearly establishes
that the Anti-Communist Christian Association
is not a bona fide, independent
organization but is the defendant klan
thinly disguised under a respectable title.
At nil earlier tilIle, the klan's dummy
organization was called the Bogalusa Gun
Club. The defendants' efforts to appear
respectahle by association may also be
reflected in the location of the klan's
principal office in the Disabled American
Veterans Hall.
llO] The officers, members, internal
structure, and method of paying dues of
the ACCA and the klan are identical.
The corporate structure of the ACCA in.
cluoes nothing but a charter. The goveruin"
rules and by-laws of the ACCA
are the Klan Konstitution. The secret
oath for admission and resignation in
both organizations is the klan oath.
Nothing is required of klan members to
become members of the ACCA, except
identifying to the secretary of the klan
unit theil' assigned secret klan number.
Klan members are then furnished a small
vrcen card with the name Anti-Communist
Christian Association printed thereon.
This Court finds that the defendant
it llcrfet'tly competent for Congress to au·
thori?e the United States to be the
gU:J.nlinn of thnt public interest in a suit
f<)r inj\1nl·ti\,l~ relief."
7. The \,nri81,,·, of Washington, Tangip~hoa,
St. Tnmmnny. St. Helena, Livingston,
A.'w( nsioll, J'~nRt Feliciano, West Fe1ici..
0"0. E,"t Baton Rou!:e, 'Vest Baton
U"u~c. Pointe Coupee, nnd Iberville.
8. .\ffd. slIh. !lOrn. United States v. Tbomas,
H\(12. ~r.2 t'.~. 58, 80 s.et. 612, 4 L.Ed.2d
t)3;;.
850
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
As indicated earlier, however, the nature
of the. klan's activitil's bears directly on
the existence of a pattern and practice
of unlawful conduct and also on the
sort of decree that should be issued.
The Government subpoenaed member·
ship lists and records of the klan. The
defendants failed to produce these recor<
1s and at the hearing explained that
all of the records of the klan had been
destr~yed as a matter of klan policy after
suit was filed. The Court ordered
Christmas, Farmel', and John Magee, the
treasurer, to compile from memory lists
of officers and members. Counsel for
the defendants objected to the admissibility
of the lists for the reasons that:
(l) there were no lists and records in
the custody of th." defendants; (2) the
requir£'nwnt was an invasion of the
ril(hts ofp"ivacy alll' aSSllciation. The
defendants did lIot rely on the Fifth
Amendment privilel<e against self-incrimination;
they relied on NAACP· v.
State of Alabama, 1958. 357 U.S. 449, 78
(b) committing, threatening to commit,
and urging others to commit
· cats of economic retaliation
against Negroes who seek to exercise
these rights, and :lIminst
any· persons who urge that Negl'oes
should exercise or be accorded
these rights, or who permit
open, free and public discussion
on the issue;
25~ F.Supp.-22
B. Defendants' Admissions. An unusual
feature of this litigation is the defendants'
damn'ing admissions. The defendants
adm.it that the klan's objective
is to prevent Washington Parish Negroes
from exercising the civil rights Congress
recognized by statute. In their pleadings,
'the defendants concede that they
further their objective by-
(a) assaulting, threatening, and
harassing Negroes who seek to exercise
any of their civil rights,
and assaulting, threatening and
harassing persons who urge that
negroes should exercise or be accorded
those rights;
Cite nli 2t")() Ii',SUpp. 330 (l!Hl:il
klan has appeared in this cause. The (c) threateni·ng and intimidating pub·
pretense that the klan does not exist, lie officials and businessmen who
has ceased to exist, or has made no ap- accord or Hode to accord Negroes
pearance in this cause is a sham. their l'ivhts without regard to race
Until recently Washington Parish was nr ,""lor.
segregated from cradle to coffin. After The reason foJ' the arlmissions was evi-
Congress adopted the 1964 Civil Rights dent at. the trial nnd is evident in the
Act, however, the Negroes in Bogalusa defendants' brief. The United States
began a broad scale campaign to gain subpoenaed over a hundred witnesses
recognition of their rights. Working and, no doubt, was prepared to prove
thrQugh the Bogalusa Voters League, every allcvation in the complaint. Bethey
conducted voter registration clinics, cause of the defendants' admissions, the
held mass meetings to call attention to disputed issues were few and only a few
their grievances, picketed places of pub. witnesses were called. As a result, the
lie accommodations to protest racially klan avoided an airing of its activities
discriminatory policies, and petitioned that necessarily would have occurred had
the Mayor of Bogalusa to accord equal a large numher of witnesses testified.
rights in voting, public facilities, employ- Not contpnt with the success of this
ment, and education. maneuver, the defendants objected to
.The klan has been the center of un- the introduction of "any evidence perlawful
activity in Washington Parish de- taining to the activities of the Ku Klux
signed to interfere with the efforts of Klan" on the grounds that (a) the klan
Negro citizens to gain equal rights under hnd ceased to exist and (b) "delv[ing]
the· law. Its objective has been to pre- hlto these unrelated matters" was soleserve
total racial segregation in Boga- Iy "to expo~e" the Ku Klux Klan, an
lusa. invasion of the "privacy and individual
freedoms of all these defendants".
851
l!i, 1965, 86 S.Ct. 194 pretermits the
question at. iKsue in Zimmerman and
NAACP v. State of Alabama.
C. Out of The,:r Own Mouths. (1)
The Konstitution of the Original Ku
Klux Klan embodies "the Supreme Law
of the Rl'alm". Article I states that one
of the objects of the organization is tlJ
"protect at~d defend the Constitution of
the United States"; but another object
is to "maintain forever Segregation of
the races and the Divinely directed and
historically proven supremacy of the
White Race", The preamble reaffirms
"the principles for which our forefathers
mutually pledged and freely sacrificed
their lives, t.heir fortunes and their sacred
honor two centuries ~gO";' but Article
II limits the membership to "mature,
Native-born, White, Gentile Men
* * * who profess and practice the
Christian Faith but who are not members
of the Roman Catholic Church".
(2) Printed with the Konstitution is a
Proclamation stating that it must be
"STRICTLY ADHERED TO." The
Proclamation states that "ALL REALM
work is carried on by a chain of command",
establishes the organization
along military lines, defines the duties
of the \'al'iouR offieers and committees,
and dCKcribes "The Way of the Klavern".
.. All Klaverns will have at least five
armed guards with flashlights posted
during regular meetings." However,
"No one will be allowed to carry a gun
inside the Klavern during regular meetings
except t.he Knight Hawk (Keeper of
the Klavern):'
A Klokan's (Klavern InvestigatlJr's) duty.
is "to investigate all questionable matters
pertaining to the Klaverr,", "Any
Klansman who is known to violate our
rules, especially those that give information
to any aliens [non-members] shall
be expelled immediately, then is to be
watched and visited by the Wrecking
Crew if necrssf/I'Y", (Emphasis added.)
Moreover, each klan unit "will set up
at least "nr trf/m. of six men to be used
for wrrckillg crllw. These men should
be appointed b)' the Klokan in secrecy".
As judges charged with the duty of
[11] NAACP v. State of Alabama
does not support the defendants' position,
In that case Justice Harlan, speaking
for a unanimous Court held that the
rights of the members of the NAACP
to pursue their lawful interests privately
and tlJ associate freely with others were
protected by the 14th Amendment. Accordingly,
.the NAACP was relieved of
the necessity of turning over its membership
list to the State of Alabama. In
reaching that decision the Court disti nguished
People of State of New York
ex reI. Bryant v. Zimmerman, 1928, 278
U.S. 63, 49 S,Ct. 61, 73 L.Ed. 184, a case
involving a New York Chapter of the Ku
Klux Klan. A New York statute required
any unincorporated association which
demanded an oath as a condition to membership
tlJ file with state officials copies
of its "constitution, by-laws * * *
a roster of its membership and a list of
its officers". In Zimmerman the Court
found that the statutlJry classification
was reasonable, because of the "manifest
tendency on the part of one class to make
the secrecy surrounding its purposes and
membership a cloak for acts and conduct
inimical tlJ personal rights and public
welfare. * * * 'It is a matter of
common knowledge that this organiza~
ion [the klan] functions largely at night,
Its members disguised by hoods and
gowns and doing things calculated to
strike terror into the minds of the
people' ". The Supreme Court reaffirmed
this distinction in NAACP v. State
of Alabama. Justice Harlan pointed out:
"[In Zimmerman] the Court took
care to emphasize the nature of the
organization which New York
sought to regulate. The decision
was based on the particular character
of the Klan's activities, involving
acts of unlawful intimidation
.and violence * * * of which the
Court itself took judicial notice."
Here the defendants admit that the
klan's methods are lawless. Albertson
v,. Subversives -Activities Board, Nov.
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
S.Ct. 1163, 2 L.Ed,2d 1488. The Court
overruled the objections.
852
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
drawing inferences from the demeanor
of witnesses, we observed that a former
klansman exhibited uneasiness for ff,ar
of klan reprisals, when questioned a~ to
the function of the klan "wrecking cre"'''.
The defendants' testimony relating to
the purpose and functions of the wrpcking
crew was evasive. There is no doubt
however that the wrecking crew performed
disciplinary functions and that
the discipline could be ·severe.
(3) The Oath of Allcgiance requires
faithful obedience to the "Klan's KQnstitution
and Laws", regulations, "rulings
and instructions of the Grand Dragon".
"PROVIDENCE ALONE PREVENTING".
Klansmen must swear "forev"r"
to "keep sacredly secret all
matters and knowledge of the
rone asterisk, is Klanese for
'Klan'; four asterisks mean "Original
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]
[and] never divulge same nor even calise
same to be divulged to any person in the
whole world". As if this were not
enough, the Oath also requires klansmen
to swear that they "solemnly vow and
most positively swear" never "to yield
to bribe, threats, passion, punishment,
persecution,' persuasion, nor any intieementS
(sic). whatever for the
purpose of obtaining' a secret
or secret information of the XXXX."
Section IV (In "XXXX ISHNESS" go.,s
a little further. In this section of the
oath the klansmen must swear to "keep
secret to [himself] a secret of a man
committed to him in the sacred bond of
*' manship. The aime of violating this
oath, trea,qon against the United Statfs
of America, rape, nnd malicious murda
nlone excepted." (Emphasis added.) In
pure klanese, the klansman pledges his
"life, prolX,rty, vote, and sacred honor"
to uphold "unto death" the Constitution
and' "constitutional laws". (Emphasis
added.) But he ends by swearing that
he will "zealol)sly shield and preser:e
• •. * free segregated public schools,
white SUPREMACY."
9. On two· occnsion!'l~ the Court found it
necessary to warn the witncss{'s of the
(4) The "Boycott Rules" give a good
idea of thp Klan's coercive tactics. For
example:
"The Boycott Committee (one member
from each local unit appointed
by the Exalted Cyclops) shall have
exclusive investigative authority and
it shall not act at any time with less
than thrl'c ml'mbers present. * *
(1) No p,'rHon nr subject upon whom
a boycott ~hall have been placed
shall be patronized by any member.
* • * Boycotts shall be imposed
upon sUhjccts who are found to be
violating the Southern traditions.
* * Boycotts shall be placed
upon all members of the Committee
who publicly served with Bascom
Talley in !tis efforts to promote the
Bro",s IIay~ meeting. Boycotts
shan he placed upon any merchant
usi n,'l "egro employees to serve or
wait upon per30ns of the white race.
(Service Stations using Negroes to
pump ga~ are excluded.)
Boycotts ~hall be placed against a
subject who serves Negroes and
whites on an integrated basis.
Boycott" shall be placed upon a subject
who allows Negroes to use
'White rest l'ooms. * * *
No member shall be punished for
violation of the rules by a member
of his family under twelve (12)
yeal'S of age,
Any member who shall after a hearing
have heen found guilty of personally
patronizing a subject listed
on the boycott list shall be wrecked
'by the w1'ecking crew who shall be
appointed by the Committee. (Emphasis
added.) * * *
Sel~ond offcns!' --If a member is ,
fOll nd lIuilty of personally violating •
the boycott list he shall be wrecked
and banished from the Klan."
It is not surprising that the attorneys
for the Uniterl States had difficulty extracting
from klllllsmen answers to questions,
9
1,,:nalt:.. fnr IH'rjllry. The Court recessed
tlH' IIf':lI'iug tf) allow time for the wit..
853
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
(5) In keeping with its false front and
as bait for the devout, the Klan purports
to perform its dirty work in the name of
Jesus Christ. The first object stated in
the - "Objects and Purposes" clause of
the Konstitution of this anti-Roman
Catholic, anti-Semitic, hate-breeding organization
is to "foster and promote the
tenets of Christianity". The Proclamation
requires -the Kludd (Klavern Chap-
_lain) to "open and close each meeting
of the Klavern with prayer". Setting
some kind of a record for sanctimonious
cant, the Proclamation directs the Kludd
to "study and be prepared to explain the
12th chapter of ROMANS at any time,
as this is the religious foundation of the
Invisible Empire". (Emphasis added)
Saint Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles,
wrote his Epistle to the Romans in Corinth,
midway between Rome and Jerusalem.
Addressing himself to Jews and
Gentiles, he preached the brotherhood
of man: "Glory, honour, and peace, to
every man that worketh good, to the Jew
firSt, and also to the Gentile: For there
is no respect of persons with God." 10
In the Twelfth Chapter of Romans, Paul
makes a beautiful and moving plea for
tolerance, for brotherly love, for returning
good for evil :
9 Let love be without dissimulation.
Abhor that which is evil;
cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love; in honour
preferring one another; * * *
14 Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not. * * *
17 Recompense to no man evil for
evil. Provide things honest in the
sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as
lieth in you, live peaceably with all
men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, .but rather give place unneSHeS
to refresh their recollection, nOll
to fiDI), if p(lf~sible. "ny membership list~.
On onc occasion. a· witness pleaded tIlt'
5th Amendment when. in n colloquy with
the Court. it was apparent that he WD.
to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance
is mine; I will repay, saith
the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger,
feed him; if he thirst, give
him drink; for in so doing thou
shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good."
These words must fall on stony ground
in the Klaverns of a Klan.
D. Specific Findings of Klan lntimidition
ond Violence. We select the follo....;
ing examplel! of the defendants' acts
of intimidation and violence.
(1) January 7, 1965, former Congressman
Brooks Hays of Arkansas, at the
invitation of religious, business, and civic
leaders of Bogalusa, was scheduled to
speak in Bogalusa at St. Matthews
Episcopal Church Parish House on the
subject of community relations. The
meeting was to be open to both Negroes
and whites and it was planned that seating
would be on a racially nOn-segregated
basis. After learning of the proposed
appearance of Mr. Hays and the arrangements
for an unsegregated meeting, the
Klan and its members protested to the
Mayor and the members of the Commission
Council and, by means of threats of
civil disorder and economic retaliation
against local businessmen who supported
the meetin!\', caused the withdrawal of
the invitation to Mr. Hays to speak
December 18. 1964, before the Hays invitation
was withdrawn, the Mayor of
BOllalusa anr! Police Commissioner Arnold
Spiers, in an effort to head off possible
civil disorder, appeared at a Klan
meeting at the Disabled Veterans Hall.
The show of force at this meeting by
over 150 hooded Klansmen unquestionably
intimidated public officials in Boglllusa
and, later, hindered effec,·-·~ police
action against Klan violence. On the
stand, Mayor Cutrer admitted that he
nfrni_l of klnn rl'prhlnl for testifying as
to klnn r('c')rll~: he withdrew his plea of
IJrivHf'J::'C nntl tl~stifier1.
10. Romans. Chap. II, v. 1(}-11.
854
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
cae u. 250 F.Supp. 330 (1965)
was "frightened when he looked into 150 one other entered the restaurant brandpa.
irs of eyes". ishin!: clubs, ordered the Negroes to leave
(2) Since at least January 28, 1965, and threatened to kill Sam Barnes, a
the defendants, including Saxon Farmer, member of the, Bogalusa Voters League,
Russell Magee, Dewey Smith, Randle C. who had come to the restaurant with
Pounds, Billy Alford, Charles McClendon, six Negro women.
JameS Burke, and other members of the (5) March 29, 1965, defendants Hardefendant
Klan, have made a practice of die Adrian Goings, Jr., Klansman, and
going to places where they anticipated Franklin Harris, Klansman, shortly after
that Negroes would attempt to exercise meetings had been held at the Bogalusa
civil rights, in order to harass, threaten, Labor Temple, threw an i!:nited tear gas
and' intimidate the Negroes and other canister at a group of Negroes standing
persons. For this purpose, members of near the Labor Temple. Goings, Jr. then
the defendant Klan have gone to Frank- tried to disguise his car by repainting it
linton, Louisiana, when Negro citizens and removing the air scoop from the top
of Washington Parish were expected to to prevent detection of this crime.
apply to register as voters, have gone to Goings or other Klansmen used this same
restaurants in Bogalusa when Negroes car in May of 1964 to burn a cross at the
were seeking or were expected to seek home of Lou Major, editor of the Bogailervice,
, and have gone to locations in lusa newspaper.
downtown Bogalusa and near the Boga- (6) April 7, 1965, defendants Lattilusa
Labor Temple when Negroes were more McNeese and E. J. (Jack) Dixon,
-attempting or were expected to demon- Klansman, threatened Negro citizens
strate publicly in support of equal rights during the course of a meeting at the
for Negroes. Labor Temple by brandishing and ex-
(3) William Yates and Stephen Miller, hibiting a gun at Negroes standing outtwo
CORE workers, came to Bogalusa in side the Labor Temple.
January 1965. The Grand Dragon and (7) April 9, 1965, defendants Billy
Grand Titan of the Klan, defendants Alford, Klansman, Randle C. Pounds,
Charles Christmas and Saxon Farmer, Klansman, Lattimore McNeese, Charles
appeared at the'Mayor's office to ask the McClendon, and ,James Burke, Klansman,
Mayor to send William Yates and Ste- with other persons, went to the downtown
phen Miller out of Bogalusa. Mayor area of Bogalusa where Negro citizens
Cutrer indicated that he could do noth- were participating in a march to the
ing.· The next day, February 3, 1965, Bogalusa City Hall to protest denial of
three Klansmen, James Hollingsworth, equal l·jghtS. Pounds, McClendon, and
, Jr., James Hollingsworth, Sr., and Delos Burke, in a group, moved out to attack
Williams, with two other persons, Doyle the marchers. Pounds assaulted the
Tynes and Ira Dunaway, attempted to' leader of the march, James Farmer, with
insure Yates' and Miller's departure. a blackjack; McClendon and Burke were
This group followed Yates and Miller and temporarily deterred from the threatenassaulted
Yates. cd assault, but immediately thereafter
(4) February 15, 1965, defendant Vir- assaulted a newsman and an FBI agent.
gil Corkern, Klansman, and approximate- Alford assaulted one of the Negroes par1)'
30 other white persons attacked by Ne- ticipating in the march.
gro citizens and damaged the car in which (8) May 19, 1965, Virgil Corkern,
they were riding. This occurred because Klansman, two SOilS of Virgil Corkern,
the Negroes had sought service at a gaso- and other white persons went to Cassidy
line station in Bogalusa. On that same Park, a public recreation area maintainday,
Corkern and other persons gathered ed by the City of Bogalusa, for the purat
Landry's Fine Foods, a restaurant in pose of interfering with the enjoyment
Bogalusa, to observe Negroes seeking of the park by Negroes and white CORE
service at the restaurant. Corkern and workers who were pres(,lIt at the park
855
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
and using 'the facilities for the first time
on a non-segregated basis. The Corkern
group entered the park and dispersed the
Negro citizens with clubs, belts, and other
weapons.
·(9) Negro members of the Bogalusa
Voters League, unable to exercise their
civil rights and also unable to obtain
from police officials adequate protection
from the Klan, filed suit June 25, 1965,
in the case of Hicks v. Knight Civ.Ac.
No. 15,727 in this Court. The complaint
asks for an injunction requiring officers
of the City of Bogalusa to open the public
parks and to operate sueh parks without
racial discrimination, and also requiring
law enforcement officers of the City,
Parish, and State to protect the Negro
plaintiffs and other Negroes from physical
assaults, beatings, harassment, and
intimidation at the hands of. white citizens.
July 10, 1965, this Court issued
an injunction in Hicks v. Knight l'njoining
certain city and parish law. enforcement
officers from failing to use all reasonable
means to protect the Negro plaintiffs
and others similarly situated from
physical assaults and beatings and from
harassment and intimidation preventing
or discouraging the exercise of their
rights to picket, assemble peaceably, and
advocak equal civil rights for Negroes.
The preliminary injunction is still in full
force and effect. Even after this Court
issued its order July 10, 1965, the defendant
Klansmen continued to interfere with
Negro citizens exercising civil rights and
interfered with performance of the duties
of law enforcement officials under
the injunction in Hicks v. Knight..
(10) July 11, 1965, during a Negro
march in downtown Bogalusa, defendants
Randle Pounds, Klansman, H. A. Goings,
Jr.," Klansman, Franklin Harris, Klansman,
and Milton E. Parker were j,resent.
Harris and Goings passed out 25-3n
2 x 2 cluhs to youths and Pounds ~'ati"n-
. ed· the ~'ouths :ilong the. march route.
Parker was arrested by a City policeman
along the route of march for disturbing
the peace.
(11) Included. in the exhibits arc a
IJlJmber of handbills bearing the l'aption,
66-077 0 • 76 - 55
"Published by the Original Ku Klux Klan
of Louisiana". These are crude, scurrilous
aHal,ks on certain Bogalusa citizens
who advocated a moderate approach
to desegre!,ation. For example, in one
handbill an Episcopal minister is accused
of lying for having said that he had receive,!
calls threatening to bomb his
church; the minister's son is said to be
an alcoholic, to have faced a .morals
charge in court, and to have been committed
to a mental institution. The
handbill adds:
"The Ku Klux Klan is now in the
process of checking on Reverend
--·----'3 [naming him] moral
standards. If he is cleared you will
be so informed. If he is not cleared,
you will be informed of any and all
misdeeds or moral violation of his
in the past."
In the same handbill the Klan announced
that it was "boycotting businesses which
cater to integration such as Mobile Gas
Stations. etc." Mobile Gas Station is a
business competitor of the defendant,
Grand Titan Saxon Farmer.
All of the handbills attempt to intimidate
public officials, the Governor of
Louisiana, the ·Congressman from the
Sixth District, the Mayor of Bogalusa,
and federal judges (by name). Sometimes
the attempted intimidation is by
threat of violence, sometimes by character
assassination. We quote, for example:
(a) "On numerous occasions we
have been asked by local officials to
refrain from any acts of violence
upon this outside scum that has invaded
our city. Being a christian
organization. we have honor'd these
requests each time. How much longer
can we continue??? Contrary to
what. the liberal element would have
you think, this memorandum is not
the work or radst and hate mongers
or (rouble makers, as Governor 'B·ig
John' McKeithen calls us. We are
God fearing white, southerners who
belie"",, in constitutional government
anti the preservation of our American
llf'ritag-c.
"Here is the' list of elected officials
who COULD & AND SHOULD
have helped the People of Bogalusa.
All these should be tarred and
feathered.
"The Governor, the Congressman,
Jimmy Morrison, or his com-rats,
Suksty Rayborn, and Buster Sheridan.
John McKeithen asked for our
'vote arid promised to serve the
PEOPLE. We now ask, Bill' John,
isn't t}lis TRUE? What is happening
under your administration?
(bY "As the people tried to preserve
our Southern way of life, the
Mayor and Council were slowly selling
the people out at every turn.
The Mayor has repeatedly GIVEN
in. James Farmer did not have the
support of the local Negroes. Mayor
Cutrer is not giving the ci ty of
Bogalusa to the negro citizens of
Bogalusa. No. He is giving the
city to James Farmer and a handful
of Negro Teenagers. NO PRESSURE
was put on James Farmer
and Dick Gregory to keep them out
.of Bogalusa. Not by the Mayor,
the State Representative, the State
Senator, or Congressman Morrison.
, This was not so when the WHITE
CONSERVATIVES wanted to stage
a Rally. PFessure was exerted from
all levels, even the invited guest
speakers were 'leaned on'.
856
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
Cite as 250 It',SuPP. 3..10 nnn5}
"If your governor would have MAYOR JESSIE CUTRER
, done the right thing to start with, he REPRESENTATIVE SHERIDAN
would have refused to protect these SENATOIi SIXTY RAYBORN
local and outside agitators and did
just what one great southern gov- SHERIFF DORMAN CROWE
ernor did. He refused to pro- CONGRESSMAN JIMMY MORRItect
this outside element, (CORE, SON
NAACP, SNICK, ETC.), at the ex- GOVERNOR JOHN McKEITHEN
pense of his state. He chose, in- SENATOR RUSSELL LONG
stead, to let LBJ and Katzenbach "Now, the QUESTION. Why
protect them. Only after the city of have these men, elected by the
Bogalusa' had spent $96,000, did he WHITE people turned their back on
(Big John McKeithen), make ·any us in our time of need?
effort to ease the situation in this "Is Communism so close? Who
city." bought them? Who bought their
HONOR and FOR HOW MUCH?"
(c) "The Ku Klux Klan is strongly
organized in Bogalusa and throughout
Washington and St. Tammany
Parishes. Being a secret organization,
we have KLAN members in
every conceivable business in this
area. We will know the names of all
who are invited to the Brooks Hayes
meeting and we will know who did
and did not attend this meeting.
Accordingly, we take this means to
urge all of you to refrain from attending
this meeting. Those who
do attend this meeting will be tagged
as intel'lrmtionists and will
be dealt with accordingly by the
Knights of the KU KLUX KLAN."
li2] E. Summary of the Facts. We
find that the defendants have admitted
and -the proof has shown that they intimidated,
harassed, al)d otherwise interfered
with (1) Negroes exercising their
civil rights, (2) persons encouraging
Negroes to assert their rights, and (3)
public officials, police officers, and other
persons seeking to accord Negroes their
rights. These acbl are part of a pattern'
and practice of the defendants to maintain
total sel(regation of the races in
Washington Parish. The pattern creates
an effect extendinl( beyond the effect of
any particular act or practice. A Negro
who is clubbed in a pubic park may fear
to order coffee in a segregated sandwich
shop or he ma~' decide that it is the better
part of valor not to exercise voting
857
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
rights. The owner of the sandwich shop
who receives threatening calls for having
served Negro patrons may conclude
that taking care of his family comes
ahead of hiring Negro employees. The
intimidation or violence may be effective
not only as to the particular individual
against whom it is directed but also as
to others who· may be less courageous
than the Negroes brave enough to parade
in Bogalusa or register to vote in Franklinton.
The acts of terror and intimidation
adm:tted or proved in this case, acts
characteristic of a masked, secret COIlspiracy,
can be halted only by a broad
order enjoining the defendants from unlawfully
interfering with the exercise of
civil rights by Negro citizens.
III.
The defendants contend that the complaint
fails to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted. They start with
the doctrine that the 14th and 15th
Amendments apply only to state action or
action under color of state law. A. This
moves them to conclude as a matter of
statutory construction, that Congress did
not purport to enforce civil rights against
private persons. Moreover, so they argue,
the 1957 Act applies to interference
with "voting" not to interference with
"registering". B. And, they say, if civil
rights acts do authorize enforcement
against private persons (not owners or
II. See Unite'] Stntes v. Cruikshank. 187G.
92 U.S. 542, 23 L.Ed. 588; Slaughter·
House Cases. 1873, 16 Wall.·36, 21 L.E,l.
394.
12. In 1894 Congress repeale,] most of the
provision~ dealing with federal 8upcrvi~
sian of clcdions. Two general provisiollR
for, criminal sanctions were left Ktnncling-:
42 .TT.::<.C. § 241 (orij(inally Seetion G
of tl,,· (,ifil Ril(ht, Act of 1870. latl'r
S('f'tioH !);,o.~ of the Hcvi~ca 8tHtntl'~)
pro\'i1liuJ.:' crimi":ll Ri1nction~ IIJ:aim.t Ct'f1-
. 8'pirn('j('~ to fleprivc :my citi,zcn of Cluy
right ~ccllrf'(l by the Constitution ond Inws
of the TTnit"a State.: nnll 42 U.S.C. §
24~ (orhdllalJy Rp(·tion 2 of thc Civil
Rights Act of lSlJr.. later Section 5~.10
of thc Rr\'ilO:cfl Stntntes (1873), AS amrm1·
. ed in 1009, 35 Stat. 1002 by adding the
word "wilfully") providing criminal annetions
l)gninst the deprivation of consti-
. managers of a place of public accommodation)
the statutes are unconstitutional.
A.
(1) The Civil Rights Act of 1957. In
the field of civil rights the problem of
enforcement is more difficult than the
problem of legislative definition. The
choice-of remedy determines whether an
act of Congress simply declares a right
or carries machinery for meaningful
performance of the statutory promise.
In the past, an obvious hiatus has been
the lack of effective sanctions against
private persons interfering with a citizen's
exercise of a civil right. Thislack
may be explained by a number of reasons.
(II) Congress has been reluctant
to assert affirmatively by legislation its
responsibility to protect the privileges
and immunities of citizens of the United
States, for fear of imperiling the balanced
relationship between the states and
the Nation.l1 (b) Courts have narrowly
construed criminal sanctions available in
Sections 241 and 242 of Title 18.1• (c)
Congress and the courts have been 8~
verely limited by the doctrine of state
action, in spite of the trend toward an
expansive view of what is state aetion.u
(d) Congress has been wary of using an
equitable remedy in civil rights legislation.
The Constitution guarantees an accused
in a criminal case the right to intutinnnl
ri~ht:-:. IJri\'ilegca, find immunities
uOIler eo]or of state law. See United
Su,te" v. William., 1951, 341 U.S; 70.
71 S.Ct. 081, 95 L.Ed. 758 restricting
Sectiou 241 to tllOse cases in which the
right allej(·.'lIy violated is an incident to
nntionfll citizcn~hip. See also Screws v.
Unite'] Stntcs, lO4n, 325 U.S. 91. 65 S.Ct.
10:31. Rll L.Rtl. 1495 construing Section
242 a. requirinl': "llceific intent to deprive
n J1f'r~on (If t1w ri~ht mnde specific by the
('hlls'itntioH fir laWN flf the Un!ted Stnles.
R{,,;f'tinn~ 2 n fi1ll1 242 nre now before the
Rupr(\n1p Cnnrt ngnin. United Stntes v.
Price. No•. fill. 00. October Term. 11l65;
Unite.1 f;t,teR v. Qnest. No. 65. October
'rerlll, 1miri.
13. f;ce Ch·n Hij(ltt" Cases, 1883. 109 U.s.
3.3 f;.Ct. 18,27 L.El1. 835; United States
v. HocHe, 187r.. 92 U.S. 214, 23 L.Ed.
563.
858
UNITED ,STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF XU KLUX KLAN
Cite as 200 F .Supp. 330 (lOa:))
dictment by a grand jury and trial by a
jury of the vicinage. Enforcement of
civil rights through the use of an injunction
and the contempt power of the
courts would by-pass the jury system.Ii
However, in communities hostile to civjl
rights and resentful against "outside",
that is, federal interference, injunctivp
relief may be the most effective method
of enforcing civil rights.
Congress eonsidered thc pros and conR
of these and many other issues when the
14. Hence the compromise affecting 'jury
trials in tbe 1957 Act: criminnl contempt
cases arising umler the oct moy be tried
by district courts witbout juries. except
where n person CODvictO(] is fined more
than $300 or imprisoned for more tbon 6
montb.. 71 Stot. 638 (1957), 42 U.S.C.
t 1995. '
15. President Trumnn's Committee on Civil
Rigbts submitt,',l ('(Iuolly brnn,1 r<'COmmendotions.
Sec Report. To Sccure
These Rigbts. 151-161 (1947).
16. In a b1!nring before tbe IIouse JUdi·
ciary Committee on tbe Civil Rights Bill.
Attorney Genernl Herbert Brownell ex,
plicitly e"plnincil tbe purl",ses ond scope
of tbe l>rOposcd nmcndmcnts to Section
197,1 of Title 42:
"Tbe Dlost obvious one of these defects
in the lnw iA that it docs not protect
the votcr. in Federal elections from
unlnwful interference witl. tbeir voting
rights b~· privnte personA-in other
wonls. ,1911 npplics only to those who
nct 'umler color of Inw' which menns
public officinls. and tbe aclivities 01
private f/er.rntJI IlIU! orgaJlizations designed
la' di.•enfrallchise 1,'Oters in Fed·
cmI Of Stntf' ('wctions on account of
mcc or ('oInt" nrc not ('()vcrcil by the
prc8(?'nt vr(I\·jwions of 1D71. An(l 80 we
sny thnt the _tntute fnils to nfford tho
votors full protcction from discrimination
which. was contemplated by the
,Collsritution. eSllecinlly the 14th olld
15th· amendmentt-;o
"AIg'o this s('ction 1071 is defeCtive in
nnother rf'Slk'ct, lw('nm~e it fnilR to
lodge "in tiff' DClutrtmcnt of .Justice and
tb,e Attorney Gcnernl any authority to
"invoke dvil rl'mef]icR for thc· enforcement
of votint:' l"iJ:htJlf. An') it is pnr...
." ticnlnrly 1:1('kill~ in Imy Jlrovi~ion which
would authorize thr. Attorn(\.)" Genernl
to nflli}.,· to the ("ourts for prc\'cntive relief
ngainst the violntion of tbese vot'
Ing rights.
"And we think thnt tllis is also n mnjor
defert. 'fhe Illtimnte gonl of the Con250
F.Su.op._22 1/2
Administration submitted an omnibus
civil rights bill in 1956.15 The focal issues-
the contempt power, the jury system,
and the relationship of the States
with the Nation-produced one of the
great debatcR in American parliamentary
hitsory. By the time the bill was cut
down to a voting rights law, as the Civil
Rights Act of 1957. 71 Stat. 634, ConI!
ress and thc country thorougly underAtood
the significance of the legislation.II
Congress had opened the door, then nearstituti"
n ami the Congress Is the safe·
guarding of the free ex....clse of tbe
"oling ril'ht. ncknowledging of course,
the ICl:itirnntc llOwer of the State to
Jlr<~Reribc I1c~cRsnry ond. fair voting
qunlific"tinnH. And we believe tbat
civil ,JrOCPPllings by the Attorney Gen.."
I to Htop nny iIIcgnl interference
nn,l '!coninl of the rigbt to vote would
b(! far more effectivQ in achieving this
gonl thnn the private suits for damage"
·whirh n.re presently authorized
by the statute, lIn.d fnr more effec:tive
thnlt thl! rriminlll proeeedings wbicb are
nuthorized ull,ler othcr Inwa which. of
('ourse, r.lm never be used until aftor
the hm'm hns b<-en actually done.
UNo llr~vcntivc measures can be broucht
umil'r trlC crimin"r statutes. So I tllint
-amI I ben.,·e yon will agree witb
me--thn t CHug-ress ahould now recognize
that in order to properly execute
the Com~tit\ltion and its amcndmenta,
on,l in orfi<or to perfect tbe intenrled
applicntion or th~ Htntute. section 1911
of title 42. United Stotes Code. sbonld
be nm('llflr.fl 111 threo rcap·ects:
"Fir.t. by the addition of a section
",hidl will p".·vent nh~'one, whether net·
in~ ululr.r ('olor of law or not. from
'lrl·f'rlt(·nifl~. it,tir"iflntiug or coerdng aD
iwlh"j.llIul in hiR ri,;ht to vote in afll'
c(celi(OI. g-M1l'rn1. HI)ceinl. or prinulry.
corll'erning c~n,li,lntes tor Federal 0/fice.
"Ani} Rf'f'onll, to authorize· the AttorIW~'
O('u('rnl to hring civil proceedin!:'
1111 lll'hnif of the lTnite<1 Stllte. or
nny n~~rim'c(l perRon for preventive or
other civiJ rcJjf!f in any Cll8e covered
hy tlll~ !'4tntllh~.
IlAllfl thirfl. n11 rxprCRR provision that nll
Rtllt" mlmi"iAtr:JJ;"'e am] jmlirinJ rome(
li(~s 111,(>(1 nflt 1m fir~t cxlinuRtcd beforo
r("!'4()rt to HII' l('f~11rrnl ('ourte." [JIcnr·
iu~,<: h,.,fnn' ~u)wf)nJJnittce No. 5 of
the Cmnmittf'l' 011 the .TucHeinry, 85th
('AmI:.. Isl So••. ». 570 (1957) 1
859
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
ly shut, to national responsibility for protecting
civil right.s--ereated or guaranteed
by the Nation-by injunction proceedingsagainst
private persons.
Part III of the Administration's bill,
as originally proposed, would have authorized
the Attorney General to file suit
against any person who deprived or was
about to deprive any. dtizen of any civil
right. The compromise that became the
Civil Rights Act of 1957 limits civil actions
to protection of voting rights ;n
special, general, or prim/lry elections
where federal officers are elected.
Before the 1957 Act, Section 1971
(now 1971 (a) ) was enforced either by an
action for damages under 42 U.S.C. §
1983 and § 1985 (3) or by a criminal action
under 18 U.S.C. §.§ 241, 242. The
1957 Act adds four subsections to Section
1971, including: 11
"(b) No person, whether acting un.
der color of law or otherwise, shall
intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt
to intimidate, threaten, or coerce
any other person for the purpose
of interfering with the right
of such other person to vote or to
vote as he may choose, or of causing
such other person to vote for,
or not to vote for, any candidate
for the office of President, Vice
President, presidential elector, Member
of the Senate, or Member of the
House of Representatives, Delegates
or Commissioners from the Territories
or possessions, at any general,
special, or primary election held solely
or in part for the purpose of selecting
or electing any such candidate.
. "(c) Whenever any person has engaged
or there are reasonable
.grounds to believe that any person
17. S~ction 1971(0) <lerive<l from the Civil
Rightg Act of 1810, .Iefincd voting rights
"" followN:
"(n) All citizeuN of the United l'Hntes
who nrc otherwh'l(~ qualiCictl by law to
vote nt any ("}('C'tion b)· the people in
any 'State, Territory, district, county,
city, parish, JowDlolhill. school district,
municipnlity, or other territorial subis
about to engage in any act OT
practice which would deprive qny
other person of any right or privilege
secured bIt subsection (aJ or
(bJ, the Attorney General may institute
for I he United States, or in
the lIarne ofthl' United States, a civil
action or other proper proceeding for
pre\'entive relief. including an application
for a permanent or temporary
injunction, restraining order,
or other order. In l' ny proceeding
hereunder the United States shall
be liable for costs the same as a
private person." (Emphasis added.)
The House Report on the Act-there
was no Senate Report-dearly states
the purpose of the amendments to 1971:
"[T]his section adds new· matter.
The provision is a further declaration
of the right to vote for Federal
offices. It states clearly that it is
unlawful for a prit1atc individual as
well as one acting under color of law
to interfere or attempt to interfere
with the right t!} vote at any general,
special or primary election
concerning Federal offices. This
amendment, however, does not provide
for a remerly. However, the
succeeding subsection of the amendment,
which is designated subsection
(cl, does provide a remedy in the
form of a civil action instituted on
the part of the Attorney General."
House Report No. 291, to accompany
H.R.6127, U.S.Code Congo and Adm.
News 1966, 1977 (1957) (Emphasis
added)
Although Congress narrowed the subject
matter of the statute to voting
rights, there is nothing narrow about the
scope of the Act as to interference with
voting rights. The statute is not limited
dh·isioD. shall bn entitled nnd allowed to
\"(JtI~ nt nil f'lIch t'{('ct inTlFl, without uis·
tillr:tion of l'IIC~. (~olnr. or previous con.
Htion ()f !ol('rvihuh'; nllV' eonRtitution.
11\\\', ('u!{hun. lIfftlJ:P. or' rC'g111ntion of
nn.\-' Stote or Territor)", or by or UDtl~
r itR ul1thorit)" to the contrary Dot..
with~tnnl1il1g" •
860
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KV KLUX KLAN
Cite n~ 2."'")() }I'.SUPIJ. 3.10 (H11i:i)
to physical acts or to direct interfer.ence
with the act of voting but applies to"
any act or practice which would
deprive any other person of any
right or privilege secured by subsection
(a) or (b) * * *."
The statute applies to "any person" who
shall-
"intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt
to intimidate, threaten, or
coerce for the pilrpose of interfering
with the right of such person to
vote."
There is no doubt that this language
applies to private individuals. And there
is very little doubt that the Act protects
the right to regiser and to engage in activIties
encouraging citizens to register.
As ,discussed more fully elsewhere. registration
is an integral, indispensable part
of the voting process.tS It is also a stage
that is vulnerable to abuse by the registrar,
or to unlawful conduct by private'
persons. Ever since the Supreme Court
outlawed the "white" primary. it has
been apparent that the main battleground
in the war over Negro suffrage would
, be the registration office.to See, for
example, the description of the activities
of the Citizens Councils and parish registrars
in United States v. State of Louisiana.
E.D.La.1963, 225 F.Supp. 353,
378-380. Congress was well aware that
a major mischief to be combatted in the
1957 Act was economic coercion and
18. Sec Section III. B. (1), (b) of opinion.
19., Sec Key. SOlltlt"lJ\ Politics 555 (1949);
Civil Rights COlnmission Report 133-38
(1961)~
20. Ina note. Beatty, Private Economic
Coercion om1 the Civil ni~hts Act of
'1957. 71' Yale 'J"Jollr. 536. r>43 (1002).
. the aut.ho.r iJOint.... ·out:
"Tlie Circuit Court's f~9nstruction of
the 1007 act to apilly to economic coercion
·"in general -and to economic
coercion involving contrt\<,t and llrop~.
crty rights in lJarticu]ar f'cems correct.
"In requesting ]('~iNlatinn to J)rotc~t vote
. iog rights, Pn~sithmt Ei};C'nhowcr noted:
'It ,is di8turhin~ that in ~olUe' lo<.>alitips
alIegntions persist that Ne~ro citizens
are being oeprivr.fl of their rf~lrt to vote
and ,nr~~ 1ikewi~e bein'~ Hubjectctl to un·
~nrrnnt~d croollomic pressures.' Sen·
threats of intimidation by private persons
that would deny or interfere with
the Negro's access to registration.20
More nften than not. the economic coercion
und, intimidation hy private persons
are triggered by an educational campaign
to encourage registration. United
States v. Beaty, 6 Cir. 1961, 288 F.2d
65:1 is a case in point. The case arose in
Haywood County, Tennessee, a county in
which no Neg-roes were registered to
vote. In the spring of 1959, a newly
formed Civic and Welfare League, ap·
parently similar to the Bogalusa Voters
League, initiated a campaign in Haywood
and in Fayette Counties to encourage
Negroes to register. This led to the illstitution
of a "white" primary in Fayette;
later prohibited by a consent decree
In April 1960. In the face of a renewed
registration drive, white businessmen in
both counties retaliated by circulating a
"blacklist" containing' the names of the
Negroes who registered and white citizens
who assisted them. The businessmen
induced local merchants to boycott
anyone whose name appeared on the list,
by denying credit and the right to buy
necessities through the usual business
relations. White lahdowners evicted
sharecroppers and tenant farmers who
had registered or whose na!J1es appeared
on the blacklist. The Attorney General
sued the businessmen and landowners,
under Section 1971, for immediate injunctive
relief .2t The district Judge
ntor Dot1/,das. n f.>l'fJUf:lor uf the bill, os·
sertf'd Ih'lt thfl It,tdsilltioll wos <Ii·
rech~ll fit df~ninl~ of votin~ rights 'by
eco"r}II/i,. In"r,l,(,lfU re' as "".elt 08 bV other
meaH"~. Awl n~JlrrRMltntTvc Coller, n
Hom:.. Fll'()l1~ur. itH1i{'nh·,l that if ltlie
milk ~lt':Ilpr, tllf' (·Il:lllh·alf'r,·tht' hutcher.
the hnker und tllf' (,fIIhU~foltieit maker
• • • ng ref' • • .. to boycott'
pert-:OllR ",110 trs 10 \'otc, the ngreemCDt
woul,l v!olatro tlw proposNI low."
21. The Attllrnry Gt'tI~r:l1 hrou~ht 0 similar
~~uit to clljnin "intimif1nti,m, thrcnt. ano
"ocrdoll" in ]fn,n·ltl!. rOHllt,\'. United
Rtntc~ \~. AtkiwUJ1I, et nlN, f'iv.Ac. 4121,
fl n.Rd.I..R,'I'. 200 (1ll62). See Mendel.
~on, Dbf'l'illlinntion (Pren.Hnll 1962) 21.
Ami Ree 11nite'l Stnt,," V. Ellis. W.D.S.C.
1942. In F$UI'I'. 321, 321.
861
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
granted a restraining order enjoining the
businessmen from "interfering through
intimidation and/or coercion", but refused
to enjoin the landowners on the
groWld that the Civil Rights Act did not
vest the court with authority "to adjudge
contracts and property rights". 6 Race
ReIL.Rep. 20.0. The Sixth Circuit affirmed
the judgment as to the businessmen
and extended the injunction to the
landlords.l2
In East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, cotton
growers refused to gin cotton for Negro
farmers who had attempted to register
to vote. The Attorney General again
sued under the 1957 Act, asking for preventive
relief, against owners, operators,
and managers of cotton gin businesses
and certain other businesses "refusing
to gin * * * refusing to sell goods
or services, and to conduct ordinary business
transactions with, any person for the
purpose of discouraging. er dissuading
such person from attempting to vote and
* * * engaging in any attempted
threats, intimidations, or coercion of any
nature, whether economic or otherwise".
Judge Dawkins entered an order, agreed
to by the PMties, staying .proceedings for
one year pending full compliance by the
defendants with the terms of the proposed
restraining order. United States
v. Deal, W.D.La.1961, 6 Race ReI.L.Rep.
474.
[13] The parallel between the defendants'
intimi.dation by economic coer.
cion in Beaty and in Deal, and the defendants'
boycott and other' activities in
this case is too patent to be spelled out.
Beaty and Deal also illustrate a principle
of enormous importance in the enforcement
of civil rights: acts otherwise
lawful may become unlawful and be en·
joined under Sl'ction 1!l71,ifthe purpose
22~ The :O;ixth·Cir(·uit ~aill:
lllf shnre('rl)mu~r-h~nnnt8 in - POR8csSion
of -rcul estate nnder ('Ontrllct nre
threatened, intitn!dated or coerced by
their lnndlords for the purpose of inter·
fering with their rights of frnnchiNe.
certainly the fnet that the coercion reIntesto
InncJ6r contracts would forniFlh
DO excuse or defense to the landowners
and effect of the acts is to interfere with
the right to vote.
In United States v. Board of Education
of Greene County, Mississippi, 1964,
332 F;2d 40, the Fifth Circuit affirmed
the holding below that the government
failed to prove that the alleged intimidation
was for the purpose of interfering
with the right to vote. But, as Judge
Tuttle explained in United States v.
Bruce (decided Nov. 16, 1965, 353 F.2d
474), the Court in the Greene Count'll
case assumed:
"Whereas a school board might, under
the circumstances present in that
case, have legally failed to renew a
teacher's contract for any reason or
for no reason at all, if it in fact declined
to renew the [teacher's] certificate
as a means of coercing or
intimidating the teacher as to her
right to vote, such conduct would be
prohibited under the Act."
In United States v. Bruce twenty-eight
white persons in Wilcox County, Alabama,
notified -Lonnie Brown, a Negro
insurance collector, to stay off land owned
or controlled by them. As a result
Brown could not reach many of his policyholders.
Brown had been active in urging
his Negro neighbors and friends to
register to vote in Wilcox County, a county
where no Negroes were registered.
The Court held that the trial court erred
in dismissing the complaint:
"The background allegations make a
strong case upon which the trial
court could infer the correctness of
t.he conclusionary allegations that
these defendants did in fact 'intimidate
and coerce' the Negro citizens
of Wilcox County, through the person
of Lonnie Brown, for. the pur"
pORe of interfering with their right.
to votp,"OJ
fur vinll1till~ till' Tnw:· 288 F.2d 653,
Gr.o.
23. Judl:e Tuttle ndded:
"Thu" nlt.hollgh the defendants here
ma)' hn\"~ llRl) nn almost unrestricted
right .to invoke the Alabama tre8pn88
Illw to keell all per80D8 from entering
upon thci r property after warning, ill
862
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL XNIGHTS OF Kl1 KLUX KLAN
Cite ns 200 F.Supp. 330 (l9M1
[14] We hold that the Civil Rights
Act of 1957 applies to private persons,
including the defendants impleaded in
this case.. We hold that the Act applies
to interfering with the right to rcgister
as well .as interfering with the right to
vote; that-the Act protects Negro citizens
against the coercion, intimidation,
and violence the defendants admitted or
.were proved to have committed in this
case,
(2) The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The '64 Act cr~ates new categories of
civil rights and extends the authority of
the Attorney General to protect such
rights by a civil suit for injunctive relief
against any person, public or private.
[.15] For purposes of this proceeding,
the most.pertinent provisions are those
relating to (a) places of public accommodation;
(b) equal employment opportunities,
and (c)· public. facilities. As
.clearly as words can say, these provisions
reach any person and any action
that interferes withtthe enjoyment .of
civil rights secured· by; the Act. Thus,
42 U.S.C. § 2000a-2 of TltIe II, is not
limited to prohibiting discrimination or
··segregation by the owner or manager of
a place of public accotPmodation.. The
section provides: .. ",-
"No person· shim (a) withhold, deny,
or attempt to withhold or deny, or
deprIve or attempt to deprive, any
person of any right or privilege secured
by section ·2000a or 2000a-l
of this title, or (b) intimidate,
threaten, or coerce, or attempt to
i~midate, threaten, or coerce any
person with the purpose of interfering
· with any right .or privilege se-
. cured by sectiol\ 2000a or 2000a~1 of
.t!listitle, odc) punish or attempt to
punish any person for exercising or
attempting to exercise any right or
privilege sec.uredby section 2000a .
or 2000a-l· of this· title...·
the excrei~c of n d~irc to cxcrcht~ exc10sive
<!wnership .Dnd proprietary interesi
in· their. property. they <;'Ould not
. legally . invoke tho rit:ht of oxdudint:
Lonnie ·BroWn, who hall \lfeyiousl1 \!een
g1v.en free access. to the pro\lCrty" a. G
And to enforce the law. Section 2000a-5
(a) allows the Attorney ·General to sue
"any person or group of persons":
"Whenever the Attorney General has
reasonable cause to believe that any
person or group of persons is engaged
in a pattern or practice of resistance
to the full enjoyment of any
of the rights gccured by this subchapter.
and that the pattern or
practice is of such a nature and is
intended to deny the full exercise of
the rights herein described, the Attorney
General may bring a civil
action * * * requesting such preventive
relief, including an application
for a permanent or temporary
injunction, restraining order or
other order against the person or
persons responsible for such pattern
or practice, as he deems necessary
.to insure the full enjoyment of the
rights herein described." [Emphasis
supplied:]
Section 2000e-6 of Title VIi, relating to
equal employment opportunities, tracks
the language of Section2000a-5(a).
[16] This suit is not one to desegregate
public .facilities under Title VII of
the Act. However, Section 200o-b is
relevant, since it demonstrates again the
broad Congressional objective· of authorizing
the Attorney General to sue as defendants
"such additional parties as are
or become necessary to the grant of effective
relief". The defendants' interference
with the right of Negroes to use
public facilities in Bogalusa· is relevant
to the cause of action, for that interference
was part of a pattern and practice
of total resistance to the Negroes' exercise
of civil rights.
(3) In sum, in the Civil Rights Acts of
1957 and 1964, Congress recognized Uiat
when a Negro is dubbed or coerced for
having attempted to register or for having
entered a "white" rcstaurunt,tbeac-
'''rca/ or mea"_ of coercion ftw tile
pUr[J(l8C 01 Interfering wilh hi. ri,ht
or I~e rIght of othera w~.om he "'lIre_
eR/ed. i .. ell'erci81t1U 1h~lr rillh' '0
rcgi.'cr (Nul f'~(JJc."
863
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
tion most likely to produce effective relief
is not necessarily for the Negro to
complain to the local police or to sue for
damages or to make charges under 18
U.S.C. §§ 241, 242. The most effective
relief for him and Jor all others affected·
by the intimidation may be an injunction·
by the Nation against the private persons
responsible for interfering with his
civil rights.
[17] Effectiveness of remedy is not
the only reason for the Congressional
grant of authority to the Attorney General
of the United States. The Nation
has a responsibility to supply a meaningful
remedy for a right it creates or guarantees.
As Justice Story wrote, in sus.
taining the constitutionality of the Fugitive
Slave Act of 1793: .
"If, indeed, the constitution guarantees
the right, and if it requires
the delivery [of the fugitive slave]
upon the claim o{the owner ~ * *,
·the natural inference certainly is,
that the national government is
clothed with the appropriate ~uthority
and functions to enforce it.
.The fundamental principle, applicable
to all cases of this sort, would
seem to be, that when the end is re
·quired, the means are given. * *"
Prigg v. Com. of Pennsylvania, 1842,
41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 539,614,10 L.Ed.
1060.
n is one thing when acts aremcl'e invasions
of private rights; "it is quite a
different matter· when congress under-
. takes to protect the Citizen in the exercise
of rights conferred by the COllstitUtion
of the United States, essential to the
'24. 'l"h'C Supreme Court hus llffirmcll the
cow:~titutionality of -various }lrovisiow~ of
tIll' ]9;)7 Af't on uther ,::rounds than thORO
nf i~Xl1t' lll~r(·. l~nitpll Htntcs v. Thornns,
. lm;i).. ::(;~ P.:". riS. SO RGt. G12•., 1"Ell.
:!d :i:;..: l~lIilt"t1 ~tnh'~ Y. -UnitH'l". HHjO.
30:.! r.~. 1;. SO Ket. !jIB, 41,.&1.211 ;')24;
lIn""nh ;.. r.n,,·hc. 1000. 3G3 U.S. 42(>. 80
s'Ct. J!j(l:!. 4 L.Ed.2d 1307.
25; l\lthough a .... t·atute that is uncc('~snr'y
nnl( llffllll'r" I('~is]ation to cnrry Ollt the
]lower of Cong·rcss. to ngulate clef,tions
for f('cleml .offirr .mny also be uU!']lro·
priam 11';.::i~lntion" to "enforce" the prohealthy
organization of the government
itself". Ex parte Yarbrough, 1884, 110
U.S. 651, 666, 4 S.Ct. 152, 159, 28 L.Ed.
27,1. We turn now to the defendants'
constitutional arguments..
B.
The defendants' constitutional arguments
rest on a misunderstanding of the
constitutional sources for the Civil
Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964.24
[18] (1) The Civil Rights Act, of
1957: Protection of Right to Vote From
Unlawful Intafel'en.ce. (a) In upholding
the constitutionality of the voting
provi~ions of the 1957 Act, we need not
con"ider the Civil War Amendments."
Section 1!)71 (h), here enforced under
1971(c), is limited to prohibiting interference
with the righUo vote in elections
for federal office. Article I, Section 4
of thl' Constitution is an express grant of
authority to Congress to regulate federal
elections:
"The Times, Places and Manner of
holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed
in I'ach State by the Legislature
th('reof; but the Congress may at
any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places
of chusing Spnators."
[19] A8 the House Committee pointed
out in its report on the law, United
States \'. Classic. 1941, 313 U.S. 299, 61
S.Ct. 1031, 85 L.Ed. 1368, "establishes
the authority in Congress to legislate
concerning any and all elections affecting
Federal officers, whether general, spe-
"isinll" of Ih,' 15th. 14th, and 13th nmeDll·
m('nt~. ~rlu:i prcflc('csnor of Sectjon 1971
(a) ,yitll!'~hlf'll nttn(~k on constitutional
~rnll1"I"l. TIl I·f'. Engle, C.C.D.i\f.cl.1877.
,I.\, Vl'cU·:,~~. p. 71H. !\n.4t4R8. It wos heM
III Il(' II ntlill I'Xl'fC'iAC of N>lIJ:rl':-:sional
jlOWI'" IIncll'I' llll' l!lth AmcndmC'Dt. Chap.
11I:ln ••.. Kitl~. r. ('ir. ID4G,154 Ir.2tl 400.
r.('rt. Ih~lli,:d. 327 U.S. 800, GO ~.Ct. 905.
!II! L.E,1. l02:i: Kellogg v. Wnrmouth,
C.C.ft.L'i.lS7:!. J4 l<'ecI.Cns. p. 2;;7, Xo.
i,nGi,
'1'1", \""ti"1< Rights Aet of 1005 re.ts,
in [In"!. "n flection 2 of the 15th Amend·
tlH'tlt.
864
'UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL :KNIGHTS OF Kl1 KLUX KLAN
Cite as 2:iO F.Supp. 330 (Il)();j)
cial, or primary, as long as they are 'an
integral part of the procedure of choice
or where in fact the primary effectively
controls their choice.''' U.S.Code
Cong. and Adm.News, 85 Cong.1957, p.
1977. The Supreme Court said, in
ClI;r.ssic:
"While, in a loose sense, the right
to vote for representatives in Congress
is sometimes spoken of as a
right derived from the states, [citac
tions omitted] this statement is true
only in the sense that the states are
'authorized by the Constitution, to
legislate on the subject as provided
by § 2 of Art. I, to the extent that
Congress has not restricted state
action by the exercise of its powers
to regulate elections tinder § 4 and
'its more general power under Article
I, § 8, clause 18 of the Constitution
'To make all Laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers.'''
[20] (b) Under the "sweeping
clause", Article I, Section 8, Clause 18,
Congress may enact all laws "necessary
and proper" to carry out any of its powers,
including, of' course, its power to
regulate federal elections. This provision
leaves to Congress the choice of the
means to execute its powers. "Let the
end be legitimate, let' it be 'within the
scope of the Constitution, and all means
which are appropriate, which are plainly
adapted to that end, which are not pro,
hibited, but consist with the letter and
spirit of the Constitution are constitutional".
M'Culloch v. Maryland; 1819, 4
Wheat. 316" 421, 4 L.Ed. 579.
"There is little regarding an election
that is not included in the terms, time,
place, and manner-of holding it". United
2&.' "An abundanee of' jullicial dicta anll
.holdings 'in nnnlogoussituntioDs make
clenr that the federnl power to regulate
fIC("tioDs extends equally to tJIC registra-
, tionprocess. Any matter affecting the
'. el~nto.~~r or"' choice of the federal elec-
States v. Munford, 1833, C.C.E.D.Va.,
16 F. 223. The Supreme Court has said:
"It cannot be doubted that these
comprehensive words embrace authority
to provide a complete code
for congrl'ssional elections, not only
as to times allll places, but in relation
to notices, registration, supervision
of voting, protection of voters,
prevention of fraud and corrupt
practices, counting of votes, duties
of inspectors and canvassers, and
making and publication of election
returns; in short, to enact the numerous
requirements as to procedure
and 'safeguards which experience
shows are necessary in order to enforce
the, fundamental right involved."
Smiley v. Holm, 1932, 285
U.S. 355,366, 52 S.Ct. 397, 399, 76
L.Ed.795.
[21] Two facts make it appropriate
for Congress to reach registration as part
of the "manner of holding elections".
First, registering is a prerequisite to
voting. ,Second, registration isa process
for certifying a citizen as a qualified
voter in both federal and state elections.,
A law protecting the right to vote could
hardly be appropriate unless it protected
the right to register.26 In Classic language,
registering is a "necessary step"
and "integral" in voting in "elections".
In Classic "interference with the effective
choice of the voters" in a Louisiana
Democratic primary was interference "at
the only stage of the election procedure
when their choice is .of significance",
Here, in terms of a meaningful right 'to
vote, interference with Negro citizens'
registering is interference at the most
critical stage of the' election procedure.
It is true of course that the framera of
the Constitution did not know about the
registration process; but neither did
they have in mimI the selection of senatorat.
;. so integrnlly rdoted to the election
ultimately h~hI os to come within
the 'hol<IinK' of the election un<ler article
I. section 4:' Vnn Alstyne, Anti,literacy
Test I"'Kislotion. 61 Mich.L.Rev. 805, 815
(1963),
865
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
tors and representatives by the direct
primary. In United States v. State of
Louisiana, E.D.La.1963, 225 F.Supp. 3(13,
359, aff'd. on other grounds, 196fi, 380
U.S. 145, 85 S.Ct. 817, 13 L.Ed.2d 709
this Court said:
"Congressional authority [under Article
I, § 4] extends to registration,
a phase of the electoral process unknown
to the Founding Fathers but
today a critical, inseparable part of
the electoral process which must necessarily
concern the United States,
since registration to vote covers voting
in federal as well as in state
elections."
In United States v. Manning, W.D.La.
1963, 215 F.Supp. 272, one of the constitutional
attacks on the Civil Rights Act
of 1960 was directed at the provision for
federal registrars. In the opiniun upholding
the act, the Cciurt considered it
important that-
"For purposes of accomplishing the
constitutional objective the electoral
process is indivisible. The act of
casting a ballot in a voting booth
cannot be cut away from the rest of
the process. It is the last step in a
process that starts with registration.
Similarly, registration is an indivisi.
ble part of elections. * * * There
is no separate registration for federal
elections. Any interference
with the' qualified voter's right to
register' is therefore interfercnce
with a federal election." 215 F.
Supp.at 283.
(22) (c) Classic relied on three important
cases tha t construe tile nature
and extent of the power of Congress to
. regulate federal elections: Ex parte Siebold,
1880, 100 U.S. 371, 25 L.Ed. 717;
Ex parte Yarbrough, The Ku Klux Klan
'cases; 1884, 110 U.S. 651, 4 S.Ct. 152, 28
L.Ed.274; and Burroughs v. United
States, 1934, 290 U.S. 534, 54 S.Ct. 287,
78 L.Ed. 484, 485. These cases point to
the principle that a congressional statute
protecting against private interference
before the. voting' stage is necessary and
proper legislation under Article I, Section
4, whenever it is reasonably related
to "protection of the integrity" of the
federal electoral process. Classic, 313
U.S. at 316, 61 S.Ct. at 1038.
Ex parte Siebold involved a conviction
of state elcction officers for ballot-stuffing
in a fcderal election: The Court had
before it the Enforcement Act from
which Section 1971 was derived. The
statute contained a number of extensive
voting and registration regulations, in·
c1uding a provision for the appointment
of federal election supervisors. These
supervisors were authorized "to cause
such names to be registered as they may
think prop"r to be so marked". In sus·
taining the validity of the legislation under
Article I, Section 4, the Court com·
mented;
"It is the duty of the States to elect
rcpresentatives to Congress. The
due and fair election of these representatives
is of 'Vital importance to
the United States. The government
of the United States is no less concerned
in the transaction than the
State government is. It certai7lltl is
not bound to stand btl as a passive
spectat01', when duties are violated
and outrageous frauds. are committed.
It is directly interested in the
faithful performance, by the officers
of election. of their respective duties.
Those duties are owed as well to the
United States as to the State." 100
U.S. 388.
[23, 24) In Yarbrough the Court had
before it the question whether Congress
could protect civil rights against private
interference, specifically klan aggression
in the form of intimidation of votera.
Yarbrough and eight other members of a
Georgia klan were indicted for conspiring
to intimidate a Negro in the exercise of
his rhrht to vote for a congressional represenlati\
c. It was shown that they used
physical violl'nce and that they went in
disguise upon the public highways. They
. were convicted under the section of the
Enforcement Act of 1870, Revised Statutes
Section 5508, that was the predecessor
of 18 U.S.C. § 241; and also under
Scetion 5520. These are the criminaliaw
\.
866
UNITED STATES v. ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF KU KLUX KLAN
Cite os 200 F.Supp. 330 (11ll;;;)
counterpart to 42 U.S.C. § 1971. The Act
forbade two or more persons to "conspire
to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate
any citizen in the free exercise or enjoyment
of any right or privilege secured to
him by. the Constitution or laws of the
.United States" or to "go in disguise on
Uie high~ay, or on the premises of another,
with· intent to prevent or hinder
[such citizen in] his fFee exercise or enjoyment"
of any such right; or to "conspire
to prevent by force, intimidation,
or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled
to vote" from voting for presidential
electors or members of Congress.
Justice Miller, in a powerful opinion for
the Court, sustained the conviction and
held the statute valid. The opinion made
it ~earthat the right to vote in federal
elections is a privilege of national citizenship
derived from the Constitution.
Congress therefore "can, by law, protect
the' act of voting, the place where it is
done, .and the man who votes from per"
sonal violence or intimidation, and the
election itaelf'from corruption or fraud."
Nor does it matter that state and federal
offices are elected in the' same election.
The congressional powers are not "annulled
because an election for state officers
is held at the same time and place".
110 U.S. at 662, 4 S.Ct. at 157.
[25-Z7] The heart of the Yarbrough
decision is the Court's emphasis on the
transcendent interest of the federal government.
n The violence and intimidationto
which the Negro was subjected
were' iuipo,rtant because they alloyed the
purity of the federal political process.
The federal government "must have the
a7. ..Our silence with re"peet to the 15th
Amendment- carries no jmllli~ri rotnment
a.~ to. the J«'OJlP, of th:lt ll""'nlhlH'ut. 'Ve
found itunli(,{~NlIil:lry .tu ('om-illf'r till' lath
. Amcudmcout IM'\':lU~(' nf tlU' X:'-tioll's mnlli·
"feR! illt~reHt· in tlu~ iutt'J.:'rit.\· of ft'tIt'rat
elections "lind the 8111tr~m(' C()urt'~ np·
. pl'O\'ol of u' constitutional hnsis for that
interest. On-its fnce, )wwcver, Section 1
of tho Fifteenth Amendn".nt dcnr!); cstahlishes.
n '(,O!1stit1ltional IHlsi!oC· Tor ConI~
to protect thc unnhridllcll rillht of
power to protect the elections on which
its existence depends from violence and
corruption". 110 U.S. at 658, 4S.Ct. at
155. This implied power arises out of
governmental necessity. The Court said:
"The power in eithcr case arises out
of the circumstance that the function
in which the party is enl'(aged or the
right which he is 'about to exercise
is dependent on the laws of the
United States.
"In both cases it is the duty of that
government to see that he may exercise
this right freely, and to protect
him from violence while so doing, or
on account of so doing. This duty
does not arise sorely from the interest
of the party concerned, but from
, the necessity of the government itself
that its service shall be free
from the IIllversc influence of force
and fraud practiced on its agents,
and that the votes by which its memo
bers of congress and its president
are elected shall be the free votes of
the electors, and the officers thus
cliosen the free and uncorrupted •
choice of those who have the right
to take part in that choice."
Since iUs the puritl' of the federal political
process that must be protected, the
protection may be extended against interference
with any activity having a rational
relationship with the federal
political process. Thus, the "rl1tionale
of Yarbrough indicates congressional
pow"r over voting, though limited to federal
elections, extends to voter registration
activities", including registration
rallies, voter education dasses, and other
nil citbf>m; to votf' fn 1'tntc ('If'(·tion~ free
from dhwriminatinn Olt aI'Munt of rncc~
(;i\"f!n tll:.f hm~j!'C. II l·llll/.!rl!~illllfll Htlltutc
1.I'I.tl'i~til'C' ('it iZI'U': rrcIIII !-it nft' IIr Ilrivntc
inlt'ret!rl'lIl'" wi1h fill' ri~ht, ttl 11llrtidllRtc
in nny part of thl~ luthl': I'rtK't'S~ (reg·
ild!"ntion. 'primnr.v, prf'·llrirnllr~·, etc.)
would set~m to be ON "npllrOJlrint.c" for pro.
tedion of \"oterR in Rtnt(' elef'tiom~f under
Sf'i~tion 2 of the l!jlh Anll~l1(hHCflt, OJI
it i~ "nt'r'('~~ary nnd pr",I('\r" for t,rot~
ti(lu 'of ,"ott~rH in fl'(lnat clrdiollR.
867
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
activities intended to encourage registration.
28
[28] Burroughs is one of a number of
cases dealing with corrupt election practices
which go far beyond the act of voting
in an election. The Federal corrupt
practice laws operate on the campaigning
stage rather than the voting stage and
apply to private persons having no part
in the election machinery. In Burrotl..'Ihs
the contention was made that under Article
II, Section 1 the states control the
manner of appointing presidential electors;
Congress is limited to prescribing
the time of choosing electors and the day
on which they cast their votes. In upholding
the validity of the Federal Corrupt
Practices Act of 1925, the Court, relying
on Yarbrough, said:
"While presidential electors are' not
officers or agents of the federal government
.• * *, they exercise federal
functions under, and discharge
duties in virtue of authority conferred
by, the Constitution of the
United States. The president is
vested with the executive power of
the nation. The importance of his
election and the vital character of its
relationship to and effect upon the
welfare and safety of the whole peo·
pIe cannot be too strongly statpd.
To say that Congress is without
power to pass appropriate legislation
to safeguard such an election from
t.he improper use of money to influence
.the result is to deny to the
nation in a vital particular the power
of self-protection. Congress un?
oubtedly, possesses that power, as
It possesses every other power essential
to preserve the departments
and ·institutions of the general government
from impairment or destruction,
whether threatened hv
force or hy corruption." 290 U.S.
at 545, .5-1 S.Ct. at 290.
[2!1, :10] The states' power over the
manner of appointing presidential l'lcc~
28,. Comment. Feuera! Civil Action Against
Private Individu:U. for Crimes InvolvillJ.:
Civil Hight..; 74 Yale L.Jour. 1402, 1470
tor~ is similar to the states' reserved power
to est ahlish voting qualifications.
Nnlwithstanding this unquestioned pow·
er in the Rtaics. "Burroughs holds that
'C(lngre~~' ha, the implied power to pro·
tect til(> inte!!rily of the processes' of
popular e)pctiun of presidential electol'3
oncc that mode of selection has been
cho~en hy. tI](' stat,>." There is an obvious
lwral!el between corruption of the
federal electoral process by the use of
money and corruption of the same pro.:·
es~ by aets of violence and intimidation
that prevent voters from getting on the
registration rolls or, indeed, from ever
reaching' the registration office.
Classic involved federal indictmen:s
against slate election commissioners for
falsely counting bililots in a Democratic
Imr!y primal"j-. The Court held that un·
del' Article I, Section 4 and the necessary
and proper clause, Congress had the :m·
plied power to regulate party primaries.
The "interference [was] with the effec·
tive choice of the voters at the only stage
of the election procedure when their
choice is of significance * * *. The
primary in Louisiana is an integral part
of the proceuure for the popular choice
of Congressmen". The right to choose
is a right "secured by the Constitution".
313 U.s. at 314, 61 S.Ct. at 1037. :MoreOVer.
"since the constitutional command
is wilhout restriction or limitation the
right unlike those guaranteed bY' the
Fourteenth anu Fifteenth Amendments,
is 8f'cw'efl af/Uinst the action of indivitl·
lwls os jl'dlas flf >'fates." lb. at 315, 61
s.n. at 1038 MI'. Justice Stone, for the
Court. spelled out the rationale:
"The right to participate in the
choice of representatives for Congress
* * is protected just as
is the right to vote at the election,
"here the primary is by law made an
inl egral part of the election macbincry
,x, ., Unless the con·
sUtlll i"llIti proll-dion of the intI'grill'
or 'elections' extends to pri-
(,111m). AmI ••0 Magg. anu Wallace,
COll~n'~" mid Lilt!rlwy Tests, 27 Duke
1,. & ~ 'j,nt, (Imh. :110, 517-521 (1002).
868
UNITED STATES v, ORIGINAL KNIGHTS or KU KLUX KLAN
mary elections, Congress is left
powerless to effect the constitutional
purpose * * *." 313 U.S. at 318,
319, 61 ~.Ct. at 10:19.
The .innumemhle C'''es in this Circuit
involving civil rights speak eloquently
against the use of economic coercion, intimidation,
and violence to inhibit Negroes
from applying for registr'ltion.
This t!1terfercnce with nationally guaranteedhghts,
whether by public officials
or private persons corrupts the purity
of the political process on which the existence
and health of the National Government
depend. Noone has expressed
this better than .Judge Rives in United
States v. Wood, 5 Cir. 1961,295 F.2d 772,
cert. denied 369 U.S. 850,82 S.Ct. 933,
8 L.Ed.2d 9 (1962).29 In Wood the interference
was in the form of groundless
prosecution of a Negro organizer who
had set up a registration school in Walthall
County, Mississippi, whl're no Negroes
had ever registered. Ill' was not
even qualified to vote in the county where
the intimidatory acts occurred; he was'
a resident of another county. In reversing
:the district jud!:e's refusal to stay
the state prosecution, the Fifth Circuit
noted that the alleged· coercion was of
the kind the 195i Act was intended to
reach. Judge Rives, for the Court, said:
"The foundation of our form of government
is the consent of the governed.
Whenever any person interferes
with the rilrht of any other
person to vote or to vote as he may
choose, he acts like a political termite
to destroy a part of that foundation.
A single termite or many
termites may P'l.~s unnoticed; but
'each damages the foundation, and if
that. process· L; allowed to continue
29. .Tn thnt-c:l.~C iJarfl~ .. a Xq.:-ro rl~shl(,llt
of Trnnr~n~('e.. n 11It'.rnhpr of thf' ":'-ituclC'nt"
Non~Violrnt C'oonlinntill/.: ('oIllJllitt('('''.
"'-nlJ in \YnlthnU eounty. ~lisj.:is~illl)i for
the puq,ose of orJ.::'anizinJ;' Xc~rcH~~ of
thnt county to rc~istcr anll vQtn. Hardy
tn~ng('{l in an or,::ument with the rCJ::h;·
Ifnr. Tha re,::istrrtr orll.~rl'(llliin to lCfl\'C
U,e uffi~c. As he I:ot to tlle ,lonr. the
ffJ:'istrnr ~tr'H'k him' fill 111(", hnf'l;; 'of the
hroa,l with ,:i l·t..vol".... r. ll:lrdy -was ·:lrr('~t~
Ni :1I1'1! chnrged with ~l hr.~a('!1 of thc
the whole structure may crumble and
fall pwn hefol'e the occupants beconll'
awal'!, of tllI.'ir lJl'ril. Eradication
n! (I,difil'al t.(·nllilt'~~, or at least
cherlci 11j~ "H'i I' ad i\i ti,'"', is necesRal',
v to I'n"l'lIl irrl'parable damage
to 'lUI' Covl!l'nml'nt."
[:Jl -:::J1 11',. Iwld ("~( (h~ defendants'
(,,·t.o:; of ('('Ollflmic r f ,c:,.r;fl1l, £nti-midation,
lI/1ll l'ill!l'/1a dirl'c(,'(! rrt Ncgro citizens
in Wrrshinu(on Puri"h for the purpose of
d~terrina f/wir re.lJisterina to vote strike
lit, the inlel/rill! of the federal political
jJi"oce.~s. Thl' ri!lltt 10 l'ntc in fcderal
l'lectifll/.', a p: ivil~"" IIf nrrtional citizenship
securer! by tilt! United Statcs Con.,
Iitulion, includes Ow light to register
to vote. The riaht /" r('gistcr to vote
includes the "ighl to be free from public
or private ill!erfcr~nre with activities rationally
,·,/,tled In r(',/i.,lerina and to encfl1trafjiny
(dhrJ"S to 1'i"!li.~ter.
(2) The Cit'il RighI., Act of 1964:
Public A ccomr",,,lrIti,,n. The Supreme
Court has upheld the l'ollstitutionality of
Tille II as it applies to motels and restaurantR.
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United
States, 1!J1J1. ;17\) U.S. 211,85 S.Ct. 348,
1:\ L.EcI.2d 258; Kalzenbaeh v. McClung,
1%4,379 U.S. 2!lI, 115 S.Ct. 377, 13 L.Ed.
2<1290.
/34J Thl' defl'lldatll~ afe left, therefore,
olily with the contention that the
Ad. for reaSons not articulated, should
net reach I'll inltr tl(,II'!-!on~.
The <l1'f('ndal1t~ <lrt' 1'('ally arguing
against th<:: jUlhmll'llt of ConA"ress in selecting
injunct iI"<' r.,lief ltf(ainst private
per~ons as Olll' lIl!'t hod of '~nforcing conI'n'~
Riol1al !llIliry. Once it is conceded
th;,t ConA"re~~ haR the power, under the
commerce clause, t.o fIJI :,i,1 cliscrimination
11(":1(,('. 1')1(' ('011 rot IlIlnlt"fi II) th~ f~let
I hat Ilartl~' W:I.~ ,Hot \ .. lig-ihlf~ 10 reghctcr
:11111 t!lf'rf'flll"(' II i~ right tl) ..<otf! wnR not
intpTf('I'I'l\ wit h: (2\ thf' npl1\'nl wnR from
'I .)('niHI nf It tN!lJ1"St fOf n, tcrnlJOrary rc·
f=training fl.rlh"r. .r.:,'nl"rnll~· nil lInflJrpcnlnblc
"rrlor 1ln<lnf 2s ('.f;.C'. *§I21II. 1292:
(::) til" prm.l'(·lItillll Wllf'l' !1 sl :de (:riminal
f'll\lrt prlll·l't·'Ii,,~. llrnh',..tl"l hy t.he d()C~
trill(~ pf (·t .. ,!.if.y awl ~t'('lioll :;~S3 ~cver('ly
r"st rid ;11~ fl ,1"n,1 ill.hlllf'tloll~ uf stote
l'ro~f'('jlilTw"
869
250 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT
in public places, there is little doubt that
injunctive relief against any person seeking
to frustrate the statutory objcctive is
appropriate.
In this Circuit, relying on In re D,'hs,
1895, 158 U.S. 564, 15 S.Ct. 900, 39
L.Ed. 1092, the courts have held that
when private persons burden commerce
to the detriment of -the national interest,
the Nation may enjoin such persons even
without enabling legislation. On two occasions
courts have issued injunctions
against klans and klansmen engagerl in
intimidation and violence burdening commerce.
United States v. U. S. Klans,
M.D.Ala.1961, 194 F.Supp. 897; Plummer
v. Brock, M.D.Fla.1964, 9 R.ReI.L.
Rep. 1399. Sec also United States v. City
'of Jackson, 5 cii·. 1963, 318 F.2d·l.
(3) The Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Equal Employment Opportunities. Title
VII, like Title II, is based upon the commerce
ckLusc. The term "industry affecting
commerce" used in Title VII
parallels the definition of "industry affecting
commerce" in the LMRDA (29
U.S.C. § 402(c». This in turn incorporates
thc dcfinition of "affecting commercc"
in the NLRA (29 U.S.C. § 152
(7». The National Labor Relations Act
represents' an exercise of congressional
regulatory power to "the fullest jurisdictional.
breadth constitutionally permissible
under the Commerce Clause," NLRB
v. Reliance Fuel Oil Corp., 1963, 371 U.S.
224, 226, 83 S.Ct. 312, 313, 9 L.Ed.2d
279; Polish National Alliance of United
States v. NLRB, 1944,322 U.S: 64~~, 647.
64 S.Ct. 1196, 88 L.Ed. 1509, a conclusion
equally applicable to Title VII.
The sweeping regulations in the NLRA
and LMRDA covering the terms, "onditions,
and policies of hiring and bargaining
do not differ in any essential rl'spect
.30. 'I'IH'" ('11111"1 fint!jo; thal Oil tlH' :l(ll11il";'itln~
:l1ltl 011 ill!' 4'\'ilh'lIt'l' :"lthll't'fi nt tht' ill'ar·
ill~. n ]trl'tilllill:lr.r injnndiun l'lltolllfl 110t
h';~'Il' :lJ.:'"ill~t (,ilarlt·s Itay \\'iIIiamN, J.onis
A\lVlpwlJit". ",,,I Willis llIa<'kwell. Tit"
Court. do('~ not ('nter a judJ:mcnt of dis·
roh.;sal :IS tl) tJ;NW dcfcnllunts. bCl'ause
the Unit('l} };tat('s expressly rcs,~rvcd the
riJ,.:'ht to introdm'p. ndditionnl cvhlcnl'e at
the hearinl; ·!or permanent celief, :IB to
these nnll otlwfllcfendnnts. At the time
from this legislation prohibiting dis'
crimination in hiring practices and on
the joh as,ig-nments. The employer-employe"
relationship has, of course, direct
df"d upon thc' production of industries
which "re in ('ommerce and upon the
praet ical utilization of the labor force
and thl' power of Congress to regulate
these adivities cannot be doubted.
NLRB v..Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.,
lnG, 801 U.S. I, ,,7 S.Ct. 615, 81 L.Ed.
898: NLRB v. Fainblatt, 1939, 306 U.S.
601, G06, 307 U.S. 609, 59 S.Ct. 668, 83
L.Ed. 1014; Mabee v. White Plains Publishing
Co., 19·16, 327 U.S. 178, 66 S.Ct.
511, 90' L.Ed. 607.
[351 Defendants admit that they beat
and threatened N'egro pickets to prevent
them from cnjoying- the right of equal
employment opportunity. The effect of
course is to prevent Negroes from gaining
free access to potential employers.
Such' acts not only deter Negroes but
intimidate employers who might otherwiRe
wish to comply with the law but
fear retaliation and economic loss. This
ig precisely what the klan's Boycott Rules
lire de"igned to do.
Th.. United States has alleged, the defendant.,
havc admitted, and the proof
has showlI that the defendants have intimidat.
ed, haraHS€d, and in other ways
interfered with the civil rights of Negroes
f,ecured by the Constitution. The
admission and proof show a pattern and
practice of interference.
Proll'ction agidnst the acts of terror
and intimidation committed by the Original
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the
individual dcfendants can be halted only
I,y a broad injullctive decree along the
lines of the order suggested by the Uniterl
States. The Court will promptly issue
an appropriate order.30
of IIII' IH':lrill~. Hlaf'kwcll had not been
t't1JTI'IIJ~· ~·('nl'd, \Vc {hul that .TnmclS
Jo:i1i,-l. :--:il1ll1'.'- .\1I~1J~t. 'Vnrncr~ :nul Albert
Al'pll'wlJill' nft' JJl('mhcrs of the kIanA!
'( 'A or \\,1'11' lllf'nlbef!'J until rCI'cntly,
1lI1l1 th~n·rort: ~honlU be enjoined. The
defendHnt!'l' rt'quf'tiIt for dismissal of the
H(·tioll nR t" t1lf'sr named tJefendunts and
tJll'ir rt·"n.'~:t fl'!' attorneY8 fecs ore deIn/
tt,
870
ATTACHMENT 2
~n~.l ~':i·":·. STATEMENT OF J. EDGAR HOOVEn
~. ".J . oJ.,) .ft lc~, • DIr..ECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
DEFORE NATIONAL Co:r..nSSrmi Oli THE
CAUSES AND PREVEllTION OF VIOLENCE
f;;\J'2: September 18, 1968
871
INCREASE IN VIOLENCE
Violence is a reality in America today. In" the
light of events in recent years, it has become the most
serious domestic problem confronting the United States.
Crimes of Violence
Every indicator available to the FBI, from itsinvestigative
responsibilities in both the criminal and security
fields, emphasizes that violence is a rapidly growing malady.
This is clearly shown in the statistics compiled by the FBI in
its Uniform Crime Reporting program. Of an estimated 3 and
3/4 million serious crimes reported to law enforcement
agencies in 1967, 484,900 were violent crimes in the classifications
of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
This represented a substantial increase over the 421,000 such
crimes reported in 1966.
The violent crime rate in the United States for 1967
reached 250 victims per 100,000 population. This is more than
double the 1940 rate, 88 per cent higher than the 1950 rate"
and 57 per cent above the 1960 rate.
Over-all, crime in the United States rose 21 per
cent during the first six months of 1968 over the corresponding
period in 1967. The violent crimes of murder, forcible rape,
robbery, and aggravated ,assault increased 21 per cent as a
group. Armed robberies increased 34 per cent and aggravated
assaults with firearms 28 per cent in the first six months of
1968 as compared to the same period of 1967.
These statistics represent an epidemic of crime and
violence, which has affected virtually every segment of American
society. The mugger, the rapist, the hoodlum stalk our streets
in frightening numbers. Fear of venturing outside the home at
night has become a fact of urban life.
Guns are far and away the most common weapon used
in murders and nonneglirrent homicides. Of the 12,090 murders
reported in the United States in 1967, over 7,600 wero committed
with firearms. They were also used in over 73,000
armed robberies and over 52,000 aggravated assaults. It is
significant in these times, when we know too well the tragic
stories of senseless sniper killings and the shootin3 of
innocent people by crazed gun~en, that murder by firearms has
increased 47 per cent since 1964. Armed robb~ries and aggravated
assaults with firearms have increased 58 and 76 per cent,
respectively, since 1964.
66-077 0 - 76 - 56
872
The Crime Clocks, as contained in the FBI's
Uniform Crime neports for 1967, show that last year these
offenses occurred at these time rates:
Serious Crimes: 7 each minute
Violent Crimes: One each minute
Murder: One every 43 minutes
Forcible Rape: One every 19 minutes
Aggravated Assault: One every 2 minutes
Robbery: Olle every 2~ minutes
Burglary: Ooe every 20 seconds
Larceny: One every 30 seconds
Auto Theft: One every 48 seconds
Violence against Law Enforcement Officers
The violence of the criminal, often cold-blooded
and calculated, is especially felt by law enforcement
officers. In 1967, 76 officers were killed in the United
States while performing their official duties. This raised
the total of these deaths to 411 for the eight-year period
beginning in 1960. In 96 per cent of these murders firearms
were used.
A study of the criminal histories of the 539
offenders involved in these police murders since 1960
reveals that 77 per cent had been arrested on some prior
criminal charge before they tool, an officer's life•. In
fact, 54 per cent of those offenders with prior criminal
arrests had been previously taken into custody for such
violent crimes as murder, rape, robbery, and assault with
intent to kill. .
Of the offenders previously convicted, two
thirds had been granted leniency in the form of parole or
probation. Three of every ten of the offenders were on
parole. or prob~tion when they murdered an officer.
Physical assaults against officers are also
increasing-. A heavy toll of injurics among police officers
has resblted from cnforccmcnt action taken in connection
with riots and civil disobedience. Nationally, the rate
of assaults on law cnforcement officers in 1967 ~as up
11 per cent, and assaults per 100 officers increased to
13.5 per cent from 12.2 per cent in 1966.
873
Youthful Criminality
A particularly tragic facet of the crime and
violence problem in this country is the increasing involvement
of youn~ people. A disproportionate share of national
crimc is conwitted by persons under 18 years of age. In
19S7, for example, 49 per cent of those arrested for
serious crimes were ~n this age bracket; and arrests of
persons under 18 increased a startling 69 per cent from
1960 to 1967, while the numbe~' of persons in the age group
10 through 17 increased just 22 per cent.
The majority of juvenile crimes are against
property (62 per cent of all persons arrested for car
theft in 1967, for ·example, wel'e under 18 years of age).
However, youthful violence has been steadily rising.
Arrests of individuals in this nge group for violent crimes
showed the folloy/ing percentage increases in 1967 over
1960: murder, 56 per cent; forcible rape~ 38 per cent;
robbery, 96 per cent; and aggravated assault, 121 per
cent.
Violence is partiCUlarly prevalent today among
young people in large metropolitan arcas. Vicious juvenile
gangs terrorize the slum sections which spawn them, using
weapons easily made or come by to cOl1l!llit crimes of violence
which all teo frequently leave their victims killed or
maimed. This youthfUl criminality too often establishes
a career in crime.
Organized Crime
Although violence is an integral part of the
operations of organized crime--whose major syndicate is
known as La Cosa Nostra--it is a coldly calculated tactic
to maintain the group's dominance over its own members
and over the members of the society in which it operates
rather than terror for terror's sake. The peculiar evil
of this type of "corporate" violence is not the individual
sadism nnd brutality of the "enforcers" and "stron~-Rrm
men," but the monopolistic position it cnables raclwt
leaders to gain and hold in their legitimate, as well as
their illicit, activities.
874
Force and threats of force are employed to
eliminate rivals, collect on gambling and loan-shaiking
debts, frighten potential witnesses, enforce internal
discipline, aud gain possession of various business chattels.
In the greater Chicago area alone, there have been more than
1,000 gangland slayings since 1919, only 17 of which have
been solved; in the greater Boston area, there have been more
than 50 during the past four years, only 11 of which have
been solved.
Careers in Crime
The FDI's Careers in Crime program, a study of
criminal careers, made possible by the cooperative exchange
of criminal fingerp~int data among law enforcement agencies,
has produced the following profile of 12,026 perpetrators
of violent crimes who were arrested in 1966 and 1967. For
the murderers, of whom there were 922, the average criminal
career was 11 years and 7 arrests. For the felonious
assault offenders, of whom there were 4,538, the average
career was 10 years and 8 arrcsts. For the rapists, of
whom there were 925, the average career was 8 years and
7 arrests i and [0): the robbcrs, of whom there wcre 5,641,
the average career was 9 years with 8 arrests.
Seven per cent of the murderers had previously
been charged with homicide during their criminal careers
and 18 per cent of the rapists were repeaters of this
violation. With respect to the feloniou5 assault offenders,
30 per cent had previous arrests for serious assaults
and 37 per cent of the robbers had repeated that crime.
This is of key interest, because it shows a tendency toward
the commission of violent crimes by repeaters.
Cost of Crime and Violence
. The enormous cost in money and ruined lives which
the statistics of American crime represent toucbs nlmost
every citizen in some manner. The cost in dollars and
cents is stag~DrinG--estimatDdat over 527 billion a year.
The daln·a~e inil icted by the riots in our ciU es in recent
years has added materially to this figure. The rioting
herein Washington, D. C., following the murder of
Martin Luther King on April 4, leSS, caused d~mage estimated
at $24 million. Losses sustained during the April rioting
in Baltimore amounted to $14 million.
875
The cost to society of the fear and anguiqh
resulting from violence cannot be assessed monetarily.
There is no way ~o determine accurately the damage to
the Nation or to individual lives resulting from the
harrowing experiences of criminal attacks which maim
or mutilate, nor the price of personal grief and
suffering for families of those struck down by killers.
The corrosion of fear which violence brings saps our
strength as a Nation and weakens the social fabric of
our communities.
ORGANIZATIONS ADVOCATING VIOLENCE
There are in the United States today a number
of subversive and extremist organizations which advocate
force and violence. They strive in every possible way to
disrupt law and order and to inculcate hatred and bigotry
that breed violence.
Communist Party, USA
Prominent among these is the Communist Party,
USA (CPUSA). Communist statements for public consum,ption
to the contrary, material furnished for st~dy within the
CPUSA clearly reveals that the use of force and violence
is--as it has always been--the primary technique for the
communist seizure of power.
Communists nrc in the forefront of civil rights,
antiwar, and student demonstrations, many of which ultimately
become disorderly and erupt into viqlence. As an example,
Bettina Aptheker Kurzweil, 24-year-old member of the CPUSA's
National Committee, was a leading organizer of "free speech"
demonstrations on the campus of the University of California
at Berkeley in the Fall of 1964. There protests, culminating
in the arrest of more than 800 demonstrators during a massive
campus sit-in on December 3, 1964, were the forerunner of the
current campus upheaval.
In a press conference on July 'I, 19G5, ~he openin~
day of the CPUSA's special nntional convention, G'lS IInll, the
Party's General Secretary, stated that there were communists
on most of the major college campuses in the country nnd that
they had been involved in the student protests.
876
Uike ZaGarell, CPUSA youth lender, claiced that
the Party had played a leadillG role in student rebellions
nnd uutidl'aft de;nonEltrations ncross thG country durina
the past yenr. For c:~~mpJ.e, he claimed that GO of the
300 uarsan.ls uGed durinG "3top the Draft l'lee:~" domonstrations
j.n lIc',{ Yor!, Ci ty during Deccmbcl', 196'1, \101'0 CPUSA
members.
These ctntc;:Jcnts nrc :u:Jply supportcd by the
evidence of such cOl.lr,lUoist pnrtid.pntion io student unrest
and antidrnft prote;.;t dC!:lonstrntions nhich FBI investicrations
hnvo disclosed. The Students for a Democratic Society,
for examplc, hns played n ),:::y role in WIll}' of these demonstrations
and OOillG of itG IJO;1bzrs, ns well nn some of its
national leaders, have publicly aclmitted th:1.t they arc communists.
In addit:l.on, T:\c:locrs 01 the CPUSA-controllcd
Tl. E. n. DuDoi::; Cluh3 oJ hi13rica and otl13r cotl;nuni~t splinter
youth croups, sucb us thc YounG Socinli9t Alliance, the
Youth JI.3ainst Yinr nud F:1.sci9:71, and the Pro3r;~f39ive Labor
Party, have been very active in these demonstrations.
COlC'liJunists labor ceaselessly to exploit the
racial situ~tion and to incitG racial strife and violence
in this country. They h:\Ve been active in c:q)loitin[j
propn~andn~iDe the riots of reCGnt yenrs. Onc main communist
gonl is to alienate Ne3ro9s fro~ established authority.
It h~s lon~ been coa~unist policy to charge and
protest "polico brut""lity" YlhGrcver po:>sible--particularly
in racial situations--in a calculated cffort to discr&dit
1a,{ cnforcc:~oilt and to accentuate rar.ial issues. The
cumulative effect of this continuinz SJ;lBar c~upaiGn proves
that it has been iI:lluensely successful. This c:u:Jpaicrn
popularized the cry of "police brutality" to the point
vhere it has, unfortunately, been accepted by many nonco~~
unists, especially militants ~'10n3 minority groups and
students. The net effect of the charge of "police brutality"
is to provo::e ~.nd encoura:;:e mob action ~.nd violence by
developin3 contempt for constituted authority.
877
Other COJ~mun:1.~:L.9z.g:m::.:;,.~tio!1s
Oth'3r cO:;>I:1v!J:ls'~ orrranizations in this country
ded:\.cated to th'.:) usc of :1:o1"Ce and violence :\.ncludc the
Trotskyite Soci~list ~orkers Party Dod the pro-ned Chinese
Prorrrcssivo Labor Party (PLl'). ':i'he ac·j;:i.v.i.tJ.cs of l'lilliam
Epton, !l:::l[j;:-o vice prcs:i.d':~nt 01 th:'! PLP, :tn connection
with th<J 1961 Harlem l":i.ot resul·t'2J in his arrest by Hew
York authori t:l~·s. II:'! was su1.JS:::lCjllently found guilty of
conspiracy to riot, advocacy 0:1: criminal anarchy, and
conspiracy to advocate criminal anarchy.
Students for a D:::lmocratic Societl
The emergence 0:1: the so-called "new left" movement
in this country in recent ycars has attracted much
public attention !>:;lcausc of 1'.;s flaarant resort to civil
disob~d:1ence. 'fhe now left is cor.:poscd of radicals,
anarchists, pacif:tsi:~I cl"usaclers, soc).al:tsts, cOilUOIunists,
idealists, and r.:alcontents. It is predominantly a campusoriented
movement. A large proportion of the new leftists
was reared in affluent homes.
This movem3nt, which is best typified by its
primary component, the Stl:dcnts for a Democratic Society (SDS),
has an a1l:.ost passionate desire to destroy the trad:'.tional
values of our de~ocrntic society and the existing ~oc1al
order. The SDS has been doscribed by Gus Hall, General
Secretary of the Cl'USA, as part of the "l'csponsible left"
which the Communist Party has "going for us."
In recont months, student disturbances have
exploded on college and univ~rsity ca'01puses throughout
the United States, initiated by student activists, many
of whom are affiliated with the SD3 or campus-based black
extremist groups. The riotous activity at Columbia
University wns spcr:~'!li)adcd by lolar}; nudd, Chairman of the
SDS Chapt0l" at this university. In an open letter to
President Kirk, which app3arod in thJ public press in
May, 19G8, Rudd stated, "Yollr pOrl,or is directly threatened,
since wc will have to destroy that power before we take over."
878
The SD3 helct R national convention at Michigan
Stato UnlvcrDity in June, 1960. At this convention,
methods to disrupt selective ~ervice fncilities and lau
enforcc"l;:)ut '7ero diGcllG~;0d in a "s:'.botn[;e and c::plos:i."os"
,'.'ol·I~Dllop. Sl!:'.~;~ot:i.OI!S included: fll\shin~ bo:nbs in toiletn
to dcotl'oy pluubj.ut;; u::;:\.u:; sllRrp, tl'ipod-"hn.ped motaJ.
illctru~oDto to b~lt vehicles;. f:i.riD~ Doleto? coc~tnils
fro~j) phot GU11S; j m;:miu~ radio cCjllip:;lcnt; and droppin::;
"thsJ:'1!Iitc bombs" down IMUlholcs to de~troy comli\lInicatiolls
systelils.
Tbe protest nctivity of the new left and the
SDS, uodar tho Guise of l03itimate expression of dissent,
han created an iU9Url'ectionary cl~,ate wbich bus conditione:!
a nunhar of YOl\O~ AUlei·ic~ns··-especialJ.y colle~e
studants--to resort to civil dicobadience 2nd violence.
Decnlwc activist:J of the nC~1 left <'.1'e COLmitted to the U:JC ot
direct action and violence to achieve their objectives, the
ne~1 left mover,leD t is boco;·,in:; r,:Ol'O nod 001'0 [lll:1l'cllis tic, mi 11tant
I aud violent. As :,.n o;:~mple, a Junc, 1860, issue of "The
Hat," 1'. n::m left uncl.:::cp'()tlnd nZ'.'I!3p::per published iu 110\"1 York
City, carried aD nrticle and din~rD~ doscr:i.bin3 the manufacture
of a hOil\elll~,de bOPlb out of a::II;\onium lIi trate aud a length of
pipe. This pnrt:i.cular nl'tic].A. concluded by notina th:\t a
subsequent issue ~ould contain pInus for makinG tbermite bombs.
In addition to CO~JlInist nnd ne~ left r.roups, there
arc n UlUl)Cl' of o::,r,:miz:\tions which are basically terrorist
and hoodJ.Ll'1 by nature. These Groups nre chicfl~ of a hate
or "anti" v~riet~'--nnt~.-~Tcgro, rnti-·;,'hitc, anti-Se:nitic, or
anti-I;\1nor1ty. Their co;:mon dCllo;,j.n:>.tor is a distru::;t for
law nnd order and n belief in force nnd violenco.
White hate groups includ"} 1:101'0 than a dozen Klan
oreRnizations, linonl d3sccnctcuts of the Ku Klux KJ.an wbich
vas founded over n century ago. The Klan has a tradition
of and a penchnnt for violence. Over the yenrs, murder,
arson, bo~blnGs, ~nd be~tiDgs of Ilegroes hnv3 boen perpetrated
in many arens by Klansr.lell.
879
The Notional States nights P~rty io a white.hato
group l'IM.eh in composed of fOl'"le1' mem':>orc:; of IUnn ol'Ganizutions,
as well as notoriou3 aDti-S8~itc3, It, too, has
consistcntly and pointedly advocated a policy of violence.
The National Socialist ~hite People's Party,
formerly Imo\7D l'.s the ll~,ericf\n lTazi Party, is anothcr organization
that espouses a line of hntred a::;aiust ilczroes and Jews.
'i'hc l.linutc~en is fl. croup of "superpatriots" ''lho
ostensibly are preparinG Rnd trniuin3 to enGaGc in guerrilla
warfare in the United States follo~in3 a co~nuniGt take-over,
which they believe is inevitable. Its members have nn
obsession for weapons ,of all kinds.
Dlac~ Nationalist Org~nizntioDs
The ,.,11010 problem of violence in funel'iean
society han been intensified by the receut crouth of
bl~ck extrc~ist orannizntioDs. Those or~~n1~ntionscontninmany
vicioun, hnte-fillcd illdiv:i.dl1al~ \'illOSe objective is nllnrchy;
ullose symbol is the Uolotov cocktail; uhoEe sloJan of
d'3finllce ia "burn, baby, bllr.n"i Wh03G rW.nifcsto is Frantz
Fallon's "Tile \7rctched of the E"lrtll"; and \7ho::;e prcncbcrs
of tbe (;03pol of hate inclucl0 Stoltely Carmichael, H. Rap
Bro'ln, anel nobort Fr?nl'lin Uilliruas.
The lTation of Islam, tho largest of these lle::ro
hate organi~~atj.ons, is in both the E,;(trcr,li.st and the 11onextremist
camp. It has ~cbieved a respectability of sorts
because it has shre\7dly used the shield of religion and
has insisted that its u:::;:')bars avoid racial disorders and
live noderately. Nevertbele::;s, its Doetin3s arc replete
wi th cond9rnnatiolls of the "ib1 te race and v~.~lle referenc<H:!
to the physical retribution that qill be meted. out to
oppre!Jsors.
The Student llonviolent Coordinntin:; Co~mittee
(sncc), vhose militant top lc~ders hnve includod Sto~e~y
Cr.ruicbne). and ll, Rr.p D.ollD, is one of tho most publid.zcd
of tIla blac!, e;(-i;j,'emist groups. Cnr;.lichnul, \1ho ...ms recently
c;(pclled frOM S;YCC, h:ts st:>.ted t'hnt blacI, pO~7Cr signifi'~::;
"brillr:in3 this cOl1ntry to its [,nee3" l'.nd "usill:; ~ny force
nece3s...ry" to ...ttnin objective£!, lIe has ['.lso urged the
blacks in this country to "prepare for a bloody revolution."
880
'I'he i!~lpnC t of e;rtrcmist spokesmen on the bl:-.cl.
conL'lllnity and their ~bility to j.ncite tbe youth, in pt'.rticulnr,
cannot bo underesti11:\tccl. 7heso £P01~CS1~el1 arc C;{trCl:lcJ.y
vocal Rnd dedicated to the dcstruction of th~ United States.
They hnve a larGe nudienco b~cnu8e of the vida~pread disseminatJon
gi VO;) to thoir iUflamnatory Gtatcr,lOntr; by the
nem; LH3dia.
Consider the follolli113 Gtate;;18nts. Carmichael
said :l.n AIGiern in Septe~lber, 1937, "R",volution is tho only
solution for tllO J\':1~1':Lcnn Jle:;r00s." In 1'.l\3ust, 1963, he
asserted that the black revolution is enterio::; "the period of
armed stru::;gle" just before there is f,u;;rrilla \"I:t:t'fnl'e. Last
SUhllJOr in C:-.nb1'i(1~c, lin-ryland, 11. nap nro',m rcportc(lly !Hdd,'
"It's timo fOl' C:tmbr:ld::;e to c:qJlo<i8--iJlnc!{ fol):s built
America, if Al,lorica (\0,1' t CC;'IC around, we' 1'0 goin::; to burn
it." E'1l'lie1' this yC''Cr., D!'o~m "rotc, "i'ic must nove froj;!
resistance to 8G~rcssion, fro~ revolt to revolution •••• llay
the dOQths of '68 signal the b03innin~ of the end of
this cO\.!lltry."
Take tbe violence in Clevoland, Ohio, in late July,
ISGD. There, m~1bers of tho uilitaut black nationalist Group,
110\7 Libya, e;:chall~cd Glmfil'c \'lith pol icc rcsul tine in the
deaths of three officers and eieht civilians.
Reprcscnt~tive3 from several NC3ro universities
aud collc305 attendod a black student CODferen~e sponsored
by the Sl,CC nnd hel.d ill tlid-'\1'1'il, 19G3, in n [;outh~rn
state. Reportedly, the majority of the nen and women
a t this conIeronce vlere armed \7ith pi stols.
AmonG the items di8cusseda t a "defense vlOrJ,sbop"
at this confcrcnce 'i101';;: the follo':lin:;: prep<>.ratiou of
maps showin3 the loc~tions of the ho~es of mayors, chiefs
of police, and 5ioi13r authorities co thny cnn be eliniD~ted
by I,Ian l:lau-t:;p':l tactics j distribution of forces in s::JVcral
sections of a city to prevent ln~ cnforccnent a~cncie~
from cOllccatrntiu3 in one nrenj location of ~nipcrs nlon~
travel routes of nationnl Guard units ~lld pol~ce forces;
use of Vietll:'.l'l \'1<'..1' vetc1':1.IlS to train blacl: people in
demolition, use of b00~Y tl'np~, location of vulnerable spots
on armored vehicles, and GlIc1'l"illa I"/:trf.u"ej and usc of
blnc~ collc~c students to instruct blac~ people in adjacent
COi:Llunities in t~l'J c~rc and l1:;e of firc2..ri.i1!i, prcp:lr;\ tion
of Molotov cocktails, and reloadins of spent cartridges.
881
The nevollltioll:\l'Y 1\ction r:ovc!l~ont (RAt!) i:1 n
011 U;ant, b lucl~ c;;tl."C~J:I,"lt, P:"0-Chil~38~ co:'. ·~l\'d..::Jt o:·Z[\l.1iz:\tioD
<1od:l.cnted to t110 O'l01·);~~ro·.7 of '~llc Uu:!.tcd St:ltC3 GOVOTu."'lO;l't
by force nna violcn~c. PJi:l 11:l::J orr:;nn:l,:,:cd riflo cluiJa in
order to cnJDGe in fi~c~rr~ practice Dud to o~tnln n1'05
nnd n.r:'mnltioi'l.. On JUD.::J 15, l!:):38, t\70 Rl\:J n",n1J~l'lJ Vierc
cOllvicted :I.n 110',J YOT:. City oi' co,1:::p1rinG to I.:urcler Roy
171l:;;'11~ nnd lihi'cn:JY YounG, Jr., t\~O 11Q[~cl'nto HCG1'O civil
ri:,:rrts IC:ldo\'o,
'file Dlnc!~ 1':\11thor p."rty 1a ?on ol·~nniznt:l.on 'I7hich
nclvocatc:J til;! ur;c of G11el'l'ill:l tncticG nlld GUB:; to cud the
opprc:lsiol! 0:( the blac~;. rr.cc and the dl·:t:ct ~.n~ o!~ I:ea:;.:oe~ to
HGlr;; iu Vie·i;11::lLl. OU Hny 2, 1D37, 2·j DCI,lbcr:J of '.:1110 rrroup
iuv~do(l th0 Califol':lia state 1Ir::~;eJ:lbly at Sncrnn::mto "hile
it \7nG in (iCr;S10i.l. fJ:'ho inv:'.der~ UC:L"'e ~r!~?d '7~~th rj.floD,
chotc:u:l:J, ~nd l)i~tolG ni~d c13i:1:Jd tilCY u~ro tI19;:e -'::0 prot:oGt a
Gun l'CG~.:ltr<J.t~.uil l;:·,!. Oll );1:'0 cccn:Jio1l3 durinG OctolJ:Jl', 19G"/,
nnd fl.pl'il, 19GJ, r:8r:IJOrS 01 -;;ilia Group el'.:;~~<:(] ill r,Ull battles
\"lith the policC! rC;:,;llHip.3' 1.'1 ill' ,mrC.:ll' of Ol1~ polic(;,r1:1:l, :IS
\/011 ns the dC::lth vf on~ g:;:'oup t13nbzr :lnd tha \7otmdln3 01
nnoth'3r.
Vithin the past year, tbarc h~vo b,an Dufficicut
contncta b~"i:\t'0Cil r;d.li tfl.nt bJ.~...~!~ nat:loi1~ 1 i:::; 1:c nl1d rcpresantntivC8
of unf~icudly or ho~tilc coulltricG to i~dlcatc a
dC3~cC of forci~n involve::3nt, p~rticipntion, nnd influence
in tl1~ nctiv itiC3 of bl::lc~; cxtl'~nists ill til~ United State:>.
~hcse forci~n contncts serve to increaue th3 potoutial for
violencc by GiviD3 iDopiratioD, encouraGement, n~d GuP?ort
to tllo rcvolutioll~ry nil,l::l, doc-;:rioo::;, nnd nctivities of
black c~treciots in this country.
Stoc~,pilin3 of Arn:: by Dl:lc:.:~~ntion:l.li:>t~
neporta 01 the stoc!:~,i.lin3' of firenrn::: nnd other
veapon~ by b~nc~ n~tion~li3t C~OUP3 nre of G~ent concorn
to tha rDI and 1:-;\7 enfol'cc,:~nt. Such stoc~~pilin3' i:;, of
courDs, a distinct pos~lb!lity in vie~ of the ea~e uith
"iliell ':al'a:ll'~::; c:m b3 ollta:i.n3d in til is cotm°i;ry and in the
lisbt of the infln~~:l.tory ur~in:s of :;uch DGitators as
Sto!.;el? Car~l:l.ch:\el, ~. rt:1P Bro'.I;I, nn:] J:l1\c:; lo"orn::tll,
Dircct6r of I~t91'n~tion~1 nelDtions for the Student
Nonviolcnt Coordinntj,D~ CO~:.littcs.
882
At a meetj_u:; of blncl, nationalists in Los An~eles
in February, IDGD, for instauce, For~nn told the audience
that every ~cgro should be annad for the eventual revolution
of tho black people. Brovn quoted fro~ Mao Tse-tung that
"Poli tical pO':ler £:1'07/5 out of tile barrel of a gUll." TIe
added that lIegr08s should acquire Guns bec2.use !:mericn only
understands force. Carmichael exclair.wd tha t all blacks
must unite militarily.
FDI investiGations of black extremists have uncovered
innwnerBble allegations that these individuals have obtained
firearrns and are encour<l.:>:i_n::; residents of r;hctto ,l1'OBS to
procure weapons. 11'e incidents I previously mentioned in
CGlifornia and Ohio arc Gr~'.phic ex?-"lple;; that this is beine:
done. Blac!: extremists have also di"tributcd nermpapers and
leaflets describi:l~ method:> of l.nkin:> firebo.lhs for use in
riots. The" Innel' Ci ty Voice," ;'. neYISp~p8r in D.:ltroi t, wi til
a claimed circulation d 10,000 aimed at the ~hetto reader,
has published such information.
CAUSES Oli' f.llD RE:mDl:CS FOR VIOLEii8E
The crine and violence that flourish in ".mericR
cannot be attributed to a sin~le c~u~e. The causes are
many and interrelated, for they are rooted in a nu~ber of
conditions Bnd influences in contemporary 11fe.
Just as there is no one cause, there~ no single
remedy. Crir.1e and viole~ce cRnnot be prevented or reduced
by cOl1centratin~ on one or tYIO phases of the proble:.! to
the exclusion of the others. A coordinated and many-sided
effort is required if effective results are to be achieved.
Social and Economic
There are a nUillber of vital ~ocial and econo~ic
factors-,-such as poverty, inequnli ty of er,lployment opportunities,
inferior housin3, inadequate education, discriminr,
tion, and breakdo':m of the fRmlIY--',-lhich breed
lawlessness and violence. I sh~ll not dwell on tb~~.
It is suftlcient to s~y that WE must find ways to eliminate
the conditions which are CBl\sir,g us so :,luch grief and concern.
- 12 -
883
ATTACHMENT 3
Excerpts from an "Imoerial Executive Order"
issued by Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers quoced
in "Attack on Terror: The FBI Against the'
KU.Klux Klan in Mississippi," by Don
Wh1tehead, Funk and Wagnalls, New York pag_es
5-9. ' ...,.
"To: All officers and members. Subject: Forthcoming
enemy attack and countermeasures to be used in meeting
same.
"It is absolutely necessary that each and every member
of this organitation stand fast and remain calm at this time,
while he is working deliberately to prepare himself and his
unit for effective combat against the enemy.
"The military and political situation as regards the enemy
has now reached the crisis stage. Our best students of
enemy strategy and technique are in almost complete agreement
that the events which will occur in Mississippi this
summer may well determine the fate of ~hristian civilization
for centuries to come.
"This organization is the physical spear upon which the
enemy will either impale himself and perish, or sweep
884
aside, then to proceed almost unhindered in his evil work
of destroying civilization. The manner in which we conduct
ourselves and 'use our strength this summer will determine
which of these fates our nation will follow...."
"This summer, within a very few days, the enemy will
launch his final push for victory here in Mississippi. This
offensive will consist of two basic salients, which have been
designed to envelop and destroy our small forces in a
pincer movement of agitation, force by Federal troops, and
communist propaganda. The two basic salients are as
follows, listed in one-two order as they will be used.
"One. Massive street demonstrations and agitation by
blacks in many areas at once, designed to provoke white
militants into counterdemonstrations and open, pitched
street battles, resulting in civil chaos and anarchy to provide
an 'excuse' for:
"Two. A decree from the communist authorities in charge
of the national government, which will declare the State
of Mississippi to be in a state of open revolt, with a complete
breakdown of law and order; and declaring martial
law, followed by a massive occupation of the state by
Federal troops, with all known patriotic whites placed
under military arrest. If this martial law is imposed, our
homes and our lives and our arms will pass under the complete
control of the enemy, and he will hav~ won his victory.
We will, of course, resist to the very end, but our chance of
victory will undoubtedly end with the imposition of martial
law in Mississippi by the communist masters in Washington....
"When the first waves of blacks hit our streets this
summer, we must avoid open daylight conflict with them,
if at all possible, as private citizens, or as members of this
organization. We should join with and support local police
885
and duly constituted law enforcement agencies with volunteer,
legally deputized men from our own ranks. We
must absolutely avoid the appearance of a mob going into
the streets to fight the blacks. Our first contact with the .
troops of the enemy in the streets should be as legallydeputized
law enforcement officers. It must also be understood
at this point that there are many different local police
situations. Where we find corrupt and cowardly mayors
and police, obviously, our members can not submit to their
control, but we should still try to work with them at arm's
length in every reasonable way possible to avoid being
labeled as outlaws.
"In all cases, however, there must be a secondary group
of our members, standing back away fr.om the main area of
conflict, armed and ready to move on very short notice, who
are not under the control of anyone but our own Christian
officers. This secondary group must not be used except in
clear cases where local law-enforcement and our own
deputized, auxiliary first groups are at the point of being
over-whelmed by the blacks. Only, if it appears reasonably
certain that control of the streets is being lost by the established
forces of law can the secondary group be committed.
Once committed, this secondary group mus~ move swiftly
and vigorously to attack the local. headquarters of the
enemy, destroy and disrupt his leadership and communications
(both local and Washington) and any news communication
equipment or agents in the area. The action of
this secondary group must be very swift and very forceful
with no holds barred. The attack on the enemy headquarters
will relieve the pressure on the first group in the
streets and as soon as this has been done, the second group
must prepare to withdraw out of the area. They will be
replaced by ariother secondary group standing at ready.
It must be understood that the secondary group· is an extremely
swift and extremely violent hit and run group. They .
should rarely be in action for over one-half hour, and under
no circumstances for over one hour. Within two hours of
886
their commitment they should be many miles from the
scene of action...." ~
"We must always remember that while law enforcement
officials have a job to do, we, as Christians, have a responsibility
and have taken an oath to preserve Christian civilization.
May Almighty God grant that their job and our. oath
never come into conflict; but should they ever, it must be
clearly understood that we can never yield our principles
to anyone, regardless of his position. Respect for Christian
ideals can not yield to respect for persons nor statutes and
procedure which have. been twisted by man away from its
original Divine origin. • . .
"When the black waves hit our communities, we must
remain calm and think in terms of our individual enemies
rather than our mass enemy. We must roll with the mass
punch which they will deliver in the streets during the day,
and we must counterattack the individual leaders at night.
In our night work any harrassment [sic] which we direct
against the mass of the enemy should be of a minor nature
and should be primarily against his equipment (transportation
and communications), rather than the persons of
the mass enemy. Any personal attacks on the enemy should
be carefully planned to include only the leaders and prime
white collaborators of the enemy forces. These attacks
against these selected individual targets should, of course,
be as severe as circumstances and conditions will permit.
No severe attacks' should be directed against the general
mass of the enemy because of the danger of hurting some
actually innocent person. The leaders, of course, are not
innocent, and they should be our prime targets, but the
innocent must be protected....
"We must use all of the time which is left to us in these
next few days preparing to meet this attack. Weapons
and ammunition must be accumulated and stored. Squads
887
must drill. Propaganda equipment must be set up ready to
roll. Counterattack maps, plans and infonnation must be
studied and learned. Radios and communications_must be
established. And a solemn, detennined spirit of Christian
reverence must be stimulated in aU members,"
66-077 0 - 76 - 57
888
ATTACHMENT 4
The Performonce of the FBI
in Investigating Violations of federal Lows
Protectir.g the Right to Vote -- 1960-1967
John Door - Dorothy Landsberg
Much has been written about whether t.'e Federal Bureau of
Investigation is an investigative agency or a police force. The FBI was
never a national police force, and surely did not act as such in civil
rights matters. Its role was thot of an investigctive agency, acting for
the Justice Department, required by law to serve the Civil Rights Division,
which was in turn charged with the responsibility of enforcing Federal laws
,with respect to civil rights.
In July of 1960, the Civil Rights Division was to enforce the <:ivil
Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 -- a twin responsibility to go after (A) public
officials who practiced racial discrimin"tion in registration or voting, and
889
(B) anyone, public official or private citizen, who interfered with registra1/
tion or voting by threats, intimidation, or coercion by any means.-
In addition, there were two ReconstruCtion criminal laws in force,
18 USC 241 and 242, the first directed against private persons or public officials
conspiring ta deprive citizens of any rights or privileges secured by the Constitution
or the laws of the United States, andthe second directed against public
officials and prohibiting deprivation of the same rights. The scope of both of
these criminal laws had been severely limited by judicial decision, (the Williams
and Screws cases).
Rights Act of 1965,
Until the passage of the Civil Rights Act ot 1964, the Voting
2/
and the decisions in the Price and Guest cases, - protection of
• <,'
a cilizen's civi I rights through enforcement of these criminal statutes presented
difficult legal obstacles.
The performance of the FBI in serving the Civil Rights Division of the
Justice Department is the subject of this paper. The first section deals with voter
discrimination and the St~cond with voter intimidation. We have chosen to treat the
cases involving intimidolion or interference (the b cases) together with Ihe criminal
- matters. Although lhe remedies provided were no more than civil remedies, Section (b)
represented the only effective tool availl1ble against essentially criminal activity by
private individuals.
We are aware of the popular notion that strained relations between the
FBI and the Civil Rights Division have existed for yeors, and that, as a general rule,
most agents considered civi I rights enforcement on odious task. We hove heard
890
it said that most Division attorneys felt the Bureou did a superfic,ial job in
interrogations and investigations on civil rights coses. There is little solid,
3.
written documentation one way or the otherd which may be frustrating, but
is nat surprising.
Those of uS who worked in the Civil Rights Division during the
period 1957 to 1967 remember the difficulties of low enforcement over those
ten yeors, and the complexities of the problems we encountered. Events moved
so fast, the work load was so heavy, and the demands on everyone's time were so
great that no one hod the opportunity to sit back and make a thorough appraisal
of the FBI's performance, nor even to reflect carefully on the lessons learned
from our experience.
Director Hoover,
v
appearing before Congressman Rooney's
Appropriations Subcommittee in 1965, testified that investigation of racial
discrimination in voting had involved the galhering of numerous interviews, the
making of nearly a million photographic copies of voting records, and had
frequently made unusual demands on FBI manpower. He pointed out that
investigative work by the FBI had served as the basis for seventy suits filed
4.
by the Justice Depurtment.:!
Our purpose now is to see if anything can be learned from those
yeal> 10 help cstoblish criteria for determining FBI investigative responsibilities,
and for measuring FBI investigative perf:>rmance in the enforcement of federal civil
rights laws.
891
Several things should be kept in mind. The paper is generally limited
in time to the period John Door was in the Civil Rights Division. (July 16, 1960
to December 31, 1967) It is written from the perspective of the Civil Rights
Division -- without examination of internal FBI files, or of files in the Attorney
General's office -and finally, the paper is based on personal recollection (no
interviews have been undertaken) in conjunction with a review of files accumulated
by John Door during his years as a trial lawyer in the Department. The documentation
is in no sense complete. Nev~rtheless, we are confident that a reliable measure
can be made of the FBI's policies, procedures, and performance, in meeting its
investigative responsibil ities in the enforcement of federal laws pr~tecting the
right to vote.
892
Registration and Voting
The Civil P.ights Act of 1957 created the Civil Rights Division
and provided for injunctive action ogainst public officials practicing racial
discrimination in connc::ction with voting.
When I entered fhe Division in July, 1960, three voter discrirnination
cases had been filed (Terrell County, Georgia, 9/58; Macon County,
Alabama, 2/59 and Washington Parish, Louisiana, 6/59), and two of them
tried. The Civi I Rights Act of 1960 had just given the Division an important
.new tool -- authori ty to inspect and photograph votcr registration records.
Once this statute wos pa~sed, the Fel was asked to inspect and
5/
photograph records in 16 counties.- In mO$~'counties the registrars and local
officials refused to cooperate. However, several counties' records were
photographed. In due course, they arrived via the FBI into the offices of the
Civil P-inhts Division. In Scpt:,mbcr, 1960, for example, a dolly wos wheeled
into my office loaded with I,hotost(llic copies of all of the voter re8i~trolion
records in Lc::f1ore Count}', "',issi,~,ippi. Thc',(' rcco,d" were bound in volumes
and covcred (l spoce of 3 by 5 by ,j feet hinh.
The rCCNtls han not b(:en analyzed. 1111 the Oivi;ion hod os!:ed the
rllilo do was to impect and pholo91(1flh thOle record" and \hot is what it did.
893
BUieClU to mcst:r- thf: ar~ of rcce,jds cnc.:l),sis. I~.t that tir;,~ \Ve didn't su~p:'ct th~
romcnCl~ hid(~sJ1 in th~ record~.
The Bur.:''}u's ph0lvg!"cphic wOik was complete, utllizit1g thC' be.:t
type of pbotogrcrhi:: equipment, one! the copies were superb, although the
paper was on the shiny sido, ms;kin£j it diffiwlt to 0xarnine clos:,I>, if there
were 1,000 applicc:tions to examine and there were tens of Thousands.
Several summer stud,",nts wodsecJ in the Justice Deparlm.::nt that
summer. They were put to the task of looking ot the records. l.eflore's recors!,
pToved to be hard to cl/,,,Iy::e. Th0 job was 100 much for The summer slurlC'nts.
We 10ler figurr:cl O'.,t 11", rUlSOIl. A fey' N,_,C);o<cs hodl'(-cOn pon"illcJ 10 rCQU, ,.;
thc rcgi~tror ha:J not o;v'';11 htll'd scctiol1\ of th.:: Iv,i~',issiFri Comtitution 10
NCgrOl'5 to infcrpc"t Cli},j "'''i' ~C'c:ie:)~ 10 whit",; she hc:d just helped Ihe
whiles, and tho!' ,,,'C' not ", ces; 10 d~kct from Ih" reC0'cls clone.
Counties, Tcn'1L's$~.c, "'C,:.in9 on c:conomie intimic!.::tion cmos. Aside from Ih.::
894
preparation, trial and post-trial work in the Terrell County, Georgia registration
discrimination cases (where a little records analysis was done) nothing was
accomplished until aFter the change of Administration in January 20, 1961.
On March 19,1961, Assbtant Attorney General Burke Marshall,
several other attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and I, met with Attorney
GETl eral Robert F. Kennedy and Courtney Evans of the FBI, to discuss problems
of voting in the South.
At that meeting, the Attorney General instructed the Civil IUghts
Division to use the FBI for extensive investigation of voting cases. Evans was
told to be prepared for a large number of voter investigation requests.
At tli~ meeting there was no discussion about the importance of record
. (,'
analysis. No one at that time appreciated this. In Victor Navasky's recent book
"Kennedy Justice" he describes the meeting, but assumes that we knew then what
we learned later, afler several years of hard work. that is, that "Each case
depended on paimtoking investifjation -- analysis of vating rolls, compilalion of
demogruphic statistics, comparison of handwritings, careful interviews with
registrars, (md with a statistically significant sample of block and white foiled
registrants, successful registrants ond others".
6.
A gigontic enForcement assignment (oced us in Five states/ and
Attorney Genoml I~enne.:ly wanted to get something accomplished.
Within the next three months, the Civil Rights Division requested,
895
hod tdcd to r~£J.;s~~;" Cile :-'c~ been ;"\:;fLiSl2d 0: r0je<::od. Vie csk~d tho
_7.
Bu:oau t"8o; fLjIl c1~tc;!!s./
in Delles Coun~y, AkSc:;-;.;;;, ~r..;; Bureau in;".;;oviewod cbou~ 90 NOi).oes; 1.3 doys
Tho i0vcs~igc;io:is in oil ir,vo!y\;;d irlt~;vjev/s with 736 Negioc::s or,J
ir.vo:s~isctior.~ contcLicd on cxpcr.sicn cIcu~~. 'Thc~ is, the Rel"son intcrvicv/od ..
characteristic "r
3/, FBI r0por~s was thGt VIa sot -exccl-Iy t:,e information we oslwd {or -- no
mOiC, no less. In (OoncJuctiil0 the intc~'roGotio;), the Fe1 agent:=. Gid not
usc their knowkC:oe of~hc registration process, although most of them were rO(Jis;okJ
rcguest itself, and the ch rocteristic FSI procticc of confinino inl-crviews to ilems
requested, ccus(:cl two disc(!vcntcsc:s. first, it was jrt.possible to prcdit.l, and
thordoro_ to spocify in a rac;uast, all t!1a types of practices which NCGroes mioht
:-u subjected to in a Oival) cour':'_ In such cases the Bureau's investigation
896
Coun~'Y, AlooCi .....~o, a r.::.:;u~s·j· r,:;,r or.~ item f0la:-.;d ~o whether or not the inteiVic\vc::c
VlOS .rcc;virG-c to hove a voucr.cr \vr.cn he c??licd for r~9r$t:ot:on. After a doze,"'.
or so in:~rvj~w$ \"Irth pors.:.r;z \"ho trieJ to r.:'Jis~ej ct d:ff~ient tim~s, i~ bOCC.ilC
obvicus theT t:....e: VOUCiiCi rJle V/uS r.ot U$.::G in Da! Ie:> County. The sema \vas
true as to the Cor.s~·;~utic:-Icl r0ocii;8 c~1d wtitir.g ft;.st. YetI becGusc our
(oqu;;:st inc.uacd it, every int0:"vL::v.' (c:.out 90) \'1as c.zked cbout it. In
897
by Clem McGowan. These mon had the responsibility for supervising
civil rights investigations. r,cCjucsts from thQ Division Vlere funnil!ed through
, this office to the field offices and reports from the field containing results
of the investigotio',5 were revie',','ed by it before submission to the Civil
Rights Division.
The reports W€le not unifo,"mly first elms. Dallas County was excellent.
Yazoo County, Iv'iississippi was not so good. In that count)' the interviewing
agent did not press for names, dates and facts on intimidation and made no
attempt to interview one Negro who apparently was a messenger from the whites
to those Negroes instructed to take their names off the rolls.
At th~ end of June, 1~61, a srrnmOlY of these investigative reports
was made.
On July II, !\ssisl<:nt Attorney General [lurke l'Aorshall wrote
8.
U.r. Hcovev' and sent him ;his summC'l)', sOr"ing:
"I wanl 10 Illonl: you for this work. Wc me tryillg to be
as efficiellt "",I ":f',,,liv,, as Foo,;iblc ,",'ill,,'ut une'uly bUlClclling
the lilOIIi,owcr uf til,_, Fi;l. If you huv" any sL'~,;yslions (IS 10 how
the \'/..:.11: con be ir.l;)rov('u, or how \v.-:: can rrld-:e your job cll~icr,
I would cll'preciolc lIe-firing from you. 1I
To our knowlC'dnc, 110 sllosv;tioll$ were c\'~;rr(:ccivcd.
At o!)oul th.:- sOlTle time, Juc1De I'ronk Johnoon delermined 10 test the
melt Ie of the Just ice Department ullder Rohert F. Kennedy. Early in February,
1961, he set the Macon County, Alabama case for trial for February 20th.
898
The registration records at the Macon County court house in Tu~kegee had
been photographed on a December registration day in 1960. Although
countless Negroes had come that day to register, all they found ~as a sign
on the door which read:
"Registration Office Closed invasion by Deportment of Injustice".
The case had been originally filed in February 1959. The
Justice Department hod received complaints from Tuskegee Negroes long.
before that, but the Civil Rights Division had refused to investigate their
5).
complaints.:!
Then in December 1958, the Civil Rights Commission put
the Tuskegce Negrocs on national television and the Justice Department sued.
Tho pleadings were drafted right off the televised testimony. Thereafter,
thore was much legoJ maneuvering, brought about by rhe resignation of the
registrars, which was ultimately eliminated by the 1960 Civil Right" Act.
Throughout this entire period no substantial FBI investigations had been
conducted. Whether the Bureau hod been asked to conduct ono, I don't know.
When Judge Johnson called, we found that we hod n? proof to
present at the trial. We hod the information that the Civil Rights Commission
hod developed; the unverified information furnished by William P. Mitchell of
Tuskegee, Alabama, and tho unanalyzed p~gis~p-~ion ror')rds. This was not the·
kind of proof that the Deportment of Justice needed to go to trial on t~e first
899
voting cliscr~mina~jon CCS\1 in the N.icdlc Dis~r!c; of Alc.~cma.
Instead of using the 3ul"~cu to shc?~ up the p~oof, we went ioto
the field ovrselves. On Feb~uery 12, ar.ot;~er lawyer and I arrived in
Tuskcg0e. We hed wi~'h us 0 set of rCGisti'ction ;:ecordswhich had been
photogrophad by the Bureau in D~ce;,r,~cr. Th~y W~ie not orgcnized
or cr;alyzed. William Mitchell, who was in cha,g.: of th" Tuskegee Registration
Vo'~irlg "Leoguc, gave us a voJuntcry staff of Tuskegee woman to help organize
and analyze th~ recorC:s. We started the next morning to interview Negroes --
professors, school t"achers, professianals. Each hed tried'to register
repeatedly over the years. Each had been reiected evcry time. The rejected
(,'
applications included their literacy tests, which w"re beautifully written.
Three volunteers and another :awyer sat in an outer o(~:cc organizaing 'and
analyzing the records. The records themselves revealed that scores of
barely li~crotc whites had been rcg!st0;·...Jd on their first oP?Iicati?o. We had
come: upon a gotd mine!
. Using theso records os a source of no;nos of potential white
witnosses, wo b000n to u~(; the FBi. We SC:1t th(:rf} out to jni(;rvi~w the whites.
nC~\'/0..;n tho 12th of Fc.:bruary cr:d the trial dote, four or fivc
young Civil Rishts o;~orncys worked arour.d the clock on the case que,tioning
witness,;s in the day time and enaiyzir,g r"cords and FBI. reports at nigh ••
Thero was romance in the rccurds. For example, a record
900
analyzed established that 40 some whites were registered on March 17, 1958
yet only 5 Negroes were permitted to opply on June 6, 1960 despite long lines
of Negroes woitin3, And the FBI reports revealed for the first time the tip of
the iceberg. There was, regordless of literacy, or intelligence, universal white
10/
suffrage in Macon County.-
At the trial, Robert Owen, one of the Civil Rights Division's
young attorneys, proved tho.t highly qualified, educated Negroes hod repeatedly
applied unsuccessfully to register; and that each time they wrote long sections of
the Constitution. Illiterate white persons, (whose names we got from the records
and who hod been interrogated by the FBI) who did not even understand what the
word "registration" meant, testified that the registrar come to their homes and
..:
registered them.
On March 17, 1960, Judge Johnson ordered the registration of 64
Negro"s, required the registrar to file detailed monthly progress reports and fixed
the standard to be followed in future registration of Negracs in Macon County as
that standard which til'::> registrars hod applied to the least qualified white voter in
the County. (This was the legislalive standard adopted four years later when
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965,)
Later Judge Ben Cameron of the 5th Circuit said that a kind providence
had spored Mr. Justice Jackson from the 'peclocle of the invasion of the bright younCJ
men from the Norlh -- these groups of highly trained representativcs of the central
Government brought from its seat of power in Washington, backing their ponderous
cameros up to the county
901
court houses in the rural seclion of the South, photographing the records of the
sovereign states and hauling elected officials into court to answer variegated
charges.
Judge Cameron had reason to be apprehensive. We could convince
anybody with the recDrds Dnel with unsuspecting white vDters as Dur witnesses.
But the wDrk assisnment I'D cia this was enDrmDUS.
FDr the next three years, the Civil Righis DivisiDn, small as it
was, refined these investigation tools. By analyzing countless recDrds in
scores Df cDunties in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, the DivisiDn uncovered
every scheme practised by the resDurceful Southern registrars who had spent five
generations ke"ping Negro citizens from the vot~.
In time, the DivisiDn was ablet'tD categDrize these schemes in
shorthand fashiDn as "seleci ion", "assistance", or "grading" discrimination.
As a result, the young men Dnd women who came 10 work in the Division, though
inexperienced m onalysists of elocumenls, were oble, wilh eliligence, to anolyze
superbly. TI",y were shDl'ln in aelvance whot to 10Dk for, in whot were very
complicaled reoistratiDn forms. In the process, however, top grDduates of the
prestigious luw schools IDol:cd elsewhere for employment or found themselves
groduoleel inlo Ihe view bDx, rolher Ihan into the oppelDle courtroom.
One Df the prDblems of developing prDDf frDm Ihe records was that,
in many coses, there was no race identification in the records themselves. In'
persons who proved 10 UC excellen~ governmenl wilnesses.
902
order to resolve this gop in the proof, we used the Bureau. Here the Bureau was
exceptionally diligent and effective, taking, on many occasions, up to 2,000
names and determining the race of each of them, so that their registration
11.
records could be used in court.:!
But in some cases the registrar would not surrender the records, and
some federal judoes would not make them do so.
Without the recbrds, the Division had to find a way to get the
names of the white persons to be interviewed by the Bureau. In Forrest County,
Mississippi, Civil P-ightsDivision attorneys went to a Catholic priest, a Jewish
rabbi, and a Protestant minister for names of college students who might, away
from home base, gi~'e honest recollections 'if their registration experience. This
.required a great deal of sifting. Often we would give the Bureau 200-300 names of
12. •
young men and women just post the age of 21 to be interviewed.:! The Bureau never
objecled to the num(,rieal number of interviews requested. In most cases, when the
FBI rcport corne in, it would come bock containing at least several interviews with
120.
The Bureau hod no difficulty in gelling a while person to talk to them.:!
The Bureau was a prof('ssional low enforcement agency, free of politics and other
improper influences.
Hawever, somclimes the interviews would ue uneven and it appeared
903
to us that little supervision of the individual agents' work wos being dane
, in Washington. Therefore, we devised a guarantee of good performance in
conducting the interviews.
We becanie very careful in drafting FBI memos requesting interviews
with white witnesses. The Chactow County, Alabama, April 1962 FBI request
went on in the most minute d'etail for 174 pages, explaining, anticipating,
. 13.
cautioning, and coaching the Bureau agents.:! It epitomizes the guaranteed
performance technique irrevercnlly referred to within the Civil Rights Division
os the "box memo".
The BUI~eau did an excellent io~ on the Choctaw County investigation
in spite of the public attempts of the probate judge in that county to stop whites
from giving any information to the agents. The llureau interviewed 64 whites
ond obtoinC'd st"temenls from each. Twenty-four persons gave signed
statements, and 45 -- all whom were so requested -- furnished hClI1dwriting
samples.
66-077 0 - 76 - 58
904
If the Division had not been'Jccupied with other duties as well, it
might have focused earlier than the winter of 1963-64 on the fact that the FBI
was not being fully utilized in its interrogation assignments, and that its agents
were utilized in an almast demeaning fashion in inspecting and photagraphinfJ
14
voter reg istrati on records.=!
In late 1963 the Division prepared detailed requests to the FBI to
make a complete analysis of voter registration records in three counties in the
South -- Scott County, Mississippi; Bibb County, Alabama; and East Baton Rouge
Parish, "Louisiana. In East Baton Rouge, the FBI was also asked to prepare copies
of the registration records for use as exhibits.
These requests reflect the sophisticated techniques in analyzing records
which had been developed by Division attorneys, and set out in great detail
exactly what the agents were to do, attaching examples of charts, statistical
analyses and control cards which had been prepared by the Division in other
15
voting discrirl1inotion ca~es.=!
Instead of senclino these re'1u"sts over formally, Mr. Marshall, in
JelnualY 1964, sent them over informally 10 AI hosen who was in charge of the
General Invcs'lig"tions Division for the ~ureau. An inform,,1 request never
becomes part of on FBI file. Thus, there
905
was, from the standpoint of the Bureau, no effort to embarrass the Bureau.
Mr. Iv'.arshall asked Mr. Rosen to look them over and see if the Bureau would
have any difficulty handling them. At that time, the Bureau hod about 6,000
special af1'~nts and about 8,000 clerks and technical assistants. Soon thereafter,
Mr. Ro,(", come to sec the Assistant Attorney General Marshall and said that
they were not as!e to do this. The manpower requirements of the Bureau were
such, he said, that it hod no one available to take on this task.
Mr. Marshall, perl;aps aware of the other struggles the Deportment was
having with the Bureau on other types of investigations, decided not to press the
point. He withdreN the investigative request and instructed the Civil Rights
16.
Division to continue their records analysis on thei~ own:.! There were 53
lawyers in the Civil Kights Division at that time, and another 55 clerical employees.
The Division had no difficulty in accepting Mr. Marshall's decision.
If the !Jureau were forced to accept the assignment it would have been a
terrible ri,k to u,e the Bureau.
We WNe litiootals, in,isting tho I the proof be Ihere when we entered
the courlroom, stubborn and competitive enough 10 prove our cases ourselves.
We were not "gee \.,hiz II low)'crs.
The Divi,ion was not prepared 10 toke Ihe lerrible ri,k of losing a
single case becauc.e of lack of ploof. We faced tough iudS/as. We wanted Ihe
proof to be so overwhelmi,;g so as to lock up the trial judge; if necessary to
906
persuade the IIppelate Court to reverse; and to convince the whole country
as well.
Mr. Marshall's decision ralified a treaty which the Division had
already worked out with the Bureau. The Bureau would not have to analyze
the record" but it would cOl1d"ct all the interviews we requested, do it
thoroughly, and if, in our judgment, necessary, on en expedited bosis. For
its part, the Division would·analyze the records and would operate in parallel
18
as an investigative agency in voting matters across the South.:l
So it continued. The Division analyzed the records, the Bureau
conducted as man)' oral interviews as required; the Division's caref~1
requests insured e"cellent performance; the Civil' Rights Division lawyers
continued to act as investigators as well as lawyers .in the field.
The result of four years of work wos a trcmendous accumulalion
of proof of racial discrimination of voting throughout the stotes of Alabama,
Mississippi and LouisiclI1a. \n cases like Wontgomery, Dallas and Perr)'
Counties, IIl0boma; cares!, Tallhatchie cmd Panola Counti"s, Mi".iS5ipIJi; Bienville,
East Carroll and Ouchita Parishes, Louisiana, the Division presented overwhelming
180
proof of discrimination.:l
In the oreal statewide case of~. v. Louisial1a_ and U.S. v. Missi"ippi,
the Divisiol1 proved raciol discrimination statcwid". 111 U.S. v. Iv'\i,;sissijJpi,
0010119 other clements of i'ts proof, the Division itemi::.c" hundreds upon hundreds of
907
specific incicc.n;'$ of reciel c;;~c;·ir.:L"'.c:t:0t'l i:1 voting cccvrin~ in Mis:;issippi
Final!yI oftor the Sdrr,Cl Sr:dg~ incjd~n~ I ~ne country faced up
pos:.cci sY/(;~pir,o en.:: rc.dicc.l k0idc~ion ;hat r~movcd, if nccc:;sary,
. J9.
re9i!.~'rc;tion fOi" votinG fiom fh;::; ~.cnd:; of locel officic:s.!
The \/0;10:8 f~;sht::i ;\ct of 1965 (;r..:Jctad on August 6, 1965 mode a
dromaHc ChCir.OC in the m(;thocs G\'cilc.blG to ~n.:; Justice D0':>crtrnent to
. 20. .
prc~e.:::t the riSht to VOi'~-! It ~.us?0:1dcd the usc of !itc;rccy tests .and
devices 0:; C;~ci::fica:ions :0r vct;.....g ;:1 t.,!,,0C:;:C, ,Georgia, Louisiana,
It provi.:L~d rOi the a:;sjsn~';~!it of feceral CXOmitl2rs to list voters in counties ~o
II Ii' \VCs 5(:~tccl-,:.;::: S,:,;c':.l>:iC ~-hC,; C~vii S0:V:C~: COf;liT,i::.sion is (J bipol"
ri:~'l{) bcd, c.:-"d :~..;cc.~;:..~ ,h...:-,:. .:.~·0 c,,:,~~c:.' .... ..:~ \);~ ~~i...l Civ:i S.:..:,"V;CQ CO:7.:i,:is5io:1
in vLoh:ot:, CV":':"'/ CCJ;"::I' of :i',c cClJ:,-i:;'. !:" \\'.::s hc;)cd rheir if it bcccme: ncccsscry
to op?oin; fcdcrcl o:crI1i:Il.:;S, 7:i,Jt t:10 Civil.S0;"vico Co:r.r'li~$io() could, in a
D08
neutral non-political way, use employees of the Commission in thme counties, or
if necessary, appoint someone else. I think it WCJS the reputation of the Civil
Service Commi,sion for its bi-partisan, fair, nan-political activities that led to
its choice as the appoint il19 body."
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 produced a significant increase in black
registration and resulted in substantial voluntary compliance by local
officials. By June 30, 1966, local officials had registered more than a quarter
of a millien new Negra voters in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
South Carolina. By June 30, 1966, 44 counties hod been designated for the
appointment of examiners, and more than 115,000 blccks had been listed by
examiners.
The FBI had no major new responsibilities under this Act. They
did agree to coli est registration statistics (on a weekly basis) from local
officials in the five Deep South states, and FBI offices continued to be opened
on election dely ta receive complaints. But at the polling place, it was the
Civil Service Commission, not the FBI, who, if needed, waS present and
protecfed the right to vote.
909
Voter Intimidotion
Intimidation was one of the weapons used in the South to keep
, Negroes from voting. For years a partial control.of racial violence
in the Deep South was effected by conscious mointenance of the caste system
on the part of state and local officials, who misused laws, and corrupted their
authority.
As the Department of Justice began to crowd the county registrars,
the inevitable cunsequence was an increase in the level of violence. This was
especially true in Mississippi.
Control of intimidation was not an easy assignment for the Civil
Rights Division, nor for the FBI. There w,,'re several problems.
First, the 18 USC 241 - 242 criminal jurisdictional basis from
Reconstruction days was not solid. It never became solid against private
persons. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act that Congress
extended the criminal law for enough to reach private lawlessness in the South, and
then only in the matler of voting. (Of c')ursc, the Justice Deportment hod an
ample jJrisdictionol base in SectIon 1971 (b) but the Bureou never liked civil
investigation.)
Second, the Bureau was required to prove the purpose of the person or
persons who committed th«; oct of intimidation. That is, that his purpose was to
910
deprive someone of due process of low or some oth.~r 14th Amer,dmonl right. This
made the investigation assignment much more difficult than a straightforward
21
criminal investiaotiori.:l
Third, the territory was lorge, still a frontier and the Bureau was
badly underm::mncd. .
Nevertheless, the r(Osponsibility was there, and the Deportment
undertook to perform its re.sjOonsibi lily.
During the 50's and 60's Deep South Negrces who wonted to
22.
vote were unquestionably afraid.! They felt that any effort toward th,,~
end would be met by economic retaliation from the white community, and
if retaliation were nat suc.:essful, by overt viole~lcc. To overcome this fear,
Negro organ;zotions sent field workers into Mississippi to encouroge registrotion,
and to lend support to those Negroes already willing to register. These workers
met adament resistence, not 10 SO)' hostility, in the white com,nunity. Local
officials, true to their cominitmc<1l, used state criminal process to retaliate aoain.t
Negro registration worke:rs. In some counite~, there was violence.
The followino incidents ore a few of the tYP"$ of intirnidalion that
occurred in Mi$sissippi clurina the early 60's.
In Jefferson Davis Count>', where we brouJht a voter discrimina1ion
suit, a local school "oord (kcided not 10 rel,ire six school teachers whose names
had been published in tho:> local new$paper as oovNnment wilnesses. We were not
.able to prevent thse firings.
911
In Gr~ene County, Mississippi, 0 teacher had not been rehired
after furnishing an affidaviT relating her experiences attempting to
register. All of our efforts to prevail upon the school board to rehire the
teacher failed. A suit was brought in the Southern District which resulted
in an unfavorable decision; the case was appealed and subsequently lost in the
Fifth Circuit. In two other cuunties, TallahaTchee and Forrest, school bus
drivers. involved il) litigation of a registration suit were not rehired •
. Since relatively few Negroes were trying to register in Mississippi,
where Their economic life was controlled exclusively by locol white persons, the
bulk of the intimidation in Mississippi centered against the registr~tion workers
themselves.
Again; the principal techniquE>' was misuse of state criminal
process or state authority against registration workers, for the purposes, and with
the effect pf intimidating unregistered Negroes. In the fall of 1961, a Negro
registration worker named Jc.lm Hardy accompanied two Negroes to the court
house in Tylertown, Mississippi. He was ordered out of the registrar's office and,
while leaving, was hit on the back of the head with a gun by the registrar.
An hour later, he was arrested, confined and charged with breach of the
peace.
In Sunflower County, Mississippi, five Negroes were arrested and
convicted for distributing literature without.a permit. In Greenwood,
912
Mississippl, eight registratian warkers were arrested while protesting the lack
. of-proper police protection to city officials.
In addition, in Sunflower, Leflore, Amite, Rankin and Wolthall Counties,
Mississippi, there were extremely serious incidents of violence against Negro
voters registratio,n workers.
In examining the work of the FBI in cases of this sort, '.
23.
we beg!!!wi!h the Bureau's investigation of economic intimidation
against Blacks who registered to vote, or tried to register to vote, in
23Q_
Haywood County, Tennessee.:!
In the summer of 1959 the Haywood County Civic and Welfare League
was formed to encourage black registration, and far the first time in many
years, blacks in that county began to apply for registration. At first, no Blacks
allowed'to register; ..
'at all werc / they complained to the Justice Department, and the Burea...
was asked to interview the unsuccessful applicants. In addition to describing
their fruilless registration attempts, these Blacks told the FllI agents about
I
economic coercion agaimt members of the Civic and Welfare League. The
,24. i
allegalions were specifi:! some were reparted by several fJlacks ta the FBI,
i
apparently independently of each orher, and if true, were in violation of
, I
federal low. The Bureau did nat pursue these po>sible violations but limited
25
ils investigation to interviews of the unsuccessful applicants.:!
After the FBI reports were received by rhe Civil I\;ghts Divis;~;" the
913
Bureau was requested on March 31, 1960, to conduct additional investigations.
The request in port, noted, that "the information contained in the reports
(of 12/24/59 and 2/9/60) indicates the various Negroes in Haywood County
have been subjected to economic coercion and otherwise intimidated because
of their attempts to register and because of their membership in the Haywood
County Civic and Welfare League. Please interview the victims named ••
for det~ils of their experiences. Also please interview the subjects named
for their ve~sion of these incidents." The FBI was also asked to interview
a certain named block "for any information he hod concerning a petition
circulated among landowners and merchart in Haywood County." i'ln addition
to the above requested investigation, please purs'u,e and develop any pertinent leads
provided by any persons interviewed."
On April 6 the Director sent a memo questioning aspects of the
3/31 request. Regording the requested interviews with alleged victims of
economic intimidation, the Bureau stated that "0 review of the statement.
fails to reveal ony allegation that the ,named victims were being subjected to
coercion and intimidation because of their attempts to register. The allegations
are mode, of course, that they we'e subjected to coercion and intimidation
because of their membership in Ihe Haywood County Civic and Welfare League.
This is being brought 10 your attention for your further CD nsiderotion, and no
investigatio~ will be conducted concerning this phase in the absence of a further
914
request frum you." Regarding the petition and the list reportedly circulated,
the Bureau stated that "your advice is requested as to whether such activity
would come within the purview of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 ar whether it
constitutes a violation of any criminal statute within the jurisdiction of this
Bureau. "
The Civil Rights Division responded, by memo dated April 12, that the statement
of one of the charter members taken by the FBI leaves little doubt that a
major, if not principal, objecHve of the League is to secure vating rights
for Blacks. "There is substantial basis, therefore, for assuming that the
alleged acts of intimidation••• related wholly, o~ in significant .part, to the
victims' efforts to register to vote in Hoywood Cpunty. Please, therefore, proceed
with the investigaiion."
,.
26.
On April 20, the FBI sent an interim repo~ in response to the
3/31 request. The ori 3inal black complainant was interviewed by agents
about current registration attempts, and this report deals primarily with the
(a) aspect of the case. The last paragraph of the Bureau's report stated:
"During this interview Boyd volunteered that Ncg~oes of Haywood
County, who arc members of the Haywood County Civic and Wei fare League,
continue to be subjected to various Forms of economic pressure in the county.
He said that it is understood by him that in mony instonces where the Negroes
operate stores, soft drink stands and similar businesses, that they cannot purchase
difficulty.
915
~oft drinks or other supplies for resale except with considerable
He;aid the members of this League were not able,
at the present time, to secure credit, particularly from the
banks in Brownsville, under the same conditions as they had
formerly been able to secure such credit."
end of report.
End of interview,
In the next three months, several additional
requests were sent to the FBI by the Civil Rights Division,
some dealing with the (a) aspect and some with the (bl violations.
On May lS, the Civil Rig~ts Division sent a request asking for
an immediate investigation into reported discrimination in
connection with the current registration in Haywood County.
The next day, one of the supervisors in the Civil Rights Section
in Washington headquarters called a department attorney and
("
stated that it would be very difficult at this late date for
the Bureau to make the requested investigation and that, in
any event, it would not be desirable to have Bureau agents on
the scene at the registration place as observers while rcgistration
was in progress. The agent calling indicated that another
blow up could occur like the one in Webster Parish, Louisiana,
in April, 1955.
On June 15, Mr. Rosen of the FUI called AAG Tyler
and said that in light of the publicized altercation which took
place the day before in Brownsville between the Deputy Sheriff
and a representative of the Civil Rights Commission, the FBI
was reluctant to conduct any investigation in Haywood County
for the next week or so. Mr. Tyler suggested that the
FBI would not be prejudiced in pursuing all.
916
27.
lines of investigation other than interviewing the registrar immediatelY~
Another request to the FBI regarding Haywood County was sent out on
June 13, this one specifically requesting a full invesigation. A FBI report from
Memphis dated June 17th, was transmitted to the Civil Righs Division on June 23. The
Division then sent out another request, on July I, referring to the June 17 report, and
asking the Bureau to pursue the leads furnished by the persons the FBI had interviewed.
For instance, one black referred, in his statemen. to the FBI, to white landlords who
wrote down names of Negroes who were waiting in line at the Courthouse. "He
should be asked to supply the names of other Negroes who observed the landlords
and those persons should be interviewed to ascertain the nomes at th e white persons
engaged in this ac-tivity. The white persODs should be fully interviewed." Another
black, in his statement to FBI agents, reported he was read "some kind of paper"
by a low enforcement olfi cer. In the 7/1 request the FBI was asked to obtain 0 copy
of this "paper" and a copy of the "papers" he was told to sig'"! at the Brownsville
courthouse.
On July 13, another request was sent to Ihe FBI, referring to its
7/5/60 Memphis report. The Bureau was osked to get registration statistics for
the recent registration period. The last pmagraph of this request is especially
inleresting.
"We note from Ihe referenced report in the above case, as well os from the
report••• in the Fayette County case, reference to the current investigations as
917
'limited' investigations. In accordance with our previous requests, the investigation
in Haywood and Fayette Counties are to be full investigations and all logical
leads are to be pursued with reference to whether or not discrimination has occurred
in the registration process in those two counties and whether or not Negroes who
have registered or tried to register there have been subjected to intimidation."
The FBI produced voluminous reports in July and early August,
and numerous agents conducted interviews. But the investigation was superficial.
There is no other way to desc~ibe it. At least as early as March, 1960 there were
allegations that lists were being circulated throughout Haywood County of blacks
28. .
who had either lined 'up to register, or had registered.! These lists were of crucial
importance in dem.0nstrating a connection betwe~n economic intimidation and the
registration activity of the Blacks, an~ this connection was essential to prove a
violation of federal low. Two FBI agents were given two lists (which had been
circulated in the county) by a sympothetic whi,e, Mrs. Sara Lemons, on July 22, 1960.
The agenls returned one list to her and kept the second one in the Bureau files; they
were contcnt in their re,..ort 10 the Civil Rights Division to merely note the
existence of the lists. The Civil Rights Division had 10 specifically request the Bureau
to make copios of 'he list they had golten, lore-contact Mrs. Lemons and get the
other list and to furnish copies of any other "lisls you have in your possession."
Also the Bureau was told "if you have knowledge of any olher lists in existence
in the possession of persons interviewed, please re-contact these individuals
918
for the purpose of obtoining photostotic copies of the list and if possible, the
29.
lists themselves for safekeeping.y
During this same period, Attorney Generol William Rogers was pushing
the Division. In late June he wrote, "I am anxious to move as quickly as possible
in bringing a civil rights case against those who have retaliated against Negroes
who have attempted to vote. Mention this again to Tyler."
. So in August and September we poured through the FBI reports and
developed what we could into the first 1971 (b) cose. It was filed on September 13th,
charging 29 defendants, including two bonks, with violating the Civil Rights Act
of 1957 (42 U. s. C. 1971 (b)) by using economic reprisals and threats against
Negroes who registered or tried to registert.'
On October 23rd, Nick Flannery and I left Washington for Haywood
County to take the depositions of the defendants.
Haywood County, Tennessee olmost borders the Mississippi DelIO. It"
is a counly of red cloy, oak trees, eroded land, cotton fields and country slores.
The majorily of its cilizenc. were NeDra.
We mode our headquarters <II Brownsville ond look Ihe depositions at the
po:t office. All of Ihe defendanls look the Fiflh A/lil'ndment.
We met 0 NeDra school teacher named Currie lloyd and his mother and
we soon leorned Ihat the economic squeeze was much worse than hod been reflected
in the Bureau reports.
919
We were asked to go to several rural churches for meetings to talk
with the Negro people. I will never forget those meetings. They wer.. heldat
,night in Negro churches along rural back roads. We would come into the church,
which would be dimly lighted, and go to the front. I would tell those poor,
honest, weary rural tenant farmers that we were from the Deportment of
Justice and were there to help them.
Out of curiosity; and without expecting what the answer would be,
I asked "how many of you have received notices to get off the land?" Instantaneously
the hands of almost everyone in the church went up. Upon inquiry, we learned
that some of the families had lived at one place in the county all their lives and
either they or some..member of their family had tried to ragister to vote.
We obtained written affidavits from over fifty sharecroppers who
had been evicted from the land. We obtained all but one or two of twenty-eight
leiters from their land owners dated between f.koy 12, 1960 and September 28, 1960.
Each contained a notice of eviction. Twenty-four of these letters were dated
wilhin the 22-day period between June 18th and July 9th, 1960. The letters
were from 14 different land owners. Each letter gave notke 10 a Negro tenant,
that beginning with the followin!) year, he no longer would hove the land to
rent on shores. Most or'th" letters requested the sharecropper to move at the
end of the crop year.
66-077 0 - 76 - 59
920
On the basis of our investigation, an amended complaint adding
36 defendants, including another bank and a wholesale food distributor, was
, filed on November 18th. On December 1, a virtually identical action was
brought against 10 additional defendants and the two cases were consolidated.
In December the Government moved to prevent a largescale eviction of
tenant farmers, scheduled for January 1, 1961 •
. A hearing was held just before Christmas at the federal court house
in Memphis. Our first witness was a marvelous 78-year-old white Southern
landowner named Katherine Rawlins Davis. When I first saw her in October,
she had already been interviewed by the Bureau two or three times. Nevertheless,
she still had,and was willing to turn over tti me, a document -- a copy of the charter
of the Uaywood County Civic and Welfare League -- which one of the defendants
had brouQht to her in March or early April. At that time he told her some of her
hands hod gone to Brownsville to register. Later, she testified, another defendant
came to sec her with the proposal that allY tenant or employee who was a member
of the leogue, be dismissed. Mrs. Davis testified she refused to dismiss her
workers -- at leost one of whom, was a member of the league -- and was placed
on the non-cooperative list. She also relaled how an attorney named Gray,
another of the defendants, hod spoken at a meeting of whites and said Ihat the
best thing to do wit'~ the Negro sharecroppers was to wait until later on,
and then tell them they would have to move for other reasons. Little, if any,
921
of this testimony hod been developed during the FBI investigations.
The Court of Appeals, and later the District Court, issued on
, injunction against the mass evictions. This case was eventually decided by
a consent decree enjoining more than 50 of the defendants. Many tenants st::tyed
on, credit channels were reopened and a school bus driver was rehired.
Another example of the Bureau's early performance occurred in
Southwest Mississippi during'the summer and fall of 1961. The Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, lead by Robert Moses, hod gone to Southwest Mississippi
to teach the rural Mississippi Negro about voting.
The group of civil rights workers headed by Moses began operating
voter registration s~hoo\; in Amite, Waltha!1 and Pike Counties -- three rural
counties in the southwest corner of Mississippi -- counties that retained the character
of the 17th Century.
In a six week period, between August 15th and September 25th,
five incidents took place involving these civil rights workers. On August 15,1961,
in Amite County, Mississippi, Robert Moses was arrested by a Mississippi highway
potrolmon (occomponied by 0 Liberty town morsholJ) after Moses had accompanied
three Negroes to the Amite County courthouse in Liherty to register. On August 29,
1961 Robert Moses was b<loten on the street in Liberty as he Clccompanied two
Negroes to the courthouse to register. On September 5, 1961 Travis Britt was
assaulted on the reor steps of the Liberty courthouse while he and Robert Moses waited
922
for four Negroes aitempting to register inside.
On September 7, 1961 John Hardy was assaulted by Registrar Wood in
Tylertown in Walthall County as he accompanied two Negroes to register. And
on September 25, 1961 Herbert Lee was killed by a local white man at a cotton
gin in Liberty •.
The Bureau was asked to investigate these five incidents under 1971 (b).
At the time, the~e was no FBI field office in the state of Mississippi •
. 30.
The six/ resident agencies in Northern Mississippi reported to the Memphis, Tennessee
- 30.
field office; the severy' resident agencies in Southern Mississippi to the New Orleans,
Louisiana field office. M:>st of these offices were one or two-man operations; some
of the resident agents worked in their home towns.
In the first investigation involving the arrest of M:>ses, the Bureau
interviewed the three blacks wham M:>ses had accompanied to the registrar's
office. All three stated thot there was a patrolman in the regittrar's office when
they were filling out the registration forms. The FBI agents failed to have the
three blocks idcntiry the patrolman in the registrar's office as the some polralmon
who later slopped them. This would have been imporlant in demonstrating the
connection wilh voter registration. It was clear frolll Moses' and the patrolman's
statements that it was the some man, but thorough invesligations would surely have
gotten all of Ihe wilnesses -to pin it down, if the witnesses could do so. A key role
hod been played by the County Attorney in the charging and conviction of Moses
923
for interference with an officer in the course of his duties. The FBI did not
31.
interview County Attorney Piggotd although they did interview Town Marshal1
Bates, whom they were not specifically requested to interview.
Our attorneys later acquired additonal information from Bob Moses
which confirmed the importance of Piggot's role. According to Moses, the patrolman
and Piggot first prepared an affidavit charging Moses with interfering with an
arrest, but this was discarded after the patrolman told the attorney no arrest
had been made. The ottorney then started thumbing through a book to find something
to charge Moses with. He read something, but they agreed it was no good.
Final1y, the attorney found an entry about attempting to impede an officer doing
his duties. Moses .was then charged, tried, and convicted of impeding, or
attempting to impede, an officer in the course of his duties. The discussion
between the patrolman and Piggot and the preparation and destruction of the
first arridavit would be very important in showing purpose. The FBI interviews
with Rob(,rt M:>ses did not cover this.
The second FBI inve~tigation dealt wifh the beating of M:>ses on the
street in liberty. The Bureau interviewed Moses, as requested, but failed to
note thot Mo~eshod three cuts which required a total of ni'ne stitches, or even
that Moses hod been to a doctor. Furthermore, it was Bureau poIicy 'to take
photographs of victims' wounds. This was not done. In early September, I
. 32.
interviewed M:>ses in McComb, Mississippi emd learned the extent of his wounds.:!
924
The third FBI investigation dealt with the assault of Britt. Britt
and Moses were threatened by a white bald-headed man, about 5~6" or 5'7", who
worked across the hall from the registrar's office. The original telephonic request
and the confirming memorandum both described this man. In their statements to
FBI agents, Moses and Britt mentioned the white man who threatened them and
came out of his office directly ocross from the registrar's office. It would have
been easy for the FBI to identify this man, and yet thel waited two more weeks,
until the Civil Rights Division "mode 0 specific request, mentioning the possible
name of the mon, before they identified him.
The FBI investigation in the assault on° John Hardy was reasonably
satisfactory. The contention with voter reg:;tratlon was clear, and the conduct
\
of the officials, blatant. Hardy was assaulted by the registrar in the registrar's
office, and then arrested.
The Division did not leave the investigation to the Bureau. When
the civil rights organizations protested this assault by the Walthall registrar
to the Deportment of Justice and demanded protection for rcghtration workers,
we immediately sent two young lawyers -- Bud Sather and Gerald Stern -- to
that county. When they returned in four or five dOl'S, they not only hod enough
facts to cause the Department to sue imm:>diotely to enjoin the state criminal
prosecution of John Hardy, but th:>y reported widespread terror and intimidation
of Negroes throughout Walthall, Pike and Amite CounOties, Mississippi. In a
925
matter of days, these yaung attorneys recognized that the Mississippi Bureau
was undermanned and that the size of the job in Southwest Mississippi demanded a
for larger federal investigative effort.
The final incident which the Bureau investigated in Southwest
Mississippi in 1961 was the killing of Herbert lee on September 25, 1961 by a
State legislator named Hurst. lee had been driving Moses around rural
Mississippi in connection with his voter activity. An FBI investigation was
requested the day of lee's death, by telephone. A confirming request was sent
33.
September 26th ond another on September 26ty when additional information
became available to the Department. A third request was sent an October 19th.
The Bureau was asked to obtain a copy' of the transcript of the coroner's
jury proceedings, o{to interview the prcsid~~g officer for a resume. Mr. McGowan
of the Civil Rights desk phoned and objected to this request. The next day a memo
appeared on my de~k from the Bureau stating that "upon discussion with Mr. Door,
he advised that no effort should be made to interview tl.e presiding officer, the
county allorney or the jury members." later, tl.e Burenu did interview
the Justice of the Peace, who was presiding officer. He revealed thClt he had
tol<en notes at the inquest, but Ihe FBI did nol osk to sec them, even though this
was exactly whot 11.e Division wonted.
A cruciol fact was whether IINbert lee hod a tire iron at the time he
was shoti how the tire iron got under his body, and when it was discovered. In
the third request (10/19) the FBI was asked to "Please reinterview 'Buddy Anderson'·.
926
Other than the subject, he is the only witness to suggest that lee raised his arm
just before he was shot. Obtain full details." The Bureau did reinterview
'Anderson. In this second interview, Anderson said he did not actually see
the iron bar prior to the time it was removed from under Lee's body. This
is repeated four times in the page and a quarter interview, but at no time did
the FBI ask him who removed the iron from under the body.
The October 19th r:quest also stated that "Sheriff Caston claimed
to have found the tire iron under Lee's body, after the coroner's inquest. Town
Marshall Bates told Lewis Allen, before the inquest, they had found the tire iron
34•.
under lee's body~ Lyman Jones says ••• that ~omeone, whose name he does not
know -- not Ca$ton .-- moved the body and ',iicked up a tire iron when the inquest
started •.. Please re-interview Bates, Caston, Allen and Jones to obtain full
details." Thoiough investigators would not have merely reported such differences,
without doing some reinlerviewing on their own.
We had information Ihat lewis Allen, an Amite County Nt.'gro operator
of a logging truck hod been pressured by the white low enforcers 10 testify os he
did about the tire iron.
Wilh re~pecl to the gun wound in loe's head, the second request
(September 261h) to the FBI ~1"led Ihot "our present understanding of Ihe os~(lult
is that Hurst struck Lee ot 0" oLove the left eye with some portion of the gun.
927
Simultaneously, the gun fired and the bullet entered at Lee's left temple.
Please examine Lee's body and photograph the wounds before burial. If possible,
it should be determined on the basis of the examination and photographs whether
the blow and shot occurred as described. Perhaps the angle of the bullet's
entry, and the nature and location of powder burns will confirm or refute
the witnesses I descriptions." The Bureau did not report information from such
an examination, if, indeed" any examination ever took place. Neither did
the agents interview the doctor 'who hod examined the body. In the third
request (October 19th) the Bureau was asked to "interview Dr. Delaney of
Liberty, Mississippi who arrived at the scene with Sheriff Caston and immediately
examined the body. Obtain full details of his ex~mination including the angle
the bullet entered Lee's head, the extent, if any, of burns on Lee's head around
the wound caused by the discharge of the weapon •••" and "from yOUT own
examination of Lee's body, please furnish us, if possible, information as to
the angle the shot entered the head, anu the distance from which it was fired."
Neither we nor the Bureau were able to satisfactorily establish
a federal criminol violation in the Herbert Lee case. We tried to develop
a brood 1'771 (b) complaint similar to the Hoywood County cose but we did not
file it. It was not just the problem of proof of purpose; it was also the matter
of effective rcleif for the N"Uro citizens who had to continue t·o live in the southwest
corner of Mississippi. Sev~ral years later our failure WClS made all the worse
928
when lewis Allen was killed in the night time by unknown assailants after
being called from his house in Nral Amite County.
During 1961 to 1963 the Bureau investigated many intimidation cases.
The fact that it had conducted an investigation did some good but it made few, if any,
cases and its performance --f or the Bureau -- was for from adequate. This was due,
in part, .to the limited size and scale of the Bureau's operation in Mississippi; part
due to the attitude of some of the Mississippi agents, and part was certainly due to
the fact that the Bureau's civil rights section at the seat of government did not
'understand the problem of intimidation in MississippI, nor the inefficiency and
corrosion of some -- but not all - - of the Misssissippi resident agents.
During the some period in olher.:rural orcas of the South, the
Division provided very limited control of intimidation through its own
investigations and by filing 1971 (b) suits. We worked hard in such counties
as Terrell County, Georgia, Holmes and Runkin Counties in Mississippi, Dallas
and Wilcux Counites in Alabama, but it was not the kind of federal low enforcement
effort requireJ to clean out such widespread unlawful activity.
In late 1963 the block and white rbrll,em students began to increase
'he pressure. Around .the Novemuer electiom in 1963 there were a remorl:c,blc
number of violent instances when r.ome Yale students went down to Natchez
to work on that election.
By the spring of 1964, rociol violence in Mississippi was assuming
929
alarming proportions. FBI letterheod memos began to describe these incidents.
In Pike County, between April 1st ond June 30th, three black homes and a
~arbershop were firebombed; three reporters and two local blacks were beaten. In
Adams Counly a black church was vandalized; two civil rights workers were
pursued and shol at; four blacks were whipped; another was seriously wounded
by shotgun fire; and a local black man was killed. In Madison County the Freedom
House in Canton was shot at Iwice and bombed; a black house and a black church
used by civil rights workers were bombed; and a civil rights worker was assaulted.
Throughout the state seven other black churches were damoged or destroyed;
eight black homes or stores were bombed or shot into; numerous blacks and
civil rights workers were harassed or threatened. 'On June 21, three civil rights
workers, Schwerner, Chancy ond Goodmon disappeared after being held for
six house in the Neshoba County jail.
Several Klan gn;)ups with headquarters in other slates had been active
in Mississippi. On February 15, 1964 a new Klan composed entirely of Mississippians,
the White Knights of the I~u Klux Klan, was organized. The stoted gool of the
White Knights was to proted and promote white supremacy and segrt'oolion of
lhe races, with violence if ncccssOlY. The new Klan group grew quickly. Four
stole. meetings were held between February and June, 1964 with from 100 10 300
persons attending eoch mecting. "Klaverns, or locol chopters, were organized
in at least 29" counlies in ~",is,issippi by June. On I.pril 24, crosses were burned
930
in 61 locatians across the state. Klan literature was openly distributed, and
sometimes left at the scene of a racial incident. Several of the whippings of
blacks noted above were administered by men in hoods. A group with similar
aims, Americans for the Preservation of the White Race, was organized in
Southwest Mississippi in June 1963. These matters were reported to us by the
Bureau.
We believe the first FBI letterhead dealing with the White Knights
was dated February 21, 1964, six days after the organizatIon was formed. We
believe the first FBI letterhead dealing with the Americans for the Preservation
of the White Race was dated April 2, 1964, some months after the group was
organized. Through.out the Spring of 1964, ?pproximately 40 memoranda
were sent to the Department of Justice by the FBI. NIost of the;e were short
letterhead memos describing state meetings, cross burnings, distribution of Klan
literature and the activities of local chapters, especially 'he Laurel Klavern.
About 10 memos contained the results of preliminary invcsligatiollS of Klan-type
incidcnls rcqucskd by the Fiv ision, such as beotings und dO/noge to black homes
and stores. On June 2, the Bureau submilled a summary report on the White I~nishts
and Ihe AmcricclIlS for the Preservation of the While Rnce.
Civil Rights Divi5ion attorneys begnn to sc'nse a Luild-up of Klan-type
incidents in the Spring of 19M. On h~y 19, a report was furnished Mr. Marshull
summarizing Klan-type incidents and police activity against Negroes' in Mississippi
931
since January, 1964. On June 2-4, Mr. Marshall, Wolter Sheridan and I went to
Southwest Mississippi and interviewed a number of people about the increased
vilence. On June 5th, the Attorney General assigned a unit of nine lawyers from
the Criminal Division (unchr Walter Sheridan's direction), to investigate terrorist
activity in Southwest Mississippi. These attorneys were experienced in organized
crime work, and their assignments were: 1) to verify reported acts of terrorism;
2) to determine if these acg were the WOIl< of Klan groups; 3) to determine the
extent of Klan membership and its or9anization; 4) to determine what weapons the
Klan groups had and 5) to determine the extent of Klan infiltration of low
enforcement.
During that first week in June, Attorney General Kennedy sent
a memorandum to the President explaining the low enforcement problem in Mississippi
35.
and suggestinD that the Ilureau should consider how to deal with it.:!
Attorneys from Sheridan's unit begon to move into the field ubout
June 11th, and soon thereafter on office was opened in JncLson.
N)out the miclJle of June, two lawyers from Sheridan's unit
confacted Clarence Prospei<.', the respiclent agent in Natchez. They reported that
Prosperc was varf ullcoopcrulivc. He st~ted Ihal in many malleI'S the fill
consicl"red the Juslic" Dcparlm.:'llt allorneys "outsiders". He advised lhat no
report would be, sent to ShcritJ'\Il's unit unlc» he was specifically instructed to,
do so from the N"w Orlelllls fidd office. He would not agree to telephone
932
if violence broke out, unless, again, he was specifically instructed
from New Orleans. He would give no background information on the area
36.
and on the identity of known extremists.)'
On June 15, 1964, Assistant Attorney General Marshall sent a
lengthy request to the FBI, attaching a list of Fill memos on the White Knights,
the Americans for the Preservation of the White Race, and on Klan-type
incidents. The FBI was requested to check its files and to furnish the Civil
Right~ Division with additional information. The request also lisled a number of
Klan-iype incidents, which had not been previously reported on by the FBI,
and asked the FBI for any information it had on these terrorist activities.
In addition, the Justice Department alerted the press in an extralegal
360.
attempt to maximize local and federal preventative law enforcement.:!
'About June 16, 1964, inlerference files for each county in
Mississippi and Louisiona were establish(.'Cl in the Civil Rights Division.
Information from Fill letterheads and leports, regclrding ony interFerences with civil
rights activities ~/OS placed in each county file, in order to spotlight the trouble
area; and del ermine if there was any pattern to the interference activi ty. A
report on Klan groups and terrorist activity in Mississipj.li was prepared. Noh:bool<s
on Klan membership, orgcll1i~ation and vigilcmtc activify were set up for Mississippi
and Louis:ano. Ilccinllill£! June 19, the Civil Riahls Division hoJ at Icast four
of its experienced Mississippi lawyers traveling in the state.
933
On Tue5cay ev.sning, June 16, three blccks were b~aten
fallowing a meeting at th~ litt. Zion Church in the Lonsdale community of
Neshoba County, and that night the church was burned. Twa days laler,
FBI agents in Jackson and Meridian learned of the a5saul t and burning and
reported the case to the FBI in New Orleans. The FBI agents were instructed
by the New Orleans office to op<::n an investisation to determine if any
Federal laws had been violated. On June 19, two agents drove to Longdale
to interview the blacks who had been attacked.
On Sunday, June 21, three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner,
James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, drove from Meridian to Longdale to find
. .
out about the assault and burning. Schwerner and Chaney had been meeting
with the leaders of Mt. Zion church in May and June to see if they could use
it as a COFO center during the summer. They talked to the blacks in Longdale,
were stopped by Deputy Sheriff Price for speeding, confined in jail in Philadelphia
and held until about 10:30 P.M. when they were releosed. COl'O work<>rs in
Meridian were worried when the three didn't return and began to call local,
37.
state and federal officials:! The "missing person~'rcport leached the r-BI
at 10:03 P.M. SunJ"y evening; around 2 o'clock Ihe no"t lIlorning, I asked
the FBI to nalify the Mississippi Higll'.':ay Palrol and Nashoba Counly officers of
the discpp(;orollcc and give ih~m a description of Ih~ir station wogan and to report
back to me all the information it could develop. Some limo after noon, Director
934
Hoover orcbred the FBI offico in M~";dion to r:1<:!k'J C1 s,:,orch. Resident AJent
John Proctor got lhc nam':s of fi'le l:Iack~ \'Iho :,chwcrncr said he was going to sec,
and Proctor and anol!."r c:;r:nt went to lon::;<lalc c.nd then to Phiie,delphia,
Neshoba County. At 6:20 P.M., tv',andc,', A.G. Kennedy instructed the
FBI to treol the disappec:r:'ncc as (] kidnuppin3'
On Tuesday, June 23, five C'7conts and an inspector arrived in
Meridian from New Orlcan~; and ogents from other offices were sent in. Inspector
Joseph Sullivan arrived to direct the <eerch. Sullivan i$ a 6'2" square-juwed
Irishman who joined the BureClu in 1941. He was brought into the Ins;>e-:tion
Di~isian in Washington in 1963 and has a well deserved reputation 'as a top
troubleshooter for the Bureau. That doy the burned out,stationwogon was located
by some Indians. late the next night, Wednesday, June 24, Assistant Director
AI Ro$en VlO', also sent to the scene.
On Tuc,dCly, June 23rd, the Presid<·nt announced that he was
sending Mr. Allen Dulles to Misshsippi to conFer with state oFFici'l',s, civic and
business leaders, and flloc!: leaders about fhe low enForcem~nt situation in
Mi,ssissippi. After conf,,,..in9 wilh Attorney Gcnc;ol I(elm,''',', Director Hoover
and other Justie.: o~fieicls on W<.dnc;t1ay morninu, Mr. Dillies flew to Jackson.
That aFternoon hi? ml't with Govel'llor Jc,lmson (lI:ei O"nerol llirdsong, ac!:noVllcc!;!NI
the infiltrotie'n of loco! poiic::> i" 10'''11' COUll tics by the Klcm.
, •
935
Mr. Dulles met with Jackson civic business leaders that
evening; with white and black religious leaders, with black leaders and civil
rights workers, ard with civic leaders from other parts of the state, on Thursday.
Mr. Dulles flew to Washington Thursday evening.
Following additional conferences with Department of Justice
officials, he met with the President on Friday morning. He recommended
that a substantial increase be made in thl: number of FBI agents in Mississippi.
. 38.
While it is reported that Mr. Hoover initially advised the President tha..!!
either marshals or soldiers should be sent to Mississippi to deal with the situation,
(see Joseph Kroft's Februory 1965 orticle in Commenlor0, he finolly agreed,
no doubt because men whom he trusted wit!"tin the Bureau, such as Joe Sullivan,
had told him Mississippi was badly undermanned, and that Washington was out of
touch with the resident agents in Mississippi, and that the agents there were too
close to local Mis~issippi officiols.
Mr. Hoover did, on 11101 day, decide 10 open on FBI field office in
39.
Jockson-l I hove no doubt that tk. Dulles'· recommendation Was the proximote
cause in changing the Bureau's operation in the South.
On July 10, Director Hoover flew to Mississippi. He announced that
the numher of Fr.1 o!:Jenls in Mi5sio~il'pi had becn increascd to 153 men.
Obviously, a lorge part of those 153 agents were working on the Neshoba case.
Mr. Hoover mel with Governor Johnson while he was in Jackson.
66-077 0 • 76 - 60
936
The Director gave the Governor a list of Klan members in Mississippi, including
several law enforcement officials. Two of the Klansmen were State Highway
,Patrolmen. The Governor said they would be dismissed immediately
Roy Moore was appointed the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of
the new Jackson offi ce.
Sheridan's unit interviewed numerous blocks and sympathetic
whites, including churchmen' in Southwest Mississippi. They contacted federal
personnel in Southwest Mississippi and Northeast Louisiana. (For example, all
Department of Agriculture personnel were alerted to report any information
about suspected terrorists Jr tel.orism to Sheridan's group.) After it was
learned that the Klc:m was using shortwave radios, arrangements were made with
the FCC to send two men to Mississippi to monitor citizens' band and amateur
radio licenses. Contact was established with Def~nse Department intelligence
agents in Mississippi and Louisiana. By early August the Bureau's force had
increased 10 such an extent that Sheridan's operation was wifhdrO/Jn.
All of these events -- the buildup of violence in Mi"issippi, the
resurgence of the Klan, the disappearunce of Schwerner, Chancy and Goodman, the
competition from Sheridnn's unit, Mr. Dulles' trip to Misoissil'pi, the additional
monpower of the new Jackson> office, and />",r. Hoov,-,r's personal visit -- combined
to produce a mognificent chonge in the Bureau's performance in Mississippi.
The agents who wore brought into Ihe slolc 10 invcsligale the Neshoba
937
case were appalled by the breakdown in local law enforcement and the rise in
terrorist ~ctivity. They were ashamed af the Bureau's prior perfarmance, and,
','
suspect, repol'ted their dismay to Mr. Hoover. With lec':lership from Joe
Sullivan, Roy /W)ore and others, the FBI in Mississippi really performed. Ray
Moore undertook a speechmaking campaign across the state to alert the public to
the rise of terrorist activity, and remind it of the necessity of enforcing the law.
An aggressive campaign w~s undertaken against the Klan with the following
objectives: (1) to solve the Neshoba case; (2) to identify Klan members and officers;
(3) to identify Klansmen who were law enforcement officials, state and local, and
(4) to obtain as much information as possible abolJt Klan activities and plans.
This means adopted against the Klan included aggressive interviewing
of known or suspected KICinsmen, and infiltration of the Klan with paid informants.
Throughout the long hot summer, FBI agents maved through Neshoba County, methodically
interviewing and reinterviewing Klansmen and others in an effort to salve the Ncshaba
case. New York Times, dated.December 6, 1964 reported the FBI interviewed more
I
than 1,000 Mississippi residents including 480 KKK members in the Schwerner, Choncy
and Goodman investigation.
On July 17, 1964, Mr. Hoover sent Attorney Generol Kennedy a memo
enclosing a list of Mississippi State Highwoy Potrol officers, sheriffs and deputy
sheriffs who were known or suspected Kla",men ano:l ~ list cof '<nown Klansml'n in
the state, which had been furnished by Bureau informants. He noted that
938
"intensive active investigation is being conducted concerning all Klan groups
in order to develop pertinent information concerning the identity of membership and
, officers, aims and purposes and possible involvement in violence in connectIon with
racial situation in Mississippi."
Known or suspected Klansmen across the state were identificd,reinterviewed
and closely wafched •
. Informants played an important role in the FBI's solution of the Neshoba
case. The bodies of the three young men were found buried in a dam on August 2,
1964 through information furnished by an informant. At the October 1967 federol
conspiracy trial of the 18 Klansmen charged in connection with the death of
Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, two paia FBI informants testified. Sgt. Miller
(a Meridian policeman) had joined the Klan in April 1964 and was recruited as an
FBI informant in September. At the trial he testified that he had received $3,400
from the FBI for salary and trovel expenses. Rev. Delman Dennis had also joined
the Klan in the Spring of 1964, and in November, he began serving as an FBI
inform"nt. He testified at the trial that he had been poid $15,000 by the FBI.
Miller, Dennis and olher informatns were very imporlant in identifying I(lun members,
activities and pions.
In my clo,ing slalement at the faderal trial, I said to lha jury•••
939
"", much has been and will be said about the
extroordinary methods- used in discovering the guilty,
Should it have been otherwise? Was this a case to
be forgotten? Was this not a case for the maximum
effort of the FBI? Could the Federal Government
have succeeded in any, " way other than rewards,
payment for information tending to expose the band
of murderous conspirators, the midnight killers, to
bring them to the bar of justice, •• ?
"There could be no justification for the Federal Government
not having tried to solve this crime. The FBI did
try, A thousand.eyes explored every corner of Neshoba
County.
IIAll of you probably have an initial resentment against
paid informers. But before you finally decide - examine
these men. They are native sons of Mississippi. They
are men of 'conviction, both about state's rights and about
law enforcement,
"These men were not criminals. They played no part in
this or any other criminal conspiracy. And for the FBI,
there was no other way to establish the contact they had to
make before they could solve this case,"
Simil"r methods - aggressive interviewing, obtaining two signed confessions
and one oral admission of participation, and the use of informants - were
used by the FBI to solve the Dalunar fire60mbing. Vernon Dahmer, a block former
in Forrest County, Mississippi, a leader in the NAACP, and active in voter registrolion
activit)" was killed the night of January 9, 1966 when his house was firebombed.
Roy Moore and a group of ogonts were on the scene quickly selling up
on FBI field post in a motd in n(:arby floltiesburg, Significant physical evidence
was fOl'nd at the scene incll;dinD a revolver, a gas-filled jug, she'lI casing and tire
tracks. An "bondoned car turned up a few mil~s away. Ac;ording to Whitehead,
940
within 72 hours of Dahmar's death the FBI had compiled a list of suspects,
who were Klansmen. One of the Klansmen (who had been involved in
, planning the attack) gave the FBI a signed statement. Others who participated
mode oral admissions. On March 28, 1966, fourteen Klansmen were arrested
on federal 241 charges growing out of the Firebombing.
When an investigative agency is functioning effectively, it is
hard, by specific examples, to .communicate all the law enforcement work it is
doing. With this in mind, other examples of superior investigative performance
are the following:
On June 25, 1964 in Itta Bena, (wes~ of Greenwood) Mississippi,
three civil rights workers were distributing ~aflets announcing a voter registration
meeting to be held that evening at the Hopewell Baptist Church. Three local
white men threatened the workers and assaulted one of them. The next day the
whites were arrested by the FBI For violation of 18 USC 241.
On July 16, 1964, Silos McGee of Greenwood, block, wos beaten
when he tried to attend the leflore Theatre in Greenwood. Three local vthite
men were arrested by the FBI on July 23 under'~ection 241. The three were indicted
by a federal grand jury on J(1nuory 6, 1965.
In Pike and Adams Counties, in the fall of 1965 and in Bogalusa, louisianll
in the summer of 1965, the ,FBI performed 0 tremendous job in helping 10 curtail
terrorist activity. This was in the Southwest Mississippi territory whero tho low
941
enforcement problems were the worst.
Violence in Pike County increased in the summer and early fall
of 1964. During July, two churches were completely burned; fire damaged
another; and an attempt was made to burn a fourth one. Bombs were thrown
at a house owned by a block as well as at the COFO house; shots were fired
into the house of a black; a COFO worker was assaulted in McComb. During
August, the building where· NAACP meetings were held and a Negro
home were bombed; a church Was burned; and a local white was .
whipped. In the first three weeks of September, seven Negro homes were
bombed; one church was bombed and three COFO workers were asaulted in the.
streets of McComb. Terrorist activity included the destruction of the Society
...
Hill Baptist Church and severe damage to the Quinn house the night of
Septe~ber 20th. The church had been used for voter registration classes and Mrs •
. Quinn's cafe was a meeting place for COFO workers. In February 1965, Sheriff
Warner of Pike County testified before the Civil Rights Commission that Mississippi
Highway Patrolmen and Flli agents aided in their investigation. "And about
twenty or thirty Fill Clgents were working at all times, along with m)'self and my
deputies and the McComb Police Departmcnt".
McComb Police Chief George Grey testified that "Well, we more·
or less turned Ihe investigation porI of il OVer 10 Ih." FBI Clnd high",ay patrol and
Sheriff's Department. Th~y came into I.AcComb and ,el up offices there and
942
they had special .:nen that know how to do .it probably a lot better than my men
did."
When Sheriff Warren went to investigate the Quinn bombing on
'September 20, he was accompanied by FBI Agent Frank Ford. Blacks in the
vicinity were rioting when they arrived at the scene and according to Sheriff
Warren, "Mr. Ford talked to the Negroes, tried to quiet them down. He was
cursed and his flashlight knoc~ed aut of his hand by a rock." On September 30,
eleven local white men were arrested by Fol end state patrolmen, and ten
uf these men were indicted in October by a local grand jury for three of the
bombings of Negro homes, including the Quinn house. At their trial on
October 24, six of the men pleaded guilty to illes'al use of explosives and all
of them nolo contendere to charges of conspiracy.
. In lale October and early November, there were five more acts
of violence against blocks. In Pike Counly, one was assaulted; twa were
shot at; and a store was vandalized. Six white men were arrested in November;
five plead guilty and were sentenced to one year, with no suspended sentences.
It is clear' thaI the FBI was tl",law enforcement behind these
arrests.
Events'ill D".g"lusa, louisiana adJ to the picture. Bogalusa
was a tough, dcprc$S(,d lumber and p"per mill town of n, 000 pcorle in "l;.lrthC'ost
louisiana just below Wall hall Counly, Mississippi. Thirty-fivc percent of its
943
population was Negro.
In April 1965, several civil rights organizations selected Bogalusa
as the target for an intensive civil rights campaign to secure rights to public
accommodations provided by the 1964 Civil Rights Act as well as to urge
additional economic opportunities for Negroes.
This campaign led to picketing, marches, counter marches, police
failure and violence.
On June 2nd, the' first two Negro law enforcement officers to serve
Washington Parish were ambushed while on a pol ice car patrol northwest of
Bogalusa. 0' Neal Moore, a Negro deputy sheriff was killed, and another Negro
deputy was wounded.
later that night, Ernest NcElveen, a white resident of Bogalusa
was arrested in Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi and charged with murder.
Although federal jurisdiction was very questionable, the FBI
immcdialely entered the case. At the time, Inspector Sullivan, r.oy Moore and
their agents, hod L:',~n worfdng hard in the area between Natchez ,and the Louisiana
border on 1~lan investigations. Natchez and its environs had been an intimidation
trouble spot for yc"rs.
Inspector Sullivan set up a field office in the Choctaw \\otel in
BogoluSCl and starkel it ",ith about twenly "genls.
The demonstrations and incidents conlin:Jcd and condifions grew worse.
944
During the middle of July, I wos sent to Bogalusa. An injunction had just been
issued by the Federal Court in New Orleans requiring local police authorities
!n Bogalusa to protect Civil rights demonstrators.
On July 16 and 17, pickets who appeared at the Pine Tree Plaza
Shopping Center in Bogalusa were harassed and physically attacked by white bystanders.
I was there on the 17th and saw it all. So did Joe Sullivan. I will
never forilet Inspector Sullivan moving in, dressing down the local police authorities
for their foilure to do their duty; ond in effect, keeping the peoce ot the shopping
center that day.
Within a matler of days, (July 19, 1965) working with the FBI, we
filed on action for civil contemp! against the local' authorities alleging violation of the
in junction.
On the some day we filed a civil suit similar to the 1971 (b) type
in Federal District Court in New Orleans against the Originol Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan, the Anti-Communist Christian Association, and 38 individuals in and
around Cogolusa, louisiana, including top leadors of the Origin,'/ Knights of ",e
Ku Klux Klan. We sought injunctive rclief to prevent the defendants from interfering
with persons scddng to exerci~c comtih,tional riuhl~.
The foctuol informotion ncccs;Ofy to slIpp,:)rt the suit wm furnishcd
10 the Division by the Fill. TIl<" cOlllplair,t WllS prepQled in Wa-!,in(jton by Robert
Owen working from ~coreS of fel Icllc.hcad rcpOils which the Division had
945
received from the FBI resident agents in Bogalusa and McComb over a period
of many months. The complaint was refined with direct information furnished
I to me by Inspector Sullivan in the field.
Inspector Sullivan and his agents worked closely with us in
selecting the defendants and in developing the proof required to prove the illegal
actions of 37 different individuals.
On that occasion the Bureau showed it appreciated the value of
a broad civil injunctive suit as one means of controlling intimidation -- especially
where local law enforcement had broken down.
In preparation for the hearing of the ~ontempt case, we had, with the
help of the Bureau, collected lots of film strips or'the Bogalusa demonstrations.
Division Attorneys Rohert Owen, Kenneth Mcintyre and John Rosenberg, put together
a film strip on what happened at the Plaza Shopping Center. As narrator of the
film, and as the person who identified those responsible for the failure of the local
police, our witne,s was on Fill agent. His testimony mode our case. The <Iefendant
public officials \'Iere kid in confc'mpt.
Although the !lureau worked steadily into September, we were
never able to get 0 crir,tinol illri~.dictiallol hondle en the 0' Neal !v',Clore coso.
By that time we had received 25 voll/nw-size FBI reports avcro[ling in excess
of 100 F"[Jd each. The in[onn,dion contoined in the rcporls, however, was used
hy us to prove ollr civil co,,, in cecle",1 Court.
946
Again the FBI was ofgreat help to Owen and Mcintyre at the
trial. We needed a witness to authenticate a copy of the rules of the Klan
and a membership list. The Bureau persuaded the local county prosecutor to
I taJk to Owen and then to appear as a Government witness. Through his testimony,
we authenticated the documents.
On December 1, 1965 a three judge Federal Court issued its opinion.
Fittingly, the Court begon its opinion:
"This is on action" by the Notion against a Klan. "
The Court sfated that the defendant hod adopted a pattern and
practice of intimidating, threatening and coercing Negro citizens in Washington
Parish for the purpose of interfering with the civil 'rights of Negro citizens. The
" Court found that the Klan exploits the forces of hate, prejudice, and ignorance
and relies upon systematic economic coercion, varieties of intimidation and
physical violence to frustrate the national pol icy expressed in the civil rights
legislation. The Anti Communist Christian Association was found to be only a
disguise for the Klan.
The Court cOllcluded by saying that protection cgains the oris of
terror nnd intimidation cornmitted by the Original Knights of the /CU Klux Klan and
the individual defendants could be holted only by brood injurldive decree and
it issued thai injunction.
During 1966 end 1967 other evidence of the Bureau's work come to
947
light in the successful prosecution in Federal Court in the Liuzzo and Penn cases
and in the Dahmer case in the State Court of Mississippi;'l and for. Forrest County.
In these cases, the Bureau, under the direction of the Division
(no doubt impressed by the caliber and leadership of Robert Owen) performed its
investigative assignments.
While some of these cases did not directly relate to voting, their
successf....1 prosecution undouBtedly led to a climate in the South which went a
long way toward fully guaranteeing the right of all of our citizens to register
and vote.
948
Conclusion
The challenge for America in 1960 was the destruction of the
caste system itself. At the outset, few men hod fully perceived this fact.
In the past, when a revolutionary goal was sought, revolution
was necessary to ochieve it. A few citizens, operating independently,
undertook to eliminate the c;aste system within the framework of the law.
The laws of 1957 and 1960 protecting the right to vote were
~ aimed at the caste system -- but rather at what the majority understood
at the time to be necessary -- that is, the protection of the right of certain
extraordinary, intelligent Negro citizens who, under any standard, were entitled
to vote. Some time during 1960 and 1961 ~~ it didn't happen all at once, nor did
it happen to each member of the Division at the same time -- the Civil Rights
Division seized these statutes as their weapon against the caste system.
It fell to the FBI, by virtue of its responsibilities as the invesligative
arm of the Deparlment of Justice, to become unwitting soldiers of the Civil
Rights Division. What a situation for the Bureau! It must be remembered that
at Ihe lime ~~was with Ihe Divi>ion. h!either Congrc", Federal Judges,
United States Attorneys, th" Deportment of Agriculture (md HEW, nor indeed, the
American people tl'''lI1sclvL>s h,;d yet signed 011, allel yet the Fill hcd been
involuntarily enlisted.
949
The Bureau WQS ill-prepared for its predicament. Is it any wonder
it delivered such a lackluster performance? FBI field offices in the South were
neglected and under-manned. There were no Bureau manuals on the detection of
discriminatory selection of voters. Voter discrimination itself had not yet been
clearly ar specifically defined. The Bureau-supervisors established in high posts
at the seat of government, knew only the myths published by the disciples of the
solid south, themselves esta~lished at the scat of government. Beyond that, the
FBI's strength and virtue may have been eroded by its suspicion of the Department
of Justice.
Thvs, the Bureau found itself locked in a situation it did not -could
not -- understand. It knew little oboutth~ realities of life in the South.
(Neither did almost anyone else.) The foct thot the Bureau represented
the federal government, with all ib b~reoLcrotic power, should not blind
us to the very real difficulties it faced operating in the complex legal network
of the caste system. Thes~ states were largely still a part of the American
frontier, riddled with bewildering rural patterns of secrecy and silence, almost
designed 10 locke the work of any investigotive <l9cncy difficult, if not
impo~sibl". Thai the rI\1 needed ()uidonc:e, Ihat it moved hnitinoly, Ihot
it faltered on many occClSion belween 1960 and 196·1 should cOllle
950
as no surprise. Thut it made a limited contribution in the voting cases as
the professional, uncommitted, neutral, investigator, is to its credit.
In 1964, when a deep-seated change came upon America, 0
change brought about by many individuals, groups ond forces, the Bureau
changed as well.
From that time on, under the leadership of agents like
Inspectors Joe Sullivan, John Proctor, and Roy Moore, the Bureau
demonstrated in some of the toughest law enforcement assignmants
imaginable, exactly how and why it had earned its reputation for thoroughness,
persistence, and toughmindedness in responsible law enforcement.
PE!~haps, in retrospect, there were ways to have made the
Bureau do better. But, in evaluating the FBI's performance in protecting the
right to vote, let us be sure we do not tronsfer our impatience with America
itself, onto the Fill, simply because of its visibility -- or Our prejudice. -or
1l6cause we feel more comfortable criticizing 0 bureaucracy than
critic-hill!) ourselves.
951
FOOTNOTES' to Attachment 4
i\
~1) 42 USC 1971 (a); -42 USC 1971 (b).
(2) In the Price and Guest opinions, the Supreme Court revened
dismiSSQIs by the District Court of indictments arising out of the
killings of the three civil rights worken in Neshaba County,
Mississippi and.of Lt. Col. Penn in Georgia. The Guest opinion
is quite technical. There are four separate opinions with six
Justices concurring in part and dissenting in part fot: different
. reasons. But, ineffect, these decisions gave a broad construction
to Section 241. The court held that "Section 241 must be read as it
is written" and that its "language include rights or privil eges protected
by the 14th Amendment" • In ·the Guest case the Court found
that the indictment stored a crime within the reoch of 241 in alleging
a conspiracy to interfere with the right on an individual to
trovel in intentate commerce. In the Price case the crime alleged
by the indictment was "that the Stote, without the asemblance of
due process of law, as required.by the 14th Amendment, used its
sovereign power and office to release the victims from jail so that
they were not .charged and tried as required by law, but instead
could be intercepted and killed". The Supreme Court unonimously
upheld the constitutional validity of the indictment. In Price the
Court also held ,hat privote penons charged with acting with locol ..
police officials were,acting "u.nder color of low".
66-077 0 - 76 - 61
952
(3) Harry Allen and Benaro oveistreet, in their
very pro-FBI book The FBI in Our Open.Society
(1969), devoted much attention to the Bureau's
performance in civil right3. Ne·ar the end
of their book, they state that "to turn fr.om
a report like that of John Doar (in the
Attorney General's 1965 Annual Repott) to
almost anyone of the colu~ns and articles
which brand as dQplorable the FBI's record
in the civil righ~s field is to realize how
little can be learned from the latter about
the specifics of federal law. We have not
found even one such piece that has based its
charges on well-authenticated discrepancies
between the FBI's assignment, as defined by
law and departmental policy, and its
performance."
(4) Each year between 1961 and 1967 Director Hoover
testified before Congressman Rooney's·subcommittee.
In 1961. besides noting the training
programs in ~ivil rights conducted for
FBI personnel for local officals and discussing
the communist exploitation of the sit-ins, the
Director devoted four brief paragraphs to civil
rights matter.. He noted there wore 1,398
alleged civil rights violations during fiscal
1960 and mentioned a number of bombings,
attempted bO::l))ings and bOllllJing threats. Ite
comaented briefly on the Civ1_ Riqh~s Act cf
1960 and the Attorney General's authoritr to
953
bring', suit "\ih.a~ thare. is a pattern pf
events de~ying the right to votebec~use
of race or color." Mr. Hoover did nbt
describe the FaI's role in investigating
these denials.
In 195Z the Director devoted three and a
half pages to civil rights, setting out in
some detail the procedures the Bureau
follows in investigating police brutality
and other complaints and also the Bureau's
jurisdiction. This testimony appears to be
in response to the Civil Rights Commission's
1961 Justice report which was somewhat
critical of the FBI'S performance. Mr.
Hoover testified that 'some sources have
inferred that we might be reluctant to
investigate personnel of other law
enforcement agencies. This assumption is
completely unfounded." Mr. Hoover also
Abserts there was no delay in furnishing
complaints directly to the Civil Rights
Division, another area where the Commission
found fault with the FBI's record. Mr.
Hoover made no specific mention of FBI
investigations of denials of the right to
vote.
In 1963, the tiire6tor de~otes 1ess than a
page to civil rights in his testimony, with
no discussion of voting inve~tigations.' He
does mention the FBI's solving of two church
burnings near Albany, Georgia in ,the fall of
1962.
Mr. Hoover's 1964 testimony contains five
pages dealing with civil rights matters
including m~ntio~ of several civil rights
prosecutions :;;uc'h as the l·ledgargvers case,
an Indiana police brutality case, and one of
the same church burning in Georgia in 1952.
"Extensive wor~ has also been carried on
under the Civil aights Act o~ 1960 -cqarding
discrimination in voting matters. Yor
example,in aullock. county, Alabama, we made
954
an investigation into voter registration procedures at
the instruction of the Department of Justice. On
September 13, 1961 a federal court order was issUed
to regulate registration procedures and eliminate discrimination.
As a result, more than 1,000 Negroes
have registered thus far.
In his 1965 testimony, nine pages of which deal with
civil rights, ~. Hoover also noted, for the first time,
the intelligence activities against the Klan. "Indicative
of our work in this area is the fact that we are currently
investigating '14 Klan-type organizations having a membership
of approximately 9,000 individuals." 10k. Hoover
then went to name the major Klan groups, their leaders and
estimated membership.
In 1966, the Director discussed in great detail the Bureau's
5Uccessesin the big criminal cases - Penn, Neshoba and
Luizzo and the FBI's response to such crises situations as
Selma and Bogalusa.
(5) Shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1960 went into effect,
record demands were made for 15 counties in four states -McCormick,
Hampton and Clarendon Counties, South
Corolina; Webster, Fayette and Early Counties, Georgia;
Wilcox, Sumter and t/Qntgomery Counties, Alabama; East
Feliciana, Ouachita and East Carroll Parishes, Louisiana;
and Boliva, Lenore, and Forrest Counties, Mississippi.
955
t61 In 196.0 th.e DepartlllEl.nt o~ JUsU.ce. believed that·
th.ere va!! ma,ssive wide~spread racial discrimination
in VQting tnfive Deep South States (Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Missiasippi and South Carolina) and in
sOllie counties in Florida, North Carolina and
Tennessee. The Best registration !Statistics
available for 196Q indicated that 14\ of the
500,000 voting age Negroes (and 63\ of the Whites)
were registered to vote in 'Alabama; 30\ of the
500,000 Negroes (and 77\ of the Whites) were
registered in Louisiana and 6\ of 400,000 Negroes
(and at least 50\ of the Whites) in Mississippi
were registered. We Believed there were. 27 cou~ties
with substantial Black populations where no Blacks
were registered. These counties were called cipher
counties and were located as follows: 2 in Alabama,
6 in Georgia,. 4 in Louisiana,; 14 in Mississippi and
1 in South Carolina. These five states had 98 (but
of 419) counties with less than 5\ of the Blacks
registered.
Our conclusion after 4 years of hard work was
that we had underestimated the size of the problem.
(7) A typicalPBI request aight read as follows:
Director
Federal Bureau ot Investigation
John Doar
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
4-6-61
72-41-20
Discrimination in Registration and Voting·
Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi
Listed below are the names of Negroes in Jcfferson
Davis County Wl10 have attempted to rcgister to votc.
Some have heen successful. We do not have the,
addresses of SOllle of them, but Mr. John C. Aurnes,
a farmer who lives approximately 6 miles north of
Prentiss, will be able to help you locate the
956
th.e. indi..viduals. His h.ouse can be reAched by going
5 miles north of Prentice on Highway 13 and turning
west on a dirt road and following the dirt road for
about a mile. The Burnes farm is on the south side
of the road. Please interview these persons:
- John C. Burnes
- Jenora M. Holloway, Mt. Carnel Voting District
.Prentiss, Mississippi
- Castpn Holloway, prestiss, Mississippi
- Mabel W. Armstrong, Prentiss, Mississippi
John H. Lewis, Prentiss, Mississippi
John Harris Williams, Prentiss, Miss.
- Waddell Gray, Carson, Miss.
- J.H. Armstrong, 5 miles east of Prentiss. Miss.
Lewis Warren Pasterling, Prentiss, Miss.
- Juanita Pastel!ling, Prentiss, Miss.
- Johnny Hartzog
- Jim Hartzog
- John F. Barnes
- Scott Barnes.
- Johnny Goodlaw
- Mather Nerron
- Larkin Sims
Irvin Lucas
- Cable Terroll
- Martin Sullivan
957
- Nallie Ward
- Jall\es. Ward
Seaulab Rose.
- Rudolph Ward - Mt. Zion Community
James Ward - Mt. Zion Community
Fred White - Mt. Zion Community
Bailey Jones - Mt. Zion Community
- Char~ie Thompson, Route 2, Box SO Prentiss, Miss.
Daniel Sims Ross, Route 2, Box 137, Prentiss, Miss,
Fred Ross, Route 2, Box 296, Prentiss,. Miss.
Sane Phillips, Route 3, Box 122, Mt. Olive, Miss.
-Dadley Lewis Hawthorne, Route 2, Box 11, Prentiss, Miss.
- Dorothez Howthorne, Route 2, Bos 11, Prentiss, Miss.
- WillieP. White, Route 2, Box 111, Prentiss, Miss.
- Roscoe Otis - lives near Willie P. White
C.L. Powell - Carson, Mississippi (also obtain
information on Mr. Powell's son's attempts
to register and his present location.)
Certain of these people were previously interviewed in'
March, 1958. Re-interview is requested to bring the
matter up to date and to obtain the speDific information
requested.
In addition to obtaining the usual background
information including education, business or farming
experiences, property ownership, military record,
arrest record, obtain the following specific information:
a. Each time he at~cmpted to regis.ter
958
2, W~ere ~e attc~~tad to reg~ster
3. Wnqt other Nesroes were with him when he
i\ttE!Jllpted to re~::,,;te~'.
4. Name or person or persons to whom he
applied for registration. (Circ~it cler~
or deputy)
S. Full details of conversation with clerk.
6. "Full details of any conversation with
other white persons or officials when he
attempted to register, ~uch as the Sheriff
or Deputy Sheriff.
7.
s.
9.
10.
......
What was required of him when he attempted
to register, such as filling out the
application forms, copying and interpreting
a provision of t;,he Con,stitution. Ascertain
whether any p~rtof the qualifying examin~Fion
was oral. If he was required to copy ana !
interpret a provision of the Constitution,'
ascertain what provision or what it, was about
and its length.
Whether he p~ssed or ,failed. Include bore
any details of the conversation with the
resistrar,
Whether he received any assistance in filling
out the form from ,;hc registrur and whct:~,,:.:'
or not he re~ucstedsuch ~tisistancc.
Whether or not he has paid his poll tax
regularly, if $0, o~t~in ~ll original poll
tax receipts i~ his poss~~sion.
~h~ther ~ny w~ite person in th~ County h~s
tal~ce to ~i~ a~out ~~gi$~erin~, iZ $0, ~~o,
w~eri, ~~d ~~:i Qctails of t~~ co~v~r~~tio~.
959
Obtain from e.ach. I?erson :lnterviewed the names of other
Neqroell wh.o have also attempted to register to vote.
Interview each. of these persons for fUll details.
Obtain from each person interviewed the names of any
Negroes who have been reluctant to attempt to register
because of a conversation with a white person in the
community.
Interview Carl Meyers, white, who lives in Voting Dis"
trict 5 near Prentiss, Mississippi, and who is a
registered voter for full details as to what transpired
when he registered to vote, inclUding the date, what
assistance he was given either by the circuit clerk or
by other persons when he attempted to register, and the
length of time it took him to register. Obtain full
information as to interviewee's educational background
and whether interviewee can read and write.
Interview Garland Lane, a registered white voter in the
County as to what tran'spired when hf! reg.iatered to
vote, inclUding the time it took him to register, and
what assistance he received in completing the qualifying
examination. Obtain full information as to interviewee's
educational background and whether interviewee
can read and write.
Kindly conduct this investigation on an expedited basis.
(8l A copy of the Mississippi summary follows on the next
three pages.
(9) As an example of pre 1960 machinations, consider the
following'
On May 1, 1958 HenryPutzei, Chief of the Voting and
Elections section wr~te the Assistant Attorney General
for Civil Rights.
~At.least until a final decision is made as to our
course with respect to the situation in Tuskegee, I feel
it is desirable to confine investigations of Mr. Gomilian's
complaint to persons outside existiugor previous
bounduries of Tuskegee, therefore, at least for the
time being, we are asking that the present or former
residents of Tuskegee not be included among th.O~b to De
interviewed. by the FHI,"

INTERVIEWS
DATE DATE EXPEDITBD SPECIfICALLY INTERVIEWS RESPO~S I'
ill!!!! REQUESTED RECEIVED BASIS REQUESTED AND MADE EXPANDED STA lE:.IES:
Lauderdale 6/21/61 Pend In, Jio 12 N. Pendb, Pend In, Pendln,
Leflore 4/28/61 5/15/61 Yea ,11 N. 12 N. 4 N. 16 N.
a Unknown
Lowndea 6/20/61 Pend In, ' ··No 4 N. Pend In, PentHn, Pendin, 'Ci
-0) Madiaon 4/4/61 4/2i/61 . Yea 6 H. 6 H. 63 H. 67 H.
1 w. 1 w. 1 w.
Maraball 4/26/61 5/11/61 Yea 12 N. 12 H. 13 N. 20 N.
~ 4/26/61 $/11/61 Yea 9 N. 9 N. 4 N. 12 N.
!!!! 5/19/61 6/2/61 Yea 7 N. 7 N. 12 N. 18 N.
MIS SIS SIP P I
INTERVIEWS
DATI DATE EXPEDITED SPECIFICALLY I:;TERVIEWS RESPO~SI\':
COUNTY REQUESTED RECEIVED BASIS REQUESTED AND MADE EXPANDED STATE.... EST:'
Simplon 5/1/61 5/10/61 Yea 19 H.• 18 N. 9 M. 23 M.
~
0;,
tv
Sunllower 4/3/61 . 4/24/61 Yea T N. 6 N. 12 M. 16 H.
Tal1ahatchie S/l/61 5/11/61 Yea 9 N. 9 N. 6 If. 12 N.
Tunica S/25/61 6/5/61 Yea 5 H. 5 N. 3 N. 7 N.
Walthall 4/3/61 4/24/61 Yea 10 N. 10 N. 3 If. 14 N.
1 w. 1 w.
.!!!2.! 5/25/61 6/U/61 No 35 N. 28 N. 4 N. 31 N.
1 w. 1 \1.
963
Putzel continued that on July 9, 1957, Dr. Gomilian,
a black Tuskegee leader, had conferred with Mr. Barett
and Mr, Hubbard -- two lawyers in Civil Rights -- and
since that time, no FBI investigation had been made,
though the FBI had been following developments.
Putzel said there would likely be a furor created by
any extensive investigation in Macon County. He anticipated
that State Senator Samuel Englehardt, Executive
secretary of the Alabama Association of Citizens'
'Councils, and the person mainly responsible for the
gerrymandering of Tuskegee, and for steps toward abolition
of Macon County, would be very vocal in opposition
to any extensive FBI investigation.
On March 19, 1958 the Director of the FBI sent a
memorandum to the Attorney General:
"In light of the recent developments in webster Parish,
Louisiana, which arose while this Bureau was conducting
an investigation of the alleged denial of the right to
register [local district attorney alleged that FBI
agents intimidated the registrar and threatened to
subpoena the agents before a local grand jury], I want
to bring to your attention the following information with
respect to similar cases which might arise in the State
of Mississippi."
Mr. Hoover noted that a campaign had been announced
by black leaders to increase black voters in Mississippi,
and letters had been sent to local officials in 31
counties in the State. Mr. Mitchell of the Washington
NAACP had furnished to Governor Coleman of Mississippi
and to the Justice Department a list of instances in
which blacks in 30 counties had been denied the right
to register solely because of their race. To date the
FBI has received "three requests from the civil Rights
Division requesting investigation in three different
counties in the state of Mississippi based upon information
originally received by the Civil Rights Division."
"tn view of the feeling of the officials and people in
the states involved as indicated in the' Webster Parish
situa·tion and in light of the annollJ\ced plans of various
groups to redouble efforts to increase registration
immediately, it would appear any inquiries desired
should be based upon substantial merit."
964
(l0) In U.S. v Macon Couab)' there were 75 exhibits"ntroduced Primarily
for the Purpose of Est Iishing Thor A Double Standard was Used." Following
are samples:
Exhibit
Number
1. Five applications of Marie williams, July 5, 1957, July 10,
1958, September 1, and September 15, and November 10, 1958.
Education -31/2 years of college.
The ffl'$t application contains minor en-ors. The second application
con,,,;ns a minor error in question 1 and the error, discussed
below; which she repeated in her next two applications. The
third and fourth applications are perfect except that in answer
to the question "when did you become a bonofide resident
of Macon County", she answered, "November 1948". On the
5th application, she answered, IlNovember 15, 1948" and it
is otherwise perfect.
writing test - Article II (5 times)
Race ot ~licant ·Action Ir Board
NEG~ 1st Application---------.--REJECTED
2nd Application------.-";R':JECTED
3rd Application --------.----REJECTED
4th Application -----REJECTED
5th Application ----------REJECTED
4. Five opplications of Corrie E. White. M:rt 19, June 16,
July 7, August 15, ond October 6, 1958.
Educo'ion - 11 th grade.
The first four opplicatians contoin minor errors. The fifth
applicallon is perfect.
writing test- Articles V, III, II, II, ond II, respectively.
Race of Applicant
965
Actian by Boom
NEGRO 1st Application -----~-REJECTED
2nd Application -----~EJECTED --j
3rd Application -------REJECTED
4th Application-- REJECTED
5th Appl ication ACCEPTED
31 • Fony-eight applications of persons applying in Octob. and
November 1957. .
Education - 7th grade 1
8th grade 3
~hgrade 2
10th grade 4
11th grade 2
High School 21
lyearcallege 4
2 years callege 2
3 years coliege I
College Degree ..
Public School 1
College 1 -
Business College 2
writing test - None
Race of Applicants
ALL wHITE
42. Application of David Haywood, July 4, 1960.
Education - 3rd grade
Action by Board
ALL ACCEPTED
The application was filled out by him with ossistance from the
registrar.
writing test - Part of AIt iele II
r
Race of Applicant
WHITE
Action by Boord
ACCEPTED
966
There were 74 exhibits "Introdu.ced Primarily for the Purpose of Establishing
the Slowdown Procedures." Following are samples:
Exhibit
Number
11 • 1960 appearance sheet for courthouse registration, Beat 1•
The following·numbers of persons, mostly Negroes, appeared
and signed up to apply for registration on the dates shown:
June 20, 1960 45
July 18, 1960 17
August 15, 1960 20
October 17, 1960 28
December 19, 1960 290
Applications show that 3 white persons and 1 ·Negro were registered
on that date.
55. Two appearance sheets and four applieations dated Jun~ 6, 1960, for ~2
(Little Texas). ;~,";,
~...
Backlog of 15 persons, mostly Negroes.
60. Appearance sheet for Beat 6 (Hardway).
List dated October 3, 1960, has names of 21 persons.
One whiTe person was registered Q.nd 3 Negroes applied and
were rejected. Backlog of 17 Negroes.
57• Appearance sheet for Beat 9-2 (West End).
List has names of 5 white persons who applied and Wllle registered
on July 6, 1960. No backlog.
40. Appearance sheet for Beat 9-3 (Notasulga).
List has name~ of 8 white personswho applied for registration on
July 7 and 8; 1960. No backlog.
967
(111 For ex~mple, in the Lynn case involving discrimination
in Forrest county, "ississippi, the FBI was ~sked to
tdentify the race o( 387 applicants for voter registra~
tion. At le~st 3 other race identification requests
were also sent. The information was t~'be established
through someone's personal knowledge (such as post~
masters) or through pUblic records (such as poll t~x
receiptsl. The .Bureau did a speedy, accurate job in
determining the race of these applicants. This was
just one of our 70 eases.
(12) On 2/18/65, Mr. Marshall testified at the Commission
on Civil Rights hearings in Jackson: "Two attorneys
were in Hattiesburg for almost three weeks sifting
through newss>apers, graduation yearbooks,' city
directories and other documents in order to identify
and locate white persons who were placed on the rolls
by the Mississippi registrars. Thereafter, other
attorneys again with the help of clerical help analyzed
application forms, control cards and other records
during a 16~week period. InterViewing of prospective
witnesses took four attorneys well over two weeks and
as many as five attorneYs ata time were engaged for a
period of 9ver one month in preparing proposed finding
of fact and conclusions of law." The interviewing was
of Negro witnesses. .
(12al However, the Division attorneys were very effective
in interviewing. potential black witnesses and al.ost
all. of this work was done by Civil Rights Oivision
lawyers.
(13) What follows is a resume of the April, 1962 Choctaw
County, Alabama investigation.
"The purpose of this investigation is to establish the
standards, requirements and procedures which have
been applied to white applicants for registration to
vote in Choctaw County, Alabama since January 1960.
This information sought generally related to what aid
and· assistance was offered
968
white APplicants in completing their application
forms, how did the white applicants learn when and
where to register, where and with whom did they
apply for registration, under what circumstances
dfd they obtain their supporting witness, when
,and how were they notifieQ of their registration,
and whether or not they have voted since their
registration.
***
This investigation is based upon an analysis of
application forms submitted by white applican~s.
Attach~ent A lists prospective interviewee and it
is requested that sixty responsive statements be
obtained whenever possible. The interviewees
should be selected from the first 65 persons
listed in Attachment A and if additional
interviews are needed to obtain the requisite
number of responsive statelllents they should'
be taken from the Supplemental List to
Attachment A in the order'in which the interviewees
are listed. The first 65 interviewees are
grouped chronologically according to the date
of their application. Where practical, the same
agent should interview the persons listed as having
appli~d for registration on the same day.
Attachment h sets forth the name and address
of each interviewee and the FnI photo identification
number of his application. These names are followed
by comments which are based on our records
analysis and are included to enable the interviewing
a~ents to obtain specific inlormatiori. Tho
handwriting and answers on some of the applications
have b~en compared to those found on applications
filed by ocher applic~nts. The results
are indicated by the com~crits. If it is deemed
necessary in-order to verity information given by
interviewees, additional interviews may be made of
the pcrson5 li~t~d ir. ~~a commcntG or whos~ names
arise f~o~ infor~a~ion sivcln ~y th~ i .. t~rview·,s.
969
!n t~asa casas th~ parsons s~Oql~ ba~nte~vie~ed
for all the tnfor~ation raqqestad of the interviewees
herein. Xany of the co~ents request that
~and-writing sa~ples be ootained from the interviewees.
T~e stc;.tements which the interviewees should
write are set forth in the comments.
***
Each interview should cover the details of the
procedures &nd requirements that these white
applicants .expertenced. The following should be
included in the information obtained.
1. Obtain background information •••
2. How did the interviewee find out when and where
he could apply for registration to vote. Obtain
specific details as to who he talked to;
where interviewee talked to this person; when
interviewee talked to him and the details as
to their conversation.
3. Did the interviewee have to fill out an
application form. If so, from whom and where
did he qet the application form.
***
4. Did the interviewee have to sign the application
form. (Note that on practically all of the
applications there are check marks by
signgtures in the Oath and supplemental Oath
in page 3 of the form.)
***
5. If the interviewee did not personally fill out
an application form, did he iurnish any
infor~~tion to ano~~ler p~r~on to 6~ablc the
form to be co:-.t:'lct. ..... .;:::? If olr1.oth .... r pl,}r~O:l filled
out th~ form, obt~in t~c £poci~ic dQtail~ ~s
to where they _arc and tb~ procedures followed,
970
parttcul~rlr whether a registrar was present
or h~Q knowledge of the procedure followed.
If a registrar was present determine the
proximity of the registrar to the
interviewee at this time and whether any
conversation were had with the registrar
while the interviewee's from was being
cOllOpleted.
6. What conversation took place between the
interviewee and the person who gave him the
application, or the registrar if one was
present.
a. Was the interviewee asked any oral questions
about who he was, where he worked, how long he had
lived in the State or County, or whether he had
ever been convicted of any crimes?
***
7. Who else was present when the interviewee filled out
his form'?
***
8. Prior to exhibiting the interviewee his application
form, determine whether he was told that he would
be required to have a supporting witness to
identify the interviewee and fill out part of
page 4 of the application form. If so, who told
this to the interviewee. '
a. Did the interviewee ask someone
to vouch for him? If so, who was this person
and how long has the interviewee known him.
Did t~is person vouch in the presence of the
interviewee, and if so, what procedures were
followed. (Who was present, where were they,
and whether registrar witnessed the voucher's
signature.)
b. If the interviewee did not AllK anyone
;.
971
to vouc~ ~O~ ~~~ ~oes ~a Know ~t ~n~ otner
l'~raonI fQr axallll?le, i\ re.g i.5 trar I ask.ed some...
one. to ftll out tne. supporting witness
portion of nis form. Xf 60, did the
registrar or anotner person tell the interviewee
who would vouch for him, did that
person vo~ch for him in his presence, who
was the voucher, and how long has the
interviewee known him?
c. If the interviewee does not know who' vouched
for him, deter2i..e if he knows the person who
signed as the supporting witness on page 4 of
the form and how long he has known this person.
9. Where. did the interviewee sit when his
application fO.rm was filled out?
•••
10. What parts of the form did the interviewee have
difficulty understanding?
a. When the interviewee is shown his application
if he has difficulties remembering whether he
needed any help with understanding portions of
the application, parts of· the form should be
reviewed with him to refresh his memory.
For example, he may be asked what the words
"bona fide" mean in question 5 or what
·priority" and se~ular" mean in question 20a,
and what he thinkS question 19, refilrrinq to
"aid and confort t~ enemies" asks and why he
answered it as he did•••
(14) The Bolivar County, Mississippi records deman is
an example of another time consuming assignment.
On August 11, 19~O th~ Justice Department made a
formal demand, pcrsuant to the 1960'Act, for
the registration records in Bolivar County, Mississippi.
The reqis~rar rcfua¢~, and the Department filed suit.
bn NoveQber 15, 1962, after p: )aeed·~~q which ~~sted
just unde.r two years, Judge Clayton issued an order
972
allo~inS' tl'..e 'insi?ection 0::; r~coX'cls X'elatinq to
~er&ons accepted ~or ieq~stration. Ko~evar, he
excluded rejected applications and limited the
inspection of records re.ce.tved prior t~lthe
date. of the demand letter. The Department
illllllediatelyappealed. On December 6,1'963, the
Court of Appeals mOdified Judge 4layton's order to
allow the inspection of rejected applications and
records obtained after the date of the demand.
In January, 1964, JUdge Clayton then issued an order
qranting the inspection and photographing of the
records:.. The defendant registrar then petitioned
the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari and
Judge Clayton stayed his order during the
pendency of the petition. Certiorari was denied
May 18, 1964. The records were inspected and
photographed on June 24, 1964, almost four years
after the demand letter was first filed.
(15) Scott 90unty, Mississippi was a sparsely populated
county with less than 12,000 people of voting age
and an estimated 5,400 whites and 16 Negroes
registered in 8/63. \ The FBI was requested to
obtain information from the registration records
in five areas: (1) ascertain race identification
. for all currently registered voters and rejected
applicants; (2) obtain accurate registration
statistics by date; (3) analysis reflecting the
incidence of each section of the Constitution
given to applicants to interpret; (4) analysis of
application forws to determine what assistance was
given applicants as applicants as demonstrated by
standard or pattern~d answers and different ink
or handwriting; and (5) standar4s used by the
Registrar in grading the forms.
i
Bibb County, Alabama had less than 8,000 persons
of voting age and in 6/62 an estimated 100'
of the Whites ~nd lO~ of the Negroes were registered.
The FBI was asked to analyze the records and
ohtain reqistration st ..tistics and information on
errors and oD'.::lissions appear...g on ,;h:. accopt'l
application form.
973
Eaat B.a.ton RO\4ge. ?a:ti:.ll.h.f LClu:i,.siana, h.AS about 124,000
pe.~&Onli o~ vo~ir.g age; a~out 65,000 ~h.ites And 10fOOO
Negroes were l;'egistere.d in 3/63. The FBI had
photographed only 10\ ot the accepted applications
forms and all the rejected forms. The FBI request
dealing with East Bator. Rouge Parish was extremely
detailed. Much background information was set out
including a de~ailed description of the registration
procedure and what the records ~ere used for. The
FBI was asked (1) to determine the chronological
periods during which each test or procedure has been
used; (21 to obtain detailed statistical data;
(3) to ascertain with great specificity the
standards used in grading each test; (4) to compile
evidence of aid and assistance to applicants, and
. (5) to assem~le evidence of the quality of
applicants who are accepted and rejected. The request
concluded: "In this request we have endeavored to
anticipate most of the useful data which you will
find in the East Baton Rouge Parish voter registration
records. However, in examining these records closely
you may find other items which will requre further .
analysis. It is not our intention to restrict the
analysis to the items aovered in this memorandum."
(16) In Mr. Marshall's testimony-before Congressman
Rooney's Subcommittee on January 28, 1964 he
testified as follows:
Mr. Rooney: In connection, with all of ~his, you
have the services of t~e ~BI, do you not?
Mr. Marshall: Mr. Chairman, in connection with
this' budget, I took up and discussed wi tn the FBI
whether th~y could reli3va so~e of the burden on
the Division involved in analyzing racords. They
photograph~d during the last year 2S0,OOO pages
of records for analysis, which is the analysis work
currently dor•.: COJ:lploltely within the Division.
I discussed with t!le BurQ~u whcth~r they could
take on that Durd~n an4 t~QY ~~id tr~t they did
not have tne personnel to do it. Of the 250,CuO
pages of records --
974
Mr. Rooney: Are you tall~ng us t~at t~e FBI does
not ~ake the investig~tions for you in this area
of civil rights?
Mr. Marshall: I a~ telling you, Mr. Chairman,
that they do not make the analysis of the voting
records.
·Mr. Rooney: Do they make the investigation?
~r. !'tarshal!: 'l'hey malte investigations for us, yes,
sir. They do, Mr. Chairman. They do a very good
job of interviewing a good number of witnesses
and they investigate completely criminal matters.
***
Mr. Marshall: We first determine upon the basis
of the complaints reaeived and the statistical
analysis in the particular county whether or not
there appears to be a problem of discrimination.
If there is, then we request permission to
photograph the records ••• either upon the basis of
a voluntary compliance by the registrar, or upon
the basis of a court order, we go into photograph
the records .. That is mechanically done by
agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
who are accompanied by a lawyer from my Division
at the time. That takes maybe two or three days,
depending on how large the volume of records is in
the particular county, which, in turn, depends on
its population.
After that, the films of the records are brought
back to Washington and they are blown up and analyzed
by lawyors and clerks working under lawyers in my
Division.
None of the actu~l work of the analysis is now done
by the Fcd~ral 3ur~Q~ of Invustig~tion. As I said,
Mr. Chairman, an effoL~ is bging mado to see if
we could relieve th. burden OD tho ~iyision a_~
975
took. i,t up ~Ii"o:h. "o:l-,e aureau th.e. ques ti on of whethe r
they could do that work and was informed they
cound not.
***
Mr. Bow: Just a minute. "Obtaining statistics
from registration books and poll books." Is that
or is that no~ something that the FBI does by
photographing?
Mr. Marshall: Congressman, if I could draw a
distinction between snapping the shutter on a
camera and looking at the picture that is taken.
that is the distinction. The FBI snaps the shutter
on the camera. That is all they do. Then somebody
had to take what they photographed and draw
conclusions from it. One of the things they draw
from it is statistics. It is not always possible
to get statistics from poll books and registration
books. In some case the race of the registered voter
is not shown on those books and we have, in other
ways. to seek that out. That is the distinction
I want to make. Congressman. that the FBI only
snaps the shutter on the camera and that that is
not the major effect that is involved in these
matters.
***
Mr. Marshall: The FBI has the camera. We do not
have the camera. The FBI has a technician who is
skilled in photographing things. We do not have
a technician who is skilled in photographing things.
As far as the physical photographing that is done,
which may take two days or so in a particul~r
county. that ~s done by agents of the FUI who are
skilled carncrmen. plus a lawyer from the Civil
Righ"o:s Division that tells him what to photograph.
That is a small part of t~e work i~volved. When
these 30,000 photografLs lin 11 Alabama counties)
are taken they are. put on rccJ.s ana tHe reels ~re
976
among 20 textile companies which were referred
to the Justice Department by Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission on the basis of terrible
statistics. Each company operated one or more
plants which had less than l' black male employees,
no black female employees, or no black employees
at all.
On April 29, the Bureau was asked to investigate
such things as the methods of job recruitment,
selection and training; accepted and rejected
applicants since th~ effective date of Title VII;
company structure and pr~motional policies; and
whether employee facilities w~re desegregated.
On May 2, the Director send the Division a memo
declining to conduct the investigations. His
reasons were that no complaint had been received
against any of these companies; that in the
absence of any complaint the requested investigations
amounted to "statistical surveys" which
are not a proper function of the FBI. The Bureau
suggested "that inquiries of this type can most
appropriately be handled by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission .....
On May 5,1957, I sent a meno to the Director
explaining our position and requesting that the
investigations be conducted. I pointed out that
the receipt of a complaint is not a prerequisite
for investigation or suit under Title VIII; that
the statistics showing virtually no blacks
employed were indicative of a probable violations;
and that the purpose of investigating was not a
statistical survey but the development of proof
for a possible suit.
On May 9, the Direc~or again refused to conduct
the investigations. He felt there was no provision
in the law authorizing EEOC to refer matters to
the Department for investigation, only to refer
for suit, and EEOC should conduct the necessary
investigations.
977
brought back to W~s~ington and everyone is gone
over by :awyers in t~e ~ivision and clerks in the
Division, workjng the lawyers. T~is is the ~ajor
work and I canuot accept ~he suggestion it is
misleading.
(18) In June 1964, Xr. Mally came to see me about
Sheridan's :orces iillpersonatir.g Bureau age~ts in
Mississippi. During the courze of the conversation,
he complained tha~ Sheridan was investigating and
the FBI was the investigatory arm of the Department
of Justice.. To this t ! replied "What are you ta.lking
about? I've been investigating i~ the South for
years." To ~his Mally replied, "You don't
investigate, John, people just talk to you,"
(180) To cppreciate the amount of proof, (and the work required) see the
answer to interrogatories filed by the Division or the Division's
proposed findings of fact in any of its voting cases.
978
(19) In the work of the Civil Rights Commission and in the legislation
hearings between 1957 and 1964 there was expressed much
scholarly doubt on how far Congress could go in superceding
registration process in the sovereign states. I have no doubt that
the Division's monumental collection of facts is what caused
Congress to go os for as it did without causing a constitut·onal
problem. On 3/7/66 the Supreme Court in South Carolina v.
Katzenbach upheld the constitutionality of the 1965 Voting
Rights Act. The opinion summarizes in some detail the voluminous
legal history of the Act and demonstrates that the massive
record of case-by-case litigation against voting discrimination
established by the Justice Department was the basis for the 1965
Act. Both the legislative history, and the Supreme Court's opinion,
are filled with references to the voting cases brought by Justice.
"Discriminatory application of voting qualifications has been found
in all eight Alabama cases, in all 9 Louisiana cases, and in all
nine Mississippi cases which have come under final judgment."
This record enabled Congress to conclude that lithe unsuccessful
remedies which it had prescribed in the past would have to be
replaced by sterner and more elaborate measures. Because of the
specific knowledge of discriminatory techniques in use gained from
this record, Congress was able to devise very detailed and sweeping
remedies which got at the heart of the problem and which had
ample precedent in the voting cases themselves. "Congress had
leamcd that widespread and persistent discrimination in voting
during recent years has typically entailed the misuse of tests and
devices, and this was the evil for which the new remedies were
specifically designed."
(20) This pattcrn may have to be repeated. In 1967 the FBI declined
to conduct investigations into employment discrimination in six
textile companies in North and South Carolina. These cases were
(21)
(22)
979
About ~he s.~e ti~e the Bureau also refused to
con~~ct c rtain i~vestigation in an employment
case in S r~ingh~~ invo:ving the H.K. Porter Company.
The Divis on a~keG the FBI on May 11, to obtain
information regar6ing the organization and internal
function of 2 plants in the North which were engaged
in operations similar to the Porter plant in
Birmingham. The purpose was to try to show the
distinction between separate departments in the
Birmingham ~ill to be artificial and discriminatory.
The Director on May 17, declined to conduct~the
investigation because no complaint had been
received as to these Northern plants and the Birming~
am plant was being investigated by EEOC.
The Division appealed to Attorney General Clark
who sent a me~o to the FBI again requesting them
to conduct these investigations. On June 13, the
Bureau finally agreed.
The oft repeated statement that the Bureau does not
police elections is not adequate to explain its
reluctance to fully perform' in employment discrimination
investigations.
Attorney General Katzenbach testified in 1965 this
difficulty "the litigation cases amply demonstrate
the inadequacy of present statutes prohibiting voter
intimidution ... perhaps the most serious inadequacy
result from the practice of District Courts to require
the Government to carry a very onerous burden of
proof of 'purpose' since many types of intimidation,
particularly economic intimidation, involves subtle
forms of pressure. Thi~ treatment of the purpose
requirement has rendered the statute larqely
ineffective:
But in 1961, Director ~oover write to Mr. Bernhard
of th~ Civil ~i9~~S Co~~ission that "we know of
no inst~nc2s of a~y ir.civi~u~l b0ing fearful to
bring cO~lplaints to th - attent:ion of the FBI."
980
(231 Heywood Ccu~ty, ~en~essee is a rural county
located near the Mississippi border; its
~ajority is black. Resgistration in Tennessee
was a fai.ly simple matter; applicants were not
required to pass a literacy test nor to interpret
A section of the Constitution. But no Blacks
were registered to vote in Heywood County until
1960; none had been for at least 50 years. The
first attempts by qualified blacks to register
began in lS58 but no Negroes was registered to
vote before Xay lS60 because from November of 1958
to February. 1960 there was no functioning election
commission or register of voters in the county.
(23a) No one can overlook the Mack Charles Parker
investigation. ~ack Charles Barker, a black,
was indicted in April 1959 by the Pearl River
County grand jury and charged with raping a
white woman. He was confined in the county jail
in Poplarville, Mississip~i on April 13 awaiting
trial sCheduled for April 27. During the night
of April 24, a group of masked men abducted
Parker froQ jail. They beat him, dragged him
down the stairs, put him in a caz" and sped out
of town. A nurse in the hospital next to the courthouse
heard his cries for help and called local
officials. Parker's body, badly beated and with
bullets in it, was found in the Pearl River on
May 4.
According to Time Magazine, within a few hours of
the abduction~ernor Coleman called the FBI and
asked for their assistance. The Bureau immediately
began to investigate.The investigation was extensive
and a large number of agents took part, headed
by the SAC from New Orleans.
Justice Department officials said the investigation
was one of the most intensive in FOI history and
cost about $80,000. Time 6/8/59 rcoorted that a
temporary field office-w-as estilblishild in poplarville,
and for four weeks, a ,Q-man Fal task force roamed
Pearl River County,
981
The FBI identified many of the members of the lynch mob
and turned the results of their investigation over to state
authorities.
Follawing a Justice Department ruling that the FBI investigation
had clearly established that the persons responsible
had not violated Federal kidnapping statutes and na other
successful federal prosecution could be maintained, the
Attorney General instructed the FBI to give Governor
Coleman a sumr:nary of the facts and evidence.
Director Hoover announced that agents would be available
to testi fy in state court. On November 2, a state grand
jury was empaneled in Poplarville to hear the case. After
three days the jury went home without returning any indictments
in the Parker case. The local prosecutor refused to
read the FBI report to the jury, saying it could be considered
only hearsay evidence. The jury declined to hear FBI agents
who offered to appear without being subpoened. At:orney
General Rogers termed the handling of the case "a travesty
on justice -- flagrant and calculated". A federal grand jury
was empaneled to hear the case on January 4, 1960.
Evidence in the FBI report was presented; FBI agents testified,
and the jury was asked to return an indictment. They failed
to do so.
The FBI did an excellent job on the Parker case. The Bureau
carefully interviewed the other bla'.:~,s in the jail, developed
a white trustee who identified several of the men who entered
the jail cell, learned the location of the farm where
982
th.e Il\en ga,th.aJ;~cl to pla,n th.e lynch, got
admts~ion~ from three of the paJ;ticipants, and
establi&hed that t~e abduction occurred with the
cooperation of an official who had the duty
to protect Parker. The Parker case demonstrates
that tha FB~ was willing to commit the necessary
resources to solve a civil rights case and that they
could solve one with an aggressive investigation.
{24} O~e League c3arter member told the agents that
five blacks who were all affiliated with the
League were' told by their five respective
landlords that "they either had to move or
withdraw their membership in the (League)" He
named the five blacks and the landlords. Another
black allegedly was fired when he refused'; to
withdraw from the league; another was reportedly
denied credit on account of his membership.
(25) Here the FBI was asked to investigate allegations
under (a) and possible 1971 (b) violations were
reported by the persons they interviewed.
(26) The cover sheet of the report notes that "the
investigation is continuing and you will be
furnished c0pies of reports as they are received."
(27) On 6/23, Mr. Tyler noted that he had a very
satisfactory talk with Mr. Rosen about Heywood
and Fayette Counties ~nd "was informed that the
Bureau has already started to expand its
investigations back to where we requested them."
(281 See the 3/31/UO request to the FBI mentioned above.
(291 Request to tho. ,UI, 9/ 1 4/00
983
(30) In January, 1962, these resident agencies existed in
Mississippi:
Northern Mississippi
(Reponed to Memphis)
Oxford
Clarksdale
Tupelo
Greenwood
Columbus.
Greenville
Southern Mississippi
(Reported to New Orleans)
Biloxi
Gulfport
Hattiesburg
Laurel
Meridian
Natchez
Jackson
(31) The Patrolman told the FBI" ••• I called the County Attorney,
Joe Piggot and he came over. I told Piggot what had
happened and he handled the matter from there" •
(32) My interview of Mos.~s conducted in September 1961 at
McComb, Mississippi, states: "In McComb the doctor stitched
up the wounds in my head. The big one at the top of the head
near the back took five stitches. Another one behind the right
eye took three stitches. Another one on my foreheod took one
stitch. The d:Jctor wrote out 0 statement that there were
multiple lacerations caused by a blunt instrument ••• "
(33)
(34)
(35)
984
Or soon thereafter.
On , 1964, Lewis Allen was gunned down in
the driveway of his home in rural Amite County.
"This week at my request Burke Marshall spent
some time in Southwestern Mississippi and Jackson
to get some first-hand impressions of the
possibilities for this summer and the future.
He has reported the following general conclusions
to me:
1. There has unquestionably been as you know, an
increase in acts of terrorism in this part of
Mississippi. As a result the tensions are very
great not only between whites and Negroes, but
among whites. This is not as true in Jackson as
in the outgoing areas.
2. Law enforcement officials, at least outside
Jackson, are widely believed to be linked to
extremist anti-Negro activity, or at the very
least to tolerate it ••. For example, groups have
been formed under the auspices of the Americans
for the Preservation of the White Race to act
as deputized law enforcement officials in some
counties •.. These groups appear to include
individuals of the type associated with Klan
activities ..•
3. The area is characterized by fear based upon
rumor. In Jackson, rumors of organized Negro
attacks on whites appear to be deliberately
planted to spread in organized fashion through
pamphlets, leaflets and word of mouth •..
It seems to me that this situation presents new
and quite unprecedented problems of law enforcement.
As one step I am directing some of the personnel
here in the Department who have had organized
crime experience to make a more detailed survey
of the area to try to substantiate the details
concerning acts of terrorism which are at least
985
gene.ra,ll~ be.li.e.ve.Cl to ha,ye ta,Ken )?lace ~n the.
last few ,«ee.~~s,.
In addition, it seems to ll",e that consideration
should be given by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to new procedures for identification
of the individuals who may be or have been
involved in acts of terrorism, and to the possible
participation in such acts by law enforcement
officials or at least their toleration of terrorist
activity. In the past the procedures used
by the Bureau for gaining information on known,
local Klan groups have been successful in many
places, and' the information gathering techniques
used by the Bureau on Communist or Communist
related organizations have of course been spectacularly
efficient.
The unique difficUlty that seems to me to be
presented by the situation in Mississippi (which is
duplicated in parts of Alabama and Louisiana at
least) is in gathering information on fundamentally
lawless activities which have the sanction of
local law enforcement agencies, political
officials and a substantial segment of the
white population. The techniques followed in the
use of specially trained, special assignment
agents in the infiltration of Co~munist
groups should be of value. If you approve, it
might be desirable to take up with the Bureau the
possibility of developing a similar effort to meet
this new porblem.
(36) A very different reception was given Walter
Sheridan when he met with Al Rosen at the FBI
office in Jackson on JUl~ 2. Sheridan and Rosen
discussed how Sheridan's unit and the FBI could
be of mutual help~ The FBI agreed to furnish
copies of FBI reports; in urgent cases, Sheridan
was authorized to make. oral requests locally or
by phone to the New Orleans office or written
reque5ts on local basis; the results would
be furn~shcd directly '0 Sheridan in Jackson;
Sheridan agreed to furnish thoir in~e~ligence
infor~ation to ~ar; and they would work tog~ther
to obtain good prosecutable case as a starting
point for calling a grand jury.
986
(360) The following column by Joseph Alsop appeared in the Washington Post
of June 17, 1964. It's headline read: "Murder by Night".
"A great storm is gathering -- and may break very soon indeed --
in the State of Mississippi and some other regions of the South.
The southern half of Mississippi, to be specific, has now been
powerfully reinvaded by the Ku Klux Klan, which was banished
from the state many years ago. And the Klan groups have, in turn,
merged with, or adhered to, a new and very ugly organization known
as Americans for the Preservation of the White Race.
"Senator James Eastland has managed to prevent infiltration of the
northern port of the state, where his .influence predominates. But
southern Mississippi is now known to contain no less than 60,000
armed men organized in what amounts to guerrilla units dedicated to
terrorism.
"Acts of terrorism against the local Negro population are already every
doy occurences. Justice Deportment investigators believe -- but
cannot absolutely prove -- that five Negroes have already been killed
by terrorists to dote. The most probable recent case was the death
of Lewis Allen, on Amite County Negro leader, who was ambushed
and shot a few nights ago.
"Allen had invited reprisals by complaining to the Justice Deportment
that he hod be.en beaten by one of the Deputy Sheriffs of Amite
County. Shortly before he was ambushed, the wife of another Negro
leader in the county, Mrs. W. R. Steptoe, warned him that he was in
danger.
"'Well,' said Allen, 'if they get me, they won't get a scored mar,'.
"Despite the murder of Allen, /lin. Steptoe is still preporing to give
board and lodging to several of the northern students who are being sent
into Mississippi by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee,
better known as Snick. Even though she has refused to take any but
Negro students, she has already predicted that her farmhouse will be
bombed.
"These vivid fragments of information reaching the Justice Deportment
are worth setting down, because they make on important point. The
point is that the local Negro leaders are not ready to yield to the
987
mounting campaign of intimidation.
"In Jackson, Mississippi, the offices of COFO -- the Council
of Federated Organizations which includes Snick -- had their
windows broken almost nightly. But now Negro armed guards
are posted at the office every night. Other eases of this sort could
also be cited.
"This, in Mississippi today, the two sides already confrant each
other gun in hand. Before long, moreover, the situation will be
enormously complicated -- and envenomed -- by the orrival of
several hundred Northern ."hite and Negra students recruited by
Snick to ope~ "Freedom Schools" in Mississippi this summer.
"The first contingent of these students has now begun a training
progrom, sponsored by the Federation Council of Churches, at
the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. Except for
lessons in how to register and vote, the curriculum of the 'freedom
school' will be the opposite of inflammatory. But the students'
simple presence in Mississippi will be highly inflammatory, and it
will be close to miraculous if a good many of them do not fall victim
to the terrorists.
"What can be done to damp down this horrifyingly explosive situation
is already being done by both state and federal authorities. The
two Mississippi Senators -- Eastland and John Stennis, have thrown
the whole weight of their influence ogainst violence.
"The new Governor of N,ississippi, Paul Johnson, has also let it be
known that he will not tolerate violence. Since the Governor cannot
depend on the Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs in the counties, he has
powerfully reinforced his highway police and semi-olerted his
National Guard. Because of Governor Johnson, another Negro
student, Cleveland Donald, was just admirted to the University
of Mississippi without any rioting.
"The Justice Department has also strengthened the FBI in Mississippi,
by assigning to investigation of the underground terrorist groups the
crack team of men who triumphantly got the facts on James Hoffa.
Yet the Governor, the Senators and the Justice Department are all
confronted by the same problem.
988
"Guerrilla war in Mississippi is no easier to win than guerilla
war in South Vietnam. Guerilla war - rather than the kind of
open mass outbreak that brought the troops to little Rock, Arkansas -is
now the danger.
"The real aim of Snick and the other mare extreme Negro organizations
is to secure the military occupation of Mississippi by federal troops.
But even if worst comes to worst, will military occupation secure the
desired result? That is the problem President Johnson may have
to solve before long. II
The June 16, J964 edition of the Louisville, Kentucky Couriel""Joumal
carried a story by Richard Harwood headlined "ln Mississrppr:" Federal
Officials, Face Race Crisis".
''Washington -- The Johnson Administration is filled with deep
forebodings over events that will unfold in Mississippi in the
weeks iust ahead.
"A major racial crisis seems imminent. Arms are being shipped into
the state. 'Auxiliary' police forces of white segregationists are
being drilled and trained for riot duty in .rural counties by the
state. The Ku Klux Klan is showing surprising new strength
and is rallying whites to resist 'those black savages and their communist
leaders' •
"Negroes, the Justice Department has revealed, already are being
stalked in the poor, piney woods section of southeastern Mississippi.
There have been nearly fifty !loggings, murders, and other acts of
violence -- many by 'hooded men' -- since January 1.
"The spirit of violence, the Administration reports, is being fanned
by inflammatory statements mode by integration leaders who will
move into Mississippi in forcc bcginning Sunday. John Lewis, the
national chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,
has predicted a crisis of such magnitude that 'the Federal Government
will have to toke over the state'. Lewis has said that 'some kind
of conflict, some kind of violence' is inevitable.
"Anoth::r Negro student leader, Claude L. Weaver of Howard, was
quoted recently as having said, 'the Negroes might start killing the
white people in Mississippi very soon'.
989
"Statements of this sort, a Government source revealed, have
been reproduced and widely circulated among the Whites in
Mississippi.
"The full weight of the storm, the administration bel ieves, could
come much sooner than the public is generally aware. The catalyst
may be the Mississippi summer project.
"This project will bring to Mississippi 800 to 1,000 volunteer integration
workers from all sections of the United States -- students, lawyers,
housewives and ministers. They will set up workshops in sixteen
Mississippi communities to encourage and prepare Negroes for a
massive voter'registration c:lmpaign.
"The project is sponsored by all the major civil rights organizations
in the country -- NAACP, CORE, SNCC and other groups. The
volunteers ai'e being trained at week long seminars at Western
College for Women, Oxford, Ohio. The first class of 225 volunteers
and 125 staff members from Civil Rights organizations will complete
their training this week and move into Mississippi irrmediately.
"A second class of 350 volunteers will begin training next week and a
third class of 150 the following week.
"They have been warned that violence and bloodshed may
result from their work. Indeed, many believe it is inevitable.
"The Crimson, student newspaper at Harvard, where many volunteers
have been recruited, said in an editorial that the summer project will
be a 'massive, daring, probably bloody assault on the racial powers of
Mississippi •••• For the first time, active self-defense and octual
retaliotion (by Negroes), though not officially advocated, are
being openly" discussed••• The (project) planners reason that massive
nonviolence will precipitate a crisis of violence which they consider
prere.:j",isite for further progress.'
"Justice Department officials from Attorney General Robert Kennedy
on down are more disturbed over the situation than they have stated
publicly.
"Their concern is based on these considerations:
990
''White resistance tv integration efforts in Mississippi is
using and is reflected in increased activity by the Klan.
The May 10th issue of The Klan Ledger,publ ished in Mississippi,
predicts a 'nerve wracking, long, hot summer' and calls for the
formation of 'a large and adequate auxiliary police force or
deputy sheriff force' in each community to resist these Communistled
Negro mobs'.
''Whites are urged to arm themselves, to refuse to
give up their weapons. 'Do not go out looking for trouble,'
The Ledgeradvises. 'ATm yourself well and stay at home. Do not
fire unless your home, your person, or your family is attacked.'
"The 'auxiliary' police forces demanded by the Klan, it has been
learned, are now being organized in several Mississippi counties,
including Walthall, Cloy and Pike in the southwestern part of the
state.
"The Mississippi climate has been aggravated by the increasing
militant posture of certain integration leaders who seem determined,
one high Government offiCial said, to precipitate violence and force
the White House to order troops into the state."
(37) On July 24, 1964, I wrote Mr. Marshall as follows: "An FBI investigation
into the church burning was requested by the CRD on 6/19, after the
New Orleans office reported the incident. So far as we can tell, in the
three days betore the three civil rights workers were missing, the
Bureau only interviewed the three blacks who were beaten, and,
perhaps talked to a civil rights worker in Meridian. Before 6/21
the Bureau apparently made no inspectIOn of the church for physical evidence
and no contact with stafe or local authorities as to what investigation
they were QJ ndu·cting."
(33) See Joseph Kraft's 2/65 article in Commentary.
991
(39) The following appeared in the New York Times of Saturday,
June 27, 1964 headlined "Dulles Request MJre FBI Agents for
Mississippi" -- "Urges President to expand force in state to control
'terroristic activities 10'
Allen W. Dulles recommended to President Johnson today
that more agents of the Federal Bureau of Investi'gation be
sent to Mississippi to help "control the terroristic activities."
Mr. Dulles, talking to reporters after his conference with
President Johnson did not specify how many more agents he
thought should be assigned to Mississippi. He said that
would be up to J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Bureau.
A spokesman for the Bureau declined to say how many, if
any, additional agents would be sent to Mississippi. They
also declined to say how many agents were already stationed
there. The stepped-up FBI activity was the principal recommendation
made to the President by Mr. Dulles •••
***
Mr. Dulles said that the President appeared to favor his
recommendation and had indicated that it would be implemented
very shortly.
That same date, June 27, 1964, The Washington Post's story headlined
"Dulles Sees Johnson on Racial Issue" -- "Mississippi Report Urges
Bolstered FBI Force in State," included the following:
Allen W. Dulles recommended to President Johnson yesterday
that the FBI Force in Mississippi be increased to help holt
"terrorist activities" in that state.
The former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency reparted
to the President for nearly two hours on his two-day fact-finding
mission to Mississippi where three young civil rights workers
have been mi ssing since Sunday.
***
Dulles said he had discussed with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
his proposal to increase the FBI strength in Mississippi. He
noted that the FBI had "greatly augmented its stafF there to work
on the case of the three missing workers and did not have "a lot
of extra people" easily available to move in. "But," said
Dulles, "I think it will be done."
A FBI spokesman said he would not comment.
66-077 0 - 76 - 63
992
ApPENDIX B
62-116395
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
January 12, 1976
u. S. SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE
TO STUDY GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
WITH RESPECT TO INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES (SSC)
Reference is made to the testimony of FBI Director
Clarence M. Kelley before the SSC on December 10, 1975. During
this testimony, certain questions arose on which answers were
deferred. Set forth hereinafter are the unanswered questions
along with the responses thereto.
Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr., inquired as to Director
Kelley's feeling concerning an Inspector General concept
extending Governmentwide. Senator Baker asked the Director to
think about the question and furnish his thoughts at a later
date. Upon reflection and consideration of the question,
Director Kelley has decided it would be inappropriate for him,
as Director of the FBI, to comment concerning the need for a
national Inspector General as it would affect any agency other
than the FJ:H.
Senator Gary Hart stated that although higher
authorities had been alerted to the existence of Counterintelligence
Programs (COINTELPROS) in one or two instances, in
terms of the bulk of the Programs there was no systematic
information flowing upward through the chain of command to
former Director Hoover's superiors. Specifically, Senator Hart
indicated the SSC had received testimony that the existence of
the COINTELPRO effort against the New Left had not been made
known to higher authorities and asked if Director Kelley had
any information in this regard. Director Kelley asked for an
opportunity to substantiate the notification provided by former
Director Hoover to higher authorities.
NOTE: The inquiry by Senator Baker referred to above can be found at
page 291 of this volume. The question of Senator Hart can be found at page
301 of this volume.
993
U. S. Senate Select Committee
to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
While no systematic report was made on a regular basis
by former Director Hoover regarding COINTELPRO activities,
information regarding the COINTELPROS was periodically provided
to his superiors in the Executive and Legislative Branches. FBI
files contain considerable documentation clearly establishing
no effort was made by Director Hoover to conceal from superior
authorities the fact the FBI was engaged in neutralizing and
disruptive tactics against revolutionary and violence-prone
groups. This documentation is as follows:
1. Briefing of the President. On November 6, 1958,
Director Hoover presented to Pres~dent DWight Eisenhower and the
Cabinet an oral briefing entitled "Current Communist Subversion
and Espionage in the United States, 1958." Included in the
r.resentation material was a description of the Bureau's effort to
'intensify any confusion and dissa~isfaction among its (Communist
Party, USA) members." Use of informants was cited as a technique
to further this goal. This particular effort was referred to as
one of several programs to counteract resurgence of Communist
Party influence in the United States. In November, 1974, former
Assistant to the Director Cartha D. DeLoach advised he recalled
very clearly briefing President Lyndon B. Johnson regarding the
Bureau's activities against black militants.
2. Notification of White House. In 195~ a letter was
sent to Presidential A~de Robert Cutler at the White House
specifically advising that our COINTELPRO directed against the
Communist Party had been initiated in August, 1956, and citing
examples of techniques utilized. In 1965,a letter was directed
to Presidential Aide Marvin Watson at the White House advising
him this Bureau was seizing every opportunity to disrupt the Klan.
3. Notification of Secretary of State. In 1961,
a letter enclosing a memorandum sett~ng forth examples of
COINTELPRO actions directed against the Communist Party was sent
to Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
994
U. S. Senate Select Committee
to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
4. Notification of Attorne*s General. A letter was
directed to Attorney Generar-wi11~amogers ~n 1958 specifically
advising him our COINTELPRO had been initiated against the
Communist Party in August, 1956, and citing examples of techniques
utilized. In 1961, a letter was directed to Attorney General
Robert Kennedy enclosing a memorandum citing examples of COINTELPRO
actions directed against the Communist Party. In 1965, a letter
was sent to Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach advising him
the FBI was seizing every opportunity to disrupt the Ku Klux Klan.
Attorney General Ramsey Clark was furnished, in 1967, a letter which
enclosed a detailed memorandum outlining our efforts to neutralize
and disrupt the Ku Klux Klan. In September, 1969, Attorney
General John Mitchell was advised of our efforts to disrupt the
Klan. Additionally, former Assistant to the Director DeLoach
advised in November, 1974, he had briefed former Attorney General
Ramsey Clark regarding the various COINTELPROS and he also
expressed the opinion that former Assistant to the Director
Alan H. Belmont or former Assistant to the Director William C.
Sullivanhad briefed Attorney General Katzenbach.
5. Notification of con~ress. Bureau files reveal that
detailed information concerning t e COINTELPROS was prepared for
off-the-record use by former Director Hoover in connection with
several appearances before the House Subcommittee on
Appropriations. Material concerning the COINTELPROS was prepared
for the Director's use in connection with Appropriations testimony
for the fiscal years 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966 and 1967.
All this material was clearly marked for off-the-record discussion.
Published transcripts of hearings by the House Subcommittee on
Appropriations contain notations that on at least six occasions
between 1958 and 1966, off-the-record discussions took place at
those points in Mr. Hoover's prepared remarks dealing with the
COINTELPROS. Former Assistant to the Director John P. Mohr
advised in November, 1974, he recalled the Director on several
occasions had furnished details to the House Subcommittee on
Appropriations relating to FBI COINTELPROS. In November, 1974,
Assistant to the Director Nicholas P. Callahan advised he, too,
recalled several instances involving off-the-record discussion
995
u. S. Senate Select Committee
to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
by the Director with members of the House Subcommittee regarding
this Bureau's efforts to neutralize groups and organizations
involved and that there was no critical comment made in regard
thereto.
An FBI Headquarters supervisor who was assigned
responsibility for COINTELPRO matters during the period 1964
to 1967 recalls that on a number of occasions he was required
to prepare informal memoranda and summaries relating to COINTELPRO
actions. It was his understanding this material was to be
utilized by Director Hoover in connection with briefings of
various Government officials.
A review of FBI files has not located any document
indicating higher authority was formally advised of the existence
of the COINTELPRO effort directed against revolutionary New Left
elements. It should be pointed out the program that targeted
the New Left was only in existence during the period 1968 to
1971 (35 months) and only 285 actions were approved, which
represent approximately 12 percent of all actions approved in the
basic COINTELPROS. Additionally, during the time period of the
New Left program this Bureau was engaged in extensive reporting
and dissemination of information relating to activities and
violence perpetrated by revolutionary elements, including the
so-called New Left.
The Chairman, Senator Frank Church, inquired as to how
much time and money is being spent by the FBI in conducting
investigations on possible Presidential appointments to Federal
offices, plus any other information which would indicate what
proportion of the FBI's time and effort was absorbed in this kind
of activity. Senator Church also asked the Director to supply
the number of such investigations conducted each year beginning
with 1970 and also information as to what offices are now
covered by such investigations.
NOTE: The inquiry by Senator Church referred to above can be found at
page 304 of this volume.
996
u. S. Senate Select Committee
to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
The FBI conducts investigations under the Federal
Employee Security Program pursuant to Executive Orders 10450
and 10422. Executive Order 10450 became effective May 28, 1953,
and sets forth security requirements for employment in the
Executive Branch. The purpose of the Federal Employee Security
Program is to insure that the employment and retention in
employment of any civilian in the Executive Branch is clearly
consistent with the interests of the national security.
At the request of the White House, investigations are
conducted concerning Presidential appointees and White House
personnel. At the request of Cabinet officers, investigations
are conducted concerning certain personnel.
Upon request, investigations are conducted concerning
staff personnel of seven Congressional Committees. These are
handled by agreement with the Department of Justice and include:
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senate Committee on Judiciary
House Committee on Judiciary
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
Senate Appropriations Committee
House Appropriations Committee
Senate Armed Services Committee
At the request of the Department of Justice, investigations
are conducted concerning Departmental Applicants for
Presidential appointments and professional positions such as
Federal Judges, United States Attorneys, and other legal positions.
In addition, investigations are conducted for the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts concerning applicants for the
positions of United States Magistrate, Federal Public Defender,
Referee in Bankruptcy, Federal Court Executive, and Probation
Officer. Also investigations are conducted concerning persons who
have applied for pardons after completion of sentences upon being
convicted of felonies in the United States District Courts •
•IAN la~
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U. S. Senate Select Committee
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With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
Investigations are also conducted of personnel who
have sensitive positions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
and the Energy Research and Development Administration (formerly
the Atomic Energy Commission).
In connection with all of these investigations, we
report the facts developed and furnish the results to the
requesting agency without any comment or recommendation or any
evaluation of the facts developed.
The costs involved concerning investigations on behalf
of the White House, Congressional Staff Committees, Department
of Justice, and Applications for Pardon After Completion of
Sentence, as well as cases referred to the FBI under various
public laws, are included in the overall FBI budget. In all other
investigations charges are made. The current rates for these
charges, which became effective on October 12, 1975, are listed
below. For Fiscal Year 1975, expenditures for these investigations
amounted to approximately $6,760,000 of which slightly over
$3,000,000 was reimbursed from other agencies. It is to be noted
the costs of these investigations fluctuate from year to year
dependent upon changes in salary, travel, and other expenses.
Atomic EnergaCommission Investigation:*
~charige eff. 1/20/75
Energy Research and Development
Administration
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Library of Congress
Full-Field Loyalty Investigations:
Civil Service Commission
(United Nations Personnel)
State Department (Ambassadorial
and Ministerial Appointees)
All Agencies (Administration
Appointees)
New rates eff. 10/12/75
$ 834.00
2,117.00
410.00
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U. S. Senate Select Committee
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With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
Preli~na..EL}nquiries :
Civil Service Commission (CSC)
(United Nations Personnel)
There follows a tabulation listing the number of
investigations conducted by the FBI for other Government agencies
for the period from Fiscal Year 1970 through Fiscal Year 1975.
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Federal Employees Security
Program-Executive Order
10450 12.3_5--1-2_96.... 993 985 943 591
United Nations Loyalty
Program-Executive Order
10422 36 31 31 _3_l___~_ .. ~
Referrals from CSC under
~~i..o~~~lic_ laws 339 2-42---1-9-6---1-60-- 95 68
Energy Research and Development
Administration/Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (ERDA/
NRC) (formerly Atomic Energy
Commission) 1648 1529 1615 2083 1982 2346
Reinvestigation Program
of ERDA/NRC 348 553 485 467 381 203
Departmental Applicant/U. S.
Courts Applicant 4737 4964 5835 3576 1492 1224
999
u. s. Senate Select Committee
to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities (SSC)
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Special Inquiry
a. White House and
Executive Branch 892 888 1218 979 1127 1163
b. Congressional Committees
87 110 76 98 84 259
Maintenance Employees 724 775 500 767 996 947
Total 10046 10388 10949 9146 7108 6815
In early 1975, at the request of the SSC and the House
Select Committee on Intelligence Activities (HSC), we began
conducting applicant-type investigations of personnel assigned
to these committees and also of applicants for positions with these
committees. Through January 6, 1976, we have conducted 160 such
investigations received from the SSC and 39 received from the
HSC. Although no charges have been made, the costs involved at
the current rate would be $338,720 for the SSC and $82,563 for
the HSC, {or a total of $421,283.
Pursuant to Constitutional Amendment 25, approved in
1967, the President requested an investigation in October of
1973, concerning Gerald R. Ford for the appointment to Vice
President. Then in August, 1974, an investigation was conducted
at the request of the President concerning Nelson Aldrich
Rockefeller, Vice President-Designate. Thus, for the first time
in the history of the United States Government, an applicant-type
investigation was conducted concerning the President and Vice
President. These were the most extensive investigations ever
conducted by the FBI of an applicant-type nature.
The investigations handled by the FBI are limited to
existing law, executive order, or by special agreement with the
President and/or the Attorney General. They are not routine and
it is not believed they should be or could be eliminated.
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U. S. Senate Select Committee
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'~ere possible, steps have been taken to insure that these cases
are kept to an absolute minimum. It is noted prior to July,
1973, the FBI conducted investigations concerning nonprofessional
positions in connection with Departmental applicant/U. S. Court
applicant investigations, such as general clerical personnel.
It was determined and agreed upon that these investigations could
be handled by the Civil Service Commission and, therefore, they
were transferred to that agency.
A manpower utilization survey conducted during March,
1975, disclosed that 2.3% of field investigative time by FBI
personnel was being devoted to these applicant-type investigations
conducted for other Government agencies. This low percentage
is indicative of the Bureau's efforts to hold down applicanttype
work to that essential and necessary to meet our various
commitments in this field. We have and will continue to oppose
legislation seeking to involve the FBI in routine applicant-type
investigations.
o

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