# Klu Klux Klan - Terrorist Organization? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 5, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787 "2003-01-05T16:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/21 "2003-01-06T07:41:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > Now, in what way is the KKK using violence or the threat of violence “to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, **in furtherance of political or social objectives** ”? What are the KKK’s political and social objectives, anyway? One of the political and social objectives were the denial of Blacks the right to vote and they used lynchings, bombings and other means of intimidation to achieve these aims. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/22 "2003-01-06T07:50:14Z")
**Easyphil** , unlike **DDG** , I’ll spot you the Vietnamese fishermen as a Klan-sponsored action of terror. However, you have to go all the way back to 1978 to cite that action. You have to go back to 1981 to cite the Donald murder–and while Mr.Dees was successful in bankrupting one Koven because its members were the perpetrators of that crime, that was fairly clearly a case of drunken anger rather than a serious plot to methodically terrorize blacks. Then we have to jump sixteen more years to 1997, where the FBI identiifies the four conspirators in the Dallas plot to blow up the chemical tank as “KKK.” However, the apparent motive was robbery with no mention of a desire to threaten or terrorize any group. In fact, the group was a splinter group that had _rejected_ the Klan as _too soft_. (Ironically, the big, mean, leader of the group turned on them and turned them in, himself.) In any event, a Koven of four whole people who have rejected the Klan cannot be used to demonstrate that all the other Klan groups are, indeed, terrorists: [http://www.web.apc.org/~ara/documents/news/spence.html](http://www.web.apc.org/~ara/documents/news/spence.html) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/23 "2003-01-06T07:51:54Z")
Used **Past** tense. 1870s, 1920s, 1960s. “Used”. We’re debating whether they’re terrorists **today**. From the OP: > [@](#): > > \*\*I say the KKK is a terrorist organization \*\* If you want to debate whether the KKK **used to be** a terrorist group, open a new thread. > [@](#): > > **According to the FBI they were** Right, but it also says right there in the quote that they only used these Cointelpro procedures against the KKK in the 1960s, so if you want a date for the KKK being given a “clean bill of health with respect to being terrorists”, it looks like “the end of the Sixties” would do it. Quote #2. > [@](#): > > that highlighted the potential danger associated with a **criminal** attack on a chemical facility Not “terrorist” attack–“criminal” attack. It’s from a report, “Potential Effects of Electronic Dissemination of Chemical “Worst Case Scenarios” Data”, outlining for _whoever_ exactly what “could” happen if someone were to try to blow up a chemical facility, and explaining how important it is for government agencies not to post their floor plans, sprinkler system layouts, work schedules, etc. on the Internet. The point of using the KKK incident is as a “for instance”, showing how much damage four guys with a bomb could do, and speculating on how much more damage similar small fringe groups could do if they had access to floor plans, sprinkler system layouts, work schedules, etc. that were posted on the Internet. It has nothing to do with the KKK being “terrorists”. It goes on to say: > [@](#): > > Although these individuals did not use the Internet to attack this facility, it illustrates a growing concern that individuals and groups are willing to utilize unconventional methods to achieve their goals and in the process, cause large numbers of casualties. This real life incident highlights better than any scenario we could create, how worldwide unfettered electronic access to this information could be used to facilitate a criminal or terrorist attack in the U.S. It’s saying, “This is something that really happened.” Being included as a “for instance” in a cautionary tale for bureaucrats doesn’t mean the FBI considers the KKK a terrorist group. Also, there’s this: > [@](#): > > This cold-blooded killing was to take place merely as a diversion for an armored car robbery the group intended to commit on the other side of town. This act of “terrorism” had absolutely nothing to do with any political or social agenda, there was no attempt to coerce or intimidate anybody into doing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/24 "2003-01-06T08:17:39Z")
Duck Duck Goose, a Tennessee newspaper reporter, the late Jerry Thompson, left his home and family and moved to Birmingham, Alabama to infiltrate the Klan for a year and a half. His recounting of his experiences and the expose of the organization’s schemes and tactics won him a Pulitzer Prize nomination. That was a couple of decades ago. Do not expect a Klan website to tell you what their real goals are. In the 1960’s and 1970’s their primary goals were to keep African-Americans away from the polls and to keep schools segregated. They conspired in secret meetings. Membership crossed every “social class” but it was usually the less successful ones who committed the acts of violence such as this one documented in the film _The Least of My Brothers._ [http://www.kordelski.org/vidor2.html](http://www.kordelski.org/vidor2.html) The Klan has now developed many splinter groups and they tend to do battle with each other. Former Klan leader David Duke is now a convicted felon and can no longer run for political office. He seemed to be their biggest hope for political power at one time. Altlhough they are largely impotent now, their history is one of violence and terrorism – especially in the South. Not only were they violent toward African-Americans, but also toward white civil rights workers. EasyPhil is right on the money. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/25 "2003-01-06T08:38:55Z")
Zoe, we’re not talking about what the KKK may have done in the 1960s and 1970s. We are talking about what they are doing **today**. Do you have any cites that show that **today** they are conspiring to keep people away from voting booths, schools, churches? No. They are not. You said it yourself: > [@](#): > > \*\*Altlhough they are largely impotent now, \*\*Yes, that is precisely the point. They are a spent force. They are a private club for racists. They are evil. They are violent. But they are **not** terrorists. Not any more. Also, Jerry Thompson did his infiltration back in 1980. > [@](#): > > **That was a couple of decades ago.** Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/26 "2003-01-06T09:09:17Z")
Very good, Duck Duck Goose. You have _almost_ correctly interpreted the points that I was making. (I said that they were largely impotent and did not imply that they are totally impotent.) > [@](#): > > from the OP: > This link describes the **history** of the KKK. > [@](#): > > from Duck Duck Goose: > Zoe, we’re not talking about what the KKK may have done in the 1960s and 1970s. **You** may not be talking about the Klan’s history, but EasyPhil and I are. Phil, here is another link about the Klan’s activities in recent years. As of 1996, they were still active. [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/121.html](http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/121.html) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/27 "2003-01-06T10:15:54Z")
> [@](#): > > by Duck Duck Goose: > …if you want a date for the KKK being given a “clean bill of health with respect to being terrorists”, it looks like “the end of the Sixties” would do it. > [@](#): > > also by Duck Duck Goose: > Being included as a “for instance” in a cautionary tale for bureaucrats doesn’t mean the FBI considers the KKK a terrorist group. Here is a link to an MSNBC interview with Robert Burnham, the FBI’s section chief for domestic **terrorism** on April 20, 2001: [http://www.rickross.com/reference/hate\_groups/hategroups301.html](http://www.rickross.com/reference/hate_groups/hategroups301.html) There you will find the following exchange: "Q: What trends in domestic **terrorism** have you seen in the past 10 years? A: I think in the last 10 years, what we’ve probably seen, if we were to categorize it, is a rise in anti-government sentiments - anti-government from the standpoint of militia groups, Aryan Nations, skinheads, **KKK.**" (bold type added) Apparently, the FBI does consider the Klan to be a terrorist group. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/28 "2003-01-06T13:01:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I agree. They are at least as much a terrorist organization as any of the Muslim groups which have been harrassed domestically by the Bushies, but it is painfully obvious that the “war on terror” is really just a war on Islamic radicals. They clearly have no intention of going after the homegrown Timothy McVeigh/ Eric Rudolph brand of terrorism. I guess they don’t want to embarrass Trent Lott’s friends. \*\* Unless you can demonstrate current terrorist acts by the KKK that are not being investigated/prosecuted by the Bushies, the only way to “go after” the KKK would be to suspend the Bill of Rights. Do you wish us to do so? Sua ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/29 "2003-01-06T13:41:07Z")
Couple of points of interest. Several repeated requests for cites of of _current_ terrorist activity and the insistence, again several times, that in the absence of said cite, one cannot say the KKK is a terrorist organization. What proof does anyone have that half or more of the names on the federal list of known terrorists (the Islamic ones) have actually engaged in terrorist activity? The government admits that some of the groups are on there simpy because they are _suspected_ of _funding_ terrorist groups. Not to mention, the only “proof” regarding many of said groups is the government say so, because real proof might reveal intelligence secrets. According to the government, supporting terrorism, or thinking/talking sympathetically about terrorism at least makes you as bad as the terrorists. Under the DoD and FBI definition, the American Revolutionaries were terrorists. It has already been said by **Zoe** (I think) that, given the Klans well documented history of secret meetings and agendas, there is no way one can rely on them to honestly tell you about their plans or activities. To know for sure would require insider information from law enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/30 "2003-01-06T15:04:39Z")
Okay, for the last time: > [@](#): > > \*\*You may not be talking about the Klan’s history, but EasyPhil and I are. \*\*From the OP: > [@](#): > > \*\*I say the KKK is a terrorist organization \*\*We are here to debate, not share horror stories about the KKK’s actions in the past. The subject at hand for debate is, “Is the KKK a terrorist group **now**?” Not, “Was the KKK ever a terrorist group in the past?” If you and EasyPhil just wanna chat about the Evils of the KKK, start another thread. If you want to prove that the KKK is a terrorist group **now** , show us some cites. > [@](#): > > **Apparently, the FBI does consider the Klan to be a terrorist group.** Um…Burnham goes on to say, two paragraphs down: > [@](#): > > \*Even these particular groups, while they may profess anti-government sentiments, they’ve developed mature political agendas, and appear content to proceed within the bounds of legitimate political activity - recognizing that anything toward any type of violent activity will produce an overwhelming reaction by law enforcement. So what they have done is they’ve stayed within the bounds of legitimate political activity. \*Did you see that last sentence? I’ll repeat it for you. > [@](#): > > \*\*\*So what they have done is they’ve stayed within the bounds of legitimate political activity. \*\*\*The KKK may get a mention as an extremist hate group in an interview by the FBI’s section chief for domestic terrorism, but that doesn’t make them “terrorists”. The FBI’s section chief for domestic terrorism SAYS that they’ve been confining themselves to legitimate political activity. Not acts of terrorism. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Presidebt:_ > **To know for sure would require insider information from law enforcement.** This good enough for you? This not an off-the-cuff interview with a section chief, but an official report to Congress on the state of terrorism and counterterrorism in the U.S. as of February 6, 2002, by one of the FBI Counterterrorism Big Kahunas. [http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/watson020602.htm](http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/watson020602.htm) > [@](#): > > Statement for the Record of > Dale L. Watson > Executive Assistant Director > Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence > Federal Bureau of Investigation > > on > The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States > Before the > Senate Select Committee on Intelligence > Washington, D.C. > > …As events during the past several years demonstrate, both domestic and international terrorist organizations represent threats to Americans within the borders of the United States. > During the past decade we have witnessed dramatic changes in the nature of the terrorist threat. In the 1990s, right-wing extremism overtook left-wing terrorism as the most dangerous domestic terrorist threat to the country. During the past several years, special interest extremism–as characterized by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)–has emerged as a serious terrorist threat. The FBI estimates that ALF/ELF have committed approximately 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of 42 million dollars. > > However, as the events of September 11 demonstrated with horrible clarity, the United States also confronts serious challenges from international terrorists… > > \< snip \> > > Domestic right-wing terrorist groups often adhere to the principles of racial supremacy and embrace antigovernment, antiregulatory beliefs. Generally, extremist right-wing groups engage in activity that is protected by constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. Law enforcement becomes involved when the volatile talk of these groups transgresses into unlawful action. > > On the national level, formal right-wing hate groups, such as the National Alliance, the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC) and the Aryan Nations, represent a continuing terrorist threat. Although efforts have been made by some extremist groups to reduce openly racist rhetoric in order to appeal to a broader segment of the population and to focus increased attention on antigovernment sentiment, racism-based hatred remains an integral component of these groups’ core orientations. > > Right-wing groups continue to represent a serious terrorist threat. Two of the seven planned acts of terrorism prevented in 1999 were potentially large-scale, high-casualty attacks being planned by organized right-wing extremist groups. Did you notice how the KKK wasn’t even mentioned? That’s because they do not represent a “continuing terrorist threat”. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/31 "2003-01-06T15:20:15Z")
MEBuckner writes > [@](#): > > Timothy McVeigh is dead, having been put to death by the United States government. I suppose one could argue that they haven’t caught Eric Rudolph yet because they secretly don’t want to, but as far as I can tell it’s just a case of him successfully eluding capture. If they ever do catch him, I expect they’ll kill him too. This caught my attention. From how I read this it seems you are sympathetic towards McVeigh and Rudolph or are anti-death penalty. Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/32 "2003-01-06T16:30:00Z")
I don’t read it that way. Calliing “capital punishment” “killing” is accurate, whether you are in favor of it or not. Sua ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/33 "2003-01-06T16:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > Okay, for the last time:\*\*From the OP: > \*\*We are here to debate, not share horror stories about the KKK’s actions in the past. The subject at hand for debate is, “Is the KKK a terrorist group **now**?” > > Not, “Was the KKK ever a terrorist group in the past?” If you and EasyPhil just wanna chat about the Evils of the KKK, start another thread. > > If you want to prove that the KKK is a terrorist group **now** , show us some cites.Um…Burnham goes on to say, two paragraphs down:\*Did you see that last sentence? I’ll repeat it for you.\*\*\*The KKK may get a mention as an extremist hate group in an interview by the FBI’s section chief for domestic terrorism, but that doesn’t make them “terrorists”. The FBI’s section chief for domestic terrorism SAYS that they’ve been confining themselves to legitimate political activity. Not acts of terrorism.This good enough for you? This not an off-the-cuff interview with a section chief, but an official report to Congress on the state of terrorism and counterterrorism in the U.S. as of February 6, 2002, by one of the FBI Counterterrorism Big Kahunas. > > [http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/watson020602.htm](http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/watson020602.htm) > Did you notice how the KKK wasn’t even mentioned? That’s because they do not represent a “continuing terrorist threat”. **Duck Duck Goose** , you are free to start a new thread with what you think the OP is. Let me quote the first sentence of my OP for you. > [@](#): > > This link describes the history of the KKK. Looking at their behavior over the years they are clearly a terrorist organization. Have I cleared that up for you? If you want to debate about whether the _secret_ organization, the Klu Klux Klan, are now engaged in terrorism, go right ahead, but please start a new thread. Thank you, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/34 "2003-01-06T16:54:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > \*\ ***Easyphil** , unlike **DDG** , I’ll spot you the Vietnamese fishermen as a Klan-sponsored action of terror. However, you have to go all the way back to 1978 to cite that action. You have to go back to 1981 to cite the Donald murder–and while Mr.Dees was successful in bankrupting one Koven because its members were the perpetrators of that crime, that was fairly clearly a case of drunken anger rather than a serious plot to methodically terrorize blacks. > > Then we have to jump sixteen more years to 1997, where the FBI identiifies the four conspirators in the Dallas plot to blow up the chemical tank as “KKK.” However, the apparent motive was robbery with no mention of a desire to threaten or terrorize any group. > In fact, the group was a splinter group that had _rejected_ the Klan as _too soft_. (Ironically, the big, mean, leader of the group turned on them and turned them in, himself.) In any event, a Koven of four whole people who have rejected the Klan cannot be used to demonstrate that all the other Klan groups are, indeed, terrorists: > [http://www.web.apc.org/~ara/documents/news/spence.html](http://www.web.apc.org/~ara/documents/news/spence.html) \*\* So is there a statute of limitations with respect to the classification of a group as a terrorist organization? So if they’re not engaged in terrorist activity in 1, 5, 10 years, that we can find documented on the internet, they lose their certification? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/35 "2003-01-06T17:18:01Z")
**Shirley Ujest:** My original statement was simply responding to the statement “[The Bushies] clearly have no intention of going after the homegrown Timothy McVeigh/ Eric Rudolph brand of terrorism”. I’m not at all sympathetic to Timothy McVeigh or Eric Robert Rudolph, their actions or their ideals. I am not in favor of the death penalty, but I’m not particularly militant about it; certainly if anyone deserved to be executed it was Timothy McVeigh. As for Eric Robert Rudolph, I hope they catch up with him. If they ever do, I would think there’s a fairly good chance he’d die rather than be captured, either suicide or “suicide by cop”. That’s _not_ some sort of anti-government conspiracy-mongering, just an assessment of what a fugitive like that might do if cornered; I don’t think the feds would fail to take him alive if they had the opportunity. If they do capture him alive, I imagine he would be sentenced to death upon conviction. **EasyPhil:** So, what do you think the federal government should _do_ about groups using the KKK name? ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/36 "2003-01-06T17:58:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* > **EasyPhil:** So, what do you think the federal government should _do_ about groups using the KKK name? This is a good question. I don’t think their rights as US citizens should be violated i.e. their right to privacy that all citizens here enjoy, but I do think that they should be prosecuted to the full extend of the law if they are engaged in illegal activity. The federal government is as the federal government does and it would only be fair for the federal government to tread those groups that same way it treats any other group that was/is engaged in terrorist activity. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/37 "2003-01-06T18:06:37Z")
> [@](#): > > So is there a statute of limitations with respect to the classification of a group as a terrorist organization? So if they’re not engaged in terrorist activity in 1, 5, 10 years, that we can find documented on the internet, they lose their certification? Basically, yes. I do not have a cast-in-concrete length of time, but 20 years allows a whole lot of people to grow up with no experience of their previous terrorist acts. In 1985, I would probably have considered them terrorist. In 1990, I would have begun to reconsider that position. By 2003? It is clear that the people who currently make up the Klan are not actively pursuing any violent methods of intimidation. Are Germany and Belgium colonial powers? I can provide massive amounts of documentation of German and Belgian colonial adventures over the last 150 years. (None of them will be _current_, of course.) Is the Democratic Party a bastion of Segregationist rhetoric and belief? Even Northern Democrats supported the concept for quite a few years. At what point do you decide that enough history has passed to stop using a term that does not reflect current reality? There are, according to the FBI, 70 discrete groups that use the _name_ Ku Klux Klan. Since _prior to_ 1970, only four or five of them have engaged in activity that can be construed as terrorist, the most recent example (because I will dismiss the Dallas bombers for reasons given\*) was over 21 years ago, by a single group, without any plan to produce a specific action on the “terrorized” group. Your OP asked whether any supporter or sympatizer of the Klan _is_ (currently) a supporter or sympathizer of terrorism (clearly implying _today_). The answer is that they are clearly not. They do not _currently_ engage in violent acts in the interest of promoting the notion of white supremacy. The very fact that the National Alliance and the Aryan Brotherhood and the Christian Identity movements have sprung up to replace the Klan indicates that they are no longer the violent group that they once were. People who espouse violence are looking elsewhere to get their fix. Repeating: > [@](#): > > that we can find documented on the internet And repeating the response **DDG** provided from the FBI that demonstrates that it is not merely failures of Google searches that leads us to our position: > [@](#): > > Even these particular groups, while they may profess anti-government sentiments, they’ve developed mature political agendas, and **appear content to proceed within the bounds of legitimate political activity** - recognizing that anything toward any type of violent activity will produce an overwhelming reaction by law enforcement. So what they have done is they’ve stayed within the bounds of legitimate political activity. - If you continue to hold that they are examples of Klan terrorism, then the anti-Black Panther posters in the current thread in the **Pit** get to use Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin/H. Rap Brown as evidence that the Panthers are a violent, and probably terrorist, organization–a claim I would also deny. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/38 "2003-01-06T19:57:51Z")
> [@](#): > > If you want to debate about whether the secret organization, the Klu Klux Klan, are now engaged in terrorism, go right ahead, but please start a new thread. No, Phil. :rolleyes: There is **already** a Great Debates thread going on the topic of, “Is the KKK engaged in terrorism?” That’s this thread, here. If I were to start another GD thread to debate whether the KKK is a terrorist group, and whether they are currently engaging in terrorism, Buckner would, quite correctly, lock it down, with a link directing people to **this** thread, **your** thread, in which **you** requested in **your** OP that we all debate with you whether or not the KKK **IS** a terrorist organization. The **history** of the KKK is not a debateable topic–everyone already **agrees** that it was reprehensible. The **history** of the KKK is a subject for the Pit, or MPSIMS, or IMHO. But not Great Debates. Unless you can come up with some cites showing that the KKK is **currently** engaging in terrorism, then AFAIC, this so-called “debate” is over. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/39 "2003-01-06T19:59:33Z")
[From this site:](http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2002/9/26/172033) > [@](#): > > Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002 5:14 p.m. EDT > > Illinois Dem: KKK Membership OK for Congress > > Rep. Jan Schakowski, D-Ill., said Thursday that Ku Klux Klan members should be allowed to serve in Congress as long as they had resigned from the domestic terror group and had publicly renounced its beliefs. > > Asked if she thought leading Senate Democrat Robert Byrd’s past Klan membership should have disqualified him from serving in the Senate, Schakowski told nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity, “No, not if you’ve totally rejected it - my goodness.” It seems that at least one congress member still views the Klu Klux Klan as a domestic terror group. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787/40 "2003-01-06T20:15:07Z")
It’s the writer of the blurb who is calling the KKK a “domestic terror group”, not the state legislator. The opinion of Carl Limbacher, or whoever wrote that blurb for Newsmax, doesn’t count as a cite showing that the KKK is currently engaging in terrorism. Neither would the opinion of any other journalist or news writer–Tom Brokaw, William F. Buckley, stringers for AP and Reuters, whoever writes the stuff for the _Weekly World News_. Although, come to think of it, the opinion of a state legislator wouldn’t count as a cite, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/klu-klux-klan-terrorist-organization/146787.md?page=3)