United States v. U. S. Klans, Knights of Ku Klux Klan, Inc.

194 F. Supp. 897, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3305
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedJune 2, 1961
DocketCiv. A. 1718-N
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 194 F. Supp. 897 (United States v. U. S. Klans, Knights of Ku Klux Klan, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. U. S. Klans, Knights of Ku Klux Klan, Inc., 194 F. Supp. 897, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3305 (M.D. Ala. 1961).

Opinion

JOHNSON, District Judge.

This cause is now submitted upon the motion of the plaintiff, United States, seeking to have this Court grant a preliminary injunction, enjoining the defendants U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., a corporation; Alabama Knights, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., a corporation; Federated Ku Klux Klan, Inc., an unincorporated association represented by Lester C. Hawkins; Alvin Horn, Robert M. Shelton, Lester C. Hawkins, Thurman E. Ouzts, and Claude V. Henley from interfering with the free flow of interstate commerce within the State of Alabama. This Court previously on May 20, 1961, issued a temporary restraining order enjoining and restraining U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., Alabama Knights, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., Federated Ku Klux Klan, Inc., Alvin Horn, Robert Shelton, Lester C. Hawkins, and Thurman E. Ouzts, their officers, members, agents, employees, and all persons acting in concert with them, from conspiring to interfere with the travel of passengers in interstate commerce through and in Alabama; and from committing acts of violence upon, or threatening, assaulting, intimidating or harassing passengers in interstate commerce in and through Alabama ; and otherwise obstructing, impeding or interfering with the free movement of interstate commerce in and through the State of Alabama.

The submission of this matter was after notice to each of these defendants, and the submission is upon the evidence of several witnesses, both in person and by affidavit, and the several exhibits to the testimony of those witnesses. Having heard and understood the evidence, this Court now proceeds to make the appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law.

This Court has jurisdiction of this matter and has jurisdiction over each of the above-named parties under the authority of Title 28, §§ 1345 and 1392(a), United States Code Annotated, this latter section providing, “Any civil action, not of a local nature, against defendants residing in different districts in the same State, may be brought in any of such districts.” The several motions filed by the above-named defendants, seeking to have this action dismissed on the grounds that the Court does not have jurisdiction and that service of process was outside the territorial limits of this district, are due to be overruled and denied. A formal order of this Court will be entered accordingly.

From the evidence in this case, this Court specifically finds that the U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., is a corporation chartered under the laws of the State of Georgia, but doing business in the State of Alabama and within this district; that Alvin Horn is the chief officer and administrative head of that organization; that the Alabama Knights, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., is a corporation chartered under the laws of Alabama and is doing business within the State of Alabama and within this district; that Robert M. Shelton is the chief officer and administrative head of that organization. This Court further finds that Lester B. Sullivan is Commissioner of Public Affairs of the City of Montgomery and, as such, is responsible for the general supervision and administration of the Montgomery Police Department and for maintaining the peace and enforcing the law within the City of Montgomery; that Goodwin J. Ruppenthal is the Chief of Police of the City of *900 Montgomery and, as such, is responsible, under the direction of Sullivan, for the operation of the Montgomery Police Department and for preserving peace and enforcing the law within the City of Montgomery.

This Court further finds that in April of 1961 and continuing until the present time an organization known as the Congress of Racial Equality, usually referred to as CORE, together with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Students Nashville Non-Violent Movement of Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee; Martin Luther King, Jr., of Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia; Ralph D. Abernathy of Montgomery, Alabama; Wyatt Walker, address unknown; F. L. Shuttlesworth of Birmingham, Alabama; and Solomon S. Seay, Sr., of Montgomery, Alabama, acting in concert with other individuals and organizations, formulated plans for sending groups of individuals of both the white and Negro races by interstate motor carrier through the State of Alabama, including this district. The announced purpose of said trips was for determining whether facilities of interstate commerce, including motor bus and terminal facilities in Anniston, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, were being operated on a racially segregated basis and, if so, to demonstrate peaceably against such operation, and by such demonstrations, through the cooperation of the press, to focus national attention on such operation of the motor bus and terminal facilities in these cities.

This Court further finds that on or about May 14, 1961, a group of such individuals was traveling in interstate commerce, toward Birmingham in two groups — one group in a Greyhound bus and the other group in a Trailways bus;that on May 14, 1961, certain individuals, some or all of whom were conspirators with or members of the U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., and the Alabama Knights, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., by force, threats and violence, intimidated the passengers on one of the buses and destroyed the bus at or near Anniston, Alabama; that said intimidation of the passengers and destruction of this bus by said conspirators was in furtherance of the conspiracy to prevent the passengers on the bus from carrying out their announced and intended purposes. This Court further finds that on May 14, 1961, upon the arrival in Birmingham of the Trailways bus referred to above, the U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., certain of its members, the Alabama Knights, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., certain of its members, and other conspirators, unlawfully beat, assaulted, intimidated, threatened and harassed certain of the passengers who had alighted from this bus at the Trailways bus terminal.

This Court further finds that on May 20, 1961, it was a matter of public knowledge in Montgomery, Alabama, and was known to the Montgomery Police Department in Montgomery, Alabama, that a Greyhound bus carrying a group of white and Negro college students (which students had announced the purpose of riding through the State of Alabama, including Montgomery, on an interstate carrier, to determine whether they could use the instrumentalities of interstate commerce on such trip without racial segregation, or other illegal discrimination, and to demonstrate against any such discrimination should it occur) was en route from Birmingham to Montgomery. This Court finds that the Montgomery, Alabama Police Department was advised, through Spencer Robb, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of Montgomery, Alabama, that the bus carrying these passengers had left Birmingham at approximately 8:30 a. m.; and that this advice was given Acting Chief Marvin Stanley of the Montgomery Police Department by this agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at approximately 9:30 a. m. on the morning of May 20, 1961. The Court further finds that the Montgomery Police Department was aware of the fact that this bus had left Birmingham and was aware of the fact that certain difficulties had been encountered in Birmingham, Alabama, on May *901 14, 1961, when a similar group had arrived in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Bluebook (online)
194 F. Supp. 897, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3305, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-u-s-klans-knights-of-ku-klux-klan-inc-almd-1961.