◆ SpookStack

Ne o™~ adxit that the klan's objective is to prevent Washington Parish . se 4 ae ‘eg A . DPefendants' Admissions. Ar unusual feature of this litigatiba’ is the defendants' damninc acmissior.. ~xthe defendants Negroes from exercising the civil richts Congress recognized by - statute. In their pleadings, the ceZendants concede that they furthered their objective by ~- {a) assaulting, threateninc, and harassing Negroes who seek to exercise any of their civil rights, and assaulting, threatening and harassing per- sons who urge that Negroes should exercise or be accorded those rights; (b) committing, threatening to commit, and urging others to commit icts SF economic retaliation against Negroes wi seck to exercise these rights, and against any persons who urge that it. Negroes should excrc-se or be accorded these rights, or who permit open, free and public discussion on the issue; : ; te (¢e} threatening end inciriicting public officials and businessmen who accord or seek to accord Negdves their riches without regard to race or color. The reason for the adriszicns wis evident at the trial and is evident in the defendants’ brie=. 7. United States subpoenaed over a hundred witnesses and, no doubt, wes prepared to prove every allega- tion in the complaint. Because of tne Cefendcants’ admissions, the dis- x puted issues were few and only 2 few witnesses were Called. As a would have occurred had a large number of witnesses testified. Not content with the success of this maneuver, the defendants objected to the introduction of “any evidence pertaining to the activities of the Ku Klux Klan" on the grounds that (a) the klan had ceased to exist and (b) "delv[ing] into these unrelated uetters" was solely “to expose” the Ku Klux Klan, an invasion of the "privacy and individual freedoms of all these defendants". ee ——