Macedonia Baptist Church v. Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, et al.
"The Church Arson Trial"
Klan defense rests as Grand Dragon defends himself again
MANNING, SOUTH CAROLINA, July 23 (Court TV) -- Mounting a defense against charges of encouraging the 1995 burning of the Macedonia Baptist Church, Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Horace King tried to portray himself as a kind man with unpopular beliefs who never encouraged the any kind of violence against blacks.
Defense lawyers for Horace King and his Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan presented 10 witnesses, most of whom were character witnesses for King. They said that he is a law-abiding citizen who is often misunderstood because of his beliefs and affiliation with the Klan. The defense seemed to focus on three themes: Timothy Welch and Christopher Cox, King's former Klansmen who were responsible for the church burning, were troublemakers before they joined the Klan; King and the Klan never encouraged the actions of Welch and Cox; and that King and the Klan are only being targeted because of their beliefs.
"I do believe in my heart that going out and doing harm to any church is under the devil and they who did it is under the devil,too," King testified. "What they [Cox and Welch] done down here was wrong."
King insisted that he does not oppose black churches and has never encouraged their destruction. He claimed that he believes different races can get along but he also said he does not believe in integration. The races, King said, should remain separate.
During cross-examination, plaintiff attorney Morris Dees portrayed King as anything but a peace-loving Klan leader. Dees again played a videotape of King at a Klan rally in Washington, D.C. in which he said, "This is a white man's country, and if the niggers don't like it, put them on a rowboat and send them back to Africa."
Dees also confronted King with allegations that he told his Klansmen that "the only good nigger is a dead nigger" and that he told his members that they should beat up blacks with a board. The plaintiff lawyer also asked King about his alleged reference to whites who attend black churches as "wiggers." King either denied or said he could not remember making such statements. He also said that the allegations of Cox and Welch "lies."
Virgil Green, Imperial Wizard of the Christian Knights, also returned to the stand. Under direct examination by defense attorney Gary White III, Griffin said the Klan does not believe in drugs, mixed marriages, integration or homosexuality. He denied giving any orders to King to burn churchs. On cross-examination, plaintiff's attorney Richard Cohen again used the Klan's own literature and videos to show contradictions in Griffin's statements.
Closing arguments are expected to take place Friday morning.
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