- 8 months ago
James Reston Jr. investigates a police informant's involvement with a group of Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party members who killed 5 civil rights demonstrators in a November 1979 incident in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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00:00:00Please use your own judgment about allowing young people to view it.
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00:00:39It could be called a dark southern tale.
00:00:43Right-wing extremists and left-wing extremists.
00:00:49In a gun battle in Greensboro, North Carolina.
00:00:52In 88 seconds, five are left dead.
00:01:00Tonight, on Frontline, an inside story.
00:01:05Behind those 88 seconds in Greensboro.
00:01:07From the network of public television stations,
00:01:18a presentation of KCTS Seattle,
00:01:21WNET New York,
00:01:23WPBT Miami,
00:01:25WTVS Detroit,
00:01:27and WGBH Boston.
00:01:29This is Frontline
00:01:31with Jessica Savage.
00:01:34Six Klansmen and American Nazis went on trial for the Greensboro killings two years ago.
00:01:42They were acquitted by an all-white jury.
00:01:45The jury was persuaded that they'd fired in self-defense
00:01:48at the communist demonstrators who were also armed.
00:01:51The communists boycotted the trial and refused to testify.
00:01:54But our report tonight is not about that trial.
00:01:58Instead, we examine new evidence
00:02:00that suggests law enforcement agencies
00:02:02had good reason to know
00:02:04a dangerous confrontation was imminent
00:02:06and perhaps did nothing to stop it.
00:02:09There was a paid police informer inside the Klan.
00:02:12Now, two key points to note
00:02:13while watching this program.
00:02:15One,
00:02:16the Greensboro police and federal law enforcement agencies
00:02:19told Frontline
00:02:20they cannot answer any direct questions
00:02:22about their involvement.
00:02:24They're being sued
00:02:24by relatives of the dead demonstrators.
00:02:27And two,
00:02:28this is about a bitter political confrontation.
00:02:31It contains scenes of violence,
00:02:33strong language,
00:02:34racial slurs.
00:02:35The film's director
00:02:36is William Cran.
00:02:38The reporter for Frontline
00:02:39is James Reston Jr.,
00:02:42who's written extensively
00:02:43on civil rights
00:02:44and the South.
00:02:45This is Morningside Homes
00:02:58in Greensboro, North Carolina,
00:03:01an almost entirely black,
00:03:03working-class neighborhood
00:03:04where many residents labor
00:03:06in the textile mills nearby.
00:03:08I came here to the spot
00:03:16where five communists
00:03:18who were trying
00:03:19to organize textile workers
00:03:20were gunned down
00:03:22in an attack
00:03:23by the Ku Klux Klan.
00:03:25I came three years later
00:03:27because haunting questions
00:03:29about police negligence
00:03:30remain unanswered.
00:03:32At almost this same time,
00:03:34on a bright Saturday morning,
00:03:36shortly after 11 a.m.,
00:03:39demonstrators convened
00:03:40in Morningside.
00:03:41We shall not be moved.
00:03:45We'll pass the Ku Klux Klan.
00:03:48We shall not be moved.
00:03:51Many were members
00:03:52of the Communist Workers' Party,
00:03:54and they planned to stage
00:03:55a Death to the Klan march
00:03:56through the streets of the city.
00:03:58We shall not be moved.
00:04:04We'll fight for truth and justice.
00:04:08They dared the Klan to attend.
00:04:11Some expected violence,
00:04:13some wore hard hats,
00:04:14and others concealed weapons.
00:04:17We shall not be moved.
00:04:23But everyone was surprised
00:04:29when suddenly a man
00:04:31in a yellow pickup truck
00:04:32shouted out,
00:04:33you asked for the Klan,
00:04:34now you got him.
00:04:36Death to the Klan!
00:04:37Death to the Klan!
00:04:38Eight cars followed,
00:04:40containing 35 Klan and Nazis.
00:04:42Death to the Klan!
00:04:44Death to the Klan!
00:04:45In 88 seconds,
00:04:4613 demonstrators will be shot,
00:04:49five fatally.
00:04:50Death to the Klan!
00:04:51Death to the Klan!
00:04:52Death to the Klan!
00:04:54Death to the Klan!
00:04:55Death to the Klan!
00:04:58As Klansmen up the street
00:04:59fired the first two shots,
00:05:01there's a puff of smoke.
00:05:02No, no, no, no.
00:05:32By now, the demonstrators are firing back, but no clansmen were shot.
00:05:53Nonchalantly, the intruders returned their shotguns and their semi-automatic rifle to the blue Ford Fairlane.
00:06:02The police will not arrive for another two minutes.
00:06:18We're in the heck of the damn cops!
00:06:20We don't want the cops!
00:06:21We want doctors!
00:06:23They had a plan!
00:06:25Help us! Help us!
00:06:26Come here, help us!
00:06:27We're getting an ambulance, get him right here!
00:06:29We're getting an ambulance!
00:06:32I'm so married!
00:06:33The cops said this!
00:06:37The Klan and the state got together and planned this.
00:06:42That's why they were not no cops here.
00:06:43Do you hear me?
00:06:45The state protects the Klan, and this makes it clear.
00:06:48They came through and they opened fire.
00:06:50They opened fire on us.
00:06:52And we fire back to protect ourselves.
00:07:06Later, the police professed confusion over the convening point and the starting time for the march.
00:07:12But as some demonstrators told four television crews who were there, the answer was clear.
00:07:17The Klan, or whoever it was, jumped out and just started shooting in the direction of the thickest concentration of people.
00:07:29They seemed to be aiming at particular people.
00:07:32There were several police in the area who did nothing until after these murderers left.
00:07:39Police came in, immediately started arresting people who were trying to help those who had fallen.
00:07:46Nelson Johnson, you know, was taken into custody, kicked in the head by the police.
00:07:50He was bleeding from the arm as he was trying to help people.
00:07:54I mean, the police did this, directly or indirectly.
00:07:58They set it up.
00:07:59By nightfall, most of the Klan and Nazis had been apprehended.
00:08:07The communist assertion of police complicity seemed predictable and was generally ignored.
00:08:14But one man, driving home, knew more about the role of the Greensboro police.
00:08:20Following world news tonight.
00:08:24His name was Edward Dawson.
00:08:26He had been the man who shouted from the yellow pickup truck,
00:08:31You asked for the Klan, now you got him.
00:08:38Edward Dawson was a paid police informant.
00:08:43And he had been in the vehicle that led the Klan to Morningside.
00:08:47Late that night, Dawson tape-recorded his story.
00:08:58We drove slow.
00:09:00The people was chanting,
00:09:02Death to the Klan, death to the Klan.
00:09:06He would reconstruct his story fully for the first time on television.
00:09:11A shot rang out,
00:09:13and people to my left started to run.
00:09:16In the trial where four Klansmen and two Nazis were acquitted,
00:09:21Dawson was never called as a witness.
00:09:24By this time, a lot of shots were ringing out.
00:09:27Buck came back and got in the truck and told me a couple of people were killed.
00:09:32He did not know whether they were Klansmen.
00:09:35While much of his story remains ambiguous,
00:09:39his case raises disturbing questions
00:09:41about how one police department used an informant
00:09:44inside the Ku Klux Klan.
00:09:48Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
00:09:50Welcome to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rally at night.
00:09:55We're going to start at night with the band playing Dixie on my mind,
00:09:58so let her go.
00:09:59A reformed alcoholic and gambler, he was a loner.
00:10:13He joined the Klan out of curiosity,
00:10:16he says for the fellowship.
00:10:17His FBI file labeled him an extremist informant.
00:10:35Twice he was convicted of cross-burnings and violent night rides.
00:10:39He found his double role in meetings like this,
00:10:48comfortable and exciting.
00:10:51But after the trial, when Dawson was exposed as an informant,
00:10:55his old Klan clavern, headed by Virgil Griffin,
00:10:58laid the November 3rd events at his door.
00:11:01I'd like to take this time to introduce a man
00:11:05who has done a very fine job
00:11:07for the Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
00:11:11None other than the Grand Dragon, Mr. Virgil Griffin.
00:11:16We got a little scum down in Greensboro
00:11:19by the name of Eddie Dawson.
00:11:23People want to know, do you want him killed?
00:11:26No, I don't want him killed.
00:11:27I want the children to look at the scum
00:11:30and let him know he's a Judas.
00:11:31Let him know he sold his white race out.
00:11:34I want him to die hardy.
00:11:36Nobody having nothing to do with him.
00:11:40Eddie Dawson sold out his white race of people
00:11:42and his country to the FBI and the police,
00:11:47and then he sold them out to the Communist Party.
00:11:50He led them into a trap.
00:11:51He led the Klan into a trap.
00:11:54And now he has nowhere to go.
00:11:55Soon, the Communists joined the Klan
00:11:58in painting Dawson as the mastermind behind the killings.
00:12:05All over Greensboro, posters charged Dawson,
00:12:09along with a federal agent inside the Nazi party,
00:12:12with murder.
00:12:14But was Dawson the mastermind or the scapegoat?
00:12:19His career as an informant began 10 years
00:12:22before the Greensboro killings.
00:12:24Ed Dawson had one thing the FBI dearly wanted,
00:12:28access to the inner circle of the Klan.
00:12:31And they knew how to get a handle on Dawson.
00:12:33His trouble with the law made him ripe for recruitment.
00:12:36We were charged with terrorizing the citizens of Alamance County,
00:12:42assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and murder,
00:12:45two charges of breaking an entry,
00:12:47and two charges of destroying property.
00:12:50Ed, you served nine months.
00:12:52This is correct, yes.
00:12:53That's not the first time you were ever in jail, was it?
00:12:56Oh, in the state of North Carolina?
00:12:58No, I said in jail, period.
00:13:00In the Army I was in jail, yes.
00:13:01Yeah, what was that about?
00:13:03AWL.
00:13:07In wartime?
00:13:09In World War II, yes.
00:13:11I went in in 1941 in the Army.
00:13:14Well, that really was desertion, wasn't it?
00:13:17At that time, they charged me with the 58th Article of War,
00:13:20which was desertion, yes.
00:13:23You could have been executed.
00:13:24And you were convicted and sent to jail for that?
00:13:27I was sent to prison, yes.
00:13:29Then, moving on two years later, after you got out of jail,
00:13:35there was another incident in eastern North Carolina in Swan Quarter.
00:13:40This is correct, yes.
00:13:42And did that lead to a conviction?
00:13:45Yes, it did.
00:13:47We got five years, one year suspended for five, and $1,000 fine.
00:13:51And that's what helped irritate me, something furious.
00:13:55They refused to pay the fine.
00:13:57And we had to pay that out of our pocket.
00:13:59You were furious at the United Klan leadership at that time?
00:14:01Oh, definitely.
00:14:02Definitely, without a question of doubt.
00:14:04One word led to another, and I called them all a bunch of thieves.
00:14:07Okay.
00:14:08Shortly thereafter, you were approached by the FBI.
00:14:12This is correct, yes.
00:14:14Maybe two months later.
00:14:16And your bitterness in relation to the United Klans of America
00:14:20was part of the pitch that they made to you?
00:14:24Well, I imagine they knew it.
00:14:25They had an informant evidently at that meeting
00:14:27and told them how hot I was,
00:14:29and they figured I was ripe, the FBI.
00:14:31Ripe for what?
00:14:32To become an informant for them.
00:14:35And the agent talked to me and talked to me,
00:14:37and I turned them down.
00:14:39I turned them down for about a good six weeks
00:14:41before I would even consider listening to them.
00:14:45And then I agreed I would work for them for one year,
00:14:50give them the information that they wanted,
00:14:52providing they could get me off probation.
00:14:55He appealed to your bitterness against the United Klans.
00:14:59Did he also threaten you to send you up the river?
00:15:03Definitely not.
00:15:04Not at that time, no.
00:15:05There was no carrot and stick.
00:15:07There was a little statement made.
00:15:09He had a stack of papers on his desk there,
00:15:12this special agent from Greensboro here.
00:15:15And he went through these papers
00:15:17when I refused to, you know, cooperate with him more or less.
00:15:21And he said,
00:15:22maybe if we go through these papers real fine,
00:15:25maybe we can find something and send you up the river.
00:15:28I said, well, if that's the way it has to be,
00:15:29that's the way it has to be.
00:15:31In the period from 1969 to 1977,
00:15:35you served as an informant for the FBI.
00:15:37This is correct, yes.
00:15:38How much did they pay you?
00:15:40They paid you $25 for a regular meeting.
00:15:44They paid you $50 for a state meeting
00:15:47and traveling 10 cents a mile.
00:15:51And were you paid any bonuses
00:15:53for any special information that you would bring?
00:15:56They would have paid bonuses, yes, I understand.
00:15:59I never had the privilege.
00:16:04If you were the police informant
00:16:05on that particular day of November 3rd, 1979,
00:16:09would you have handled it the way I handled it?
00:16:12At late night coffee shops,
00:16:14Dawson sometimes meets fellow informants.
00:16:17This is Reverend George Dorsett,
00:16:19who for many years was an inflammatory figure
00:16:21as a Klan leader.
00:16:24Well, the press did cover this.
00:16:27They were down there.
00:16:27In 1975, a Senate investigation exposed Dorsett
00:16:31as a highly paid FBI informant.
00:16:34Dorsett was photographed on the day
00:16:36when he was tried as a Klan traitor and banished.
00:16:39Grand Dragon Virgil Griffin
00:16:41appointed as Dorsett's prosecutor,
00:16:44then FBI informant, Edward Dawson.
00:16:47Ed, during the eight years
00:16:50that you informed for the FBI,
00:16:52did the FBI give you guidelines
00:16:55in relation to any violent acts
00:17:00that the Klan might undertake
00:17:02and your participation in them?
00:17:07Well, I can't actually say they never told you
00:17:10what to do, really, what not to do.
00:17:12They told you what they expect of you.
00:17:14They expected you to report any violence
00:17:16that you heard immediately.
00:17:17And they understood that there'd be a time
00:17:20that you may get into a situation
00:17:23where you cannot report to them
00:17:26of the violence that is happening
00:17:27and you're to call them immediately
00:17:29if anything is to happen.
00:17:32But if you yourself,
00:17:35as a paid informant,
00:17:37engaged in acts of violence,
00:17:39they never said that was something
00:17:42that you may not do.
00:17:43It was never discussed.
00:17:47No, that was never discussed.
00:17:49Absolutely not.
00:17:53I went to see former Senator Robert Morgan
00:17:56at his house on the banks
00:17:57of the Cape Fear River.
00:17:59In his 1975 Senate investigation,
00:18:02Morgan had discovered
00:18:03the widespread use of police provocateurs
00:18:06throughout America
00:18:07to disrupt activist groups.
00:18:10The program was known as COINTELPRO.
00:18:13Provocateering is a historical problem.
00:18:16Provocateering is as old as the Bureau itself.
00:18:19As a matter of fact,
00:18:20it got so bad in the early 20s
00:18:23that Attorney General Harlan Stone
00:18:25dissolved the Bureau as it was then
00:18:27and reorganized it
00:18:28and charged it with the purpose
00:18:31of a responsibility of enforcing the laws.
00:18:35He said that if any police agency
00:18:39ever got away from that,
00:18:40that it became a threat to society
00:18:42and to our liberties.
00:18:44And then when you were in the Senate,
00:18:46you were on the Senate Select Committee
00:18:48on Intelligence,
00:18:48you studied this very proudly.
00:18:50Yes, and we found,
00:18:51as a matter of fact,
00:18:52that provocateering
00:18:54had always remained
00:18:55a part of the Bureau's activities.
00:18:57As a matter of fact,
00:18:58down here in North Carolina,
00:19:00the Bureau organized 41 chapters
00:19:04of the Q. Clark's clan.
00:19:06And, of course,
00:19:08it was done for the purpose
00:19:09of promoting factionalism
00:19:11and dividing the so-called
00:19:14original clan.
00:19:16And one clavon up in Alamance County,
00:19:21there were only eight members
00:19:22and seven of them
00:19:23were paid informants
00:19:24of the FBI.
00:19:31As a result of Senator Morgan's probe,
00:19:34Ed Dawson,
00:19:35along with many other extremist informants,
00:19:37was terminated by the FBI.
00:19:42He continued his daylight career
00:19:45as contractor and house painter.
00:19:49But he remained friendly
00:19:50with police officers
00:19:51and FBI agents.
00:19:56Many of his contracting jobs
00:19:58were for them.
00:20:00So it was only natural in 1979
00:20:02when the Greensboro police
00:20:04needed a plant inside the clan,
00:20:06they would turn to Eddie Dawson.
00:20:11The police were concerned
00:20:12because the Ku Klux Klan
00:20:14was being taunted by radicals
00:20:16working inside the textile mills.
00:20:23North Carolina's textile industry.
00:20:28It comprises more than one-third
00:20:31of all manufacturing jobs
00:20:32in a state which historically
00:20:34frowns on unions.
00:20:36In the summer of 79,
00:20:39an old pattern reasserted itself.
00:20:45Like the strikes of the 1930s,
00:20:47once again,
00:20:48highly motivated organizers
00:20:50were active in the mills,
00:20:52this time in Greensboro.
00:20:53The modern counterparts were medical doctors
00:20:57and communists.
00:21:03Brown lung,
00:21:04the disease caused by cotton dust,
00:21:06was the issue around which
00:21:08victims of November the 3rd,
00:21:09like Jim Waller
00:21:10and Dr. Mike Nathan,
00:21:12organized.
00:21:13And the graph can tell us something
00:21:15about the state of your lungs
00:21:16and we'll have some idea
00:21:17about whether or not
00:21:18you might have brown lung.
00:21:20So Marty will...
00:21:21Nathan's widow, Marty,
00:21:23herself a doctor,
00:21:24and Dr. Paul Burmezon,
00:21:26who survived a bullet in his brain
00:21:28on November the 3rd,
00:21:29showed me how the brown lung clinics worked.
00:21:31Okay, ready?
00:21:33Take big breath.
00:21:34Now blow into the machine.
00:21:36Last time I went near my job,
00:21:39I thought my lungs were broken.
00:21:41Chest bound down like iron bands,
00:21:44I couldn't breathe for choking.
00:21:45I'm going to go to work on Monday
00:21:48one more time.
00:21:51I'm going to go to work on Monday
00:21:53one more time,
00:21:55one more time.
00:21:56I'm going to go to work on Monday
00:21:59one more time.
00:22:02The more clinics they held,
00:22:03the more radical they became.
00:22:05So much of what you see,
00:22:07you know, brown lung,
00:22:09is a result of the economic situation.
00:22:11It's a result of their work
00:22:12and their poverty.
00:22:14And one thing impresses you
00:22:18is the sickness caused by capitalism.
00:22:22I think that medicine and politics
00:22:23really start from the same place.
00:22:25If you're concerned about people,
00:22:27it will lead you often
00:22:28into fields like medicine
00:22:30trying to help people.
00:22:31As Marty was saying,
00:22:32you see that there's systematic problems
00:22:34or diseases of oppression.
00:22:37Brown lung is really not
00:22:38a disease caused by cotton dust.
00:22:40It's a disease caused by
00:22:41an economic system
00:22:42that puts a priority on profit
00:22:43over people.
00:22:49Four who died in Greensboro
00:22:50were active around the mills.
00:22:55They took jobs in the mills
00:22:56and confronted management.
00:23:00They organized campaigns
00:23:02for better working conditions
00:23:03and promoted strikes.
00:23:04By now, they had moved
00:23:07to the extreme left
00:23:09and joined a small faction
00:23:10called the Communist Workers' Party.
00:23:14Among the victims were
00:23:16Bill Sampson,
00:23:17once a Harvard Divinity student,
00:23:19Sandy Smith,
00:23:20a Bennett College activist,
00:23:22Cesar Cossé,
00:23:23a hospital worker,
00:23:24and Dr. Jim Waller,
00:23:26who left medicine altogether
00:23:28to organize his widow,
00:23:30Sigme.
00:23:31Well, Jim and Bill and Sandy
00:23:32and Cesar and Mike
00:23:34were educating workers
00:23:36and fighting alongside
00:23:38with workers.
00:23:39And Jim was elected
00:23:40first shop steward,
00:23:42then vice president,
00:23:43and then president
00:23:44of his union local.
00:23:45And he would accompany men
00:23:46down to the bossman's office
00:23:48and fight grievances,
00:23:50and he won most of them.
00:23:52And they had these hand trucks
00:23:53replaced that people
00:23:54were getting injured on,
00:23:56and they had the practice
00:23:57of flipping cloth changed,
00:23:59that men were getting hernias
00:24:00from doing that.
00:24:01And they would take up the fights
00:24:03that were affecting
00:24:03people's welfare,
00:24:04people's safety on the job.
00:24:09Actually, success was mixed.
00:24:11After a strike,
00:24:12Waller was fired.
00:24:14Their textile union
00:24:15was concerned about
00:24:16communist infiltration
00:24:17and suspended
00:24:18its Greensboro locals.
00:24:20In the summer of 79,
00:24:21the Communist Workers' Party
00:24:23was in search of a new tactic.
00:24:26An opportune target
00:24:28was provided by the Ku Klux Klan
00:24:30in China Grove,
00:24:31a small mill town
00:24:3250 miles southwest
00:24:33of Greensboro.
00:24:35Klansmen had scheduled
00:24:36a screening of D.W. Griffith's
00:24:38silent classic,
00:24:39The Klansman,
00:24:40better known as
00:24:41Birth of a Nation.
00:24:43By modern standards,
00:24:48the film is luridly racist
00:24:50and bound to cause trouble
00:24:54in a southern town
00:24:54with many black citizens.
00:24:58Before long,
00:24:59the Klan got the reaction
00:25:01it no doubt expected.
00:25:02The demonstrators
00:25:12were led by the
00:25:13Communist Workers' Party.
00:25:15The demonstrators
00:25:16were led by the
00:25:17Communist Workers' Party.
00:25:19The encounter had the feel
00:25:31of an old-fashioned fight
00:25:32behind the woodpile.
00:25:38China Grove
00:25:39became the rehearsal
00:25:39for the Greensboro clash,
00:25:41but state law enforcement
00:25:42agencies took no heed
00:25:44of the warning.
00:25:45We do not want any trouble.
00:26:05We just want the Klan to go.
00:26:06Go home.
00:26:07If they live here,
00:26:08go home.
00:26:09If they live there,
00:26:09go there.
00:26:10But we will not have it.
00:26:12We will not tolerate it.
00:26:13If we have to die here,
00:26:14we'll die here.
00:26:15But there will not be any Klan.
00:26:17Today, tomorrow,
00:26:18never death to the Klan.
00:26:20Death to the Klan.
00:26:21Death to the Klan.
00:26:22But I will have revenge
00:26:28for this.
00:26:29Oh, it'll be revenge.
00:26:31To the elated Communists,
00:26:33a new strategy
00:26:33had been validated,
00:26:35one that could unite
00:26:36black and white workers.
00:26:38They decided to repeat
00:26:40the tactic in Greensboro.
00:26:42They put out a poster
00:26:43announcing a death
00:26:44to the Klan march.
00:26:45The man who designed
00:26:46the poster,
00:26:47Nelson Johnson.
00:26:49I think the Klan,
00:26:50historically,
00:26:51are cowards,
00:26:52and I think that's
00:26:53an accurate statement
00:26:54and people need
00:26:54to understand that.
00:26:56They project an image
00:26:58of bravado
00:26:59and that's how they attract
00:27:00a lot of young white youth.
00:27:02So, um,
00:27:03but that's really
00:27:04not their history.
00:27:06When you call
00:27:07a southerner
00:27:08scum and coward
00:27:10and when they are
00:27:11predisposed to violence
00:27:12anyway,
00:27:13as the Klan clearly is,
00:27:15does that not start
00:27:16to set up
00:27:17a certain chemistry here?
00:27:18perhaps.
00:27:26As soon as
00:27:26the communist poster
00:27:27began to appear
00:27:28around town,
00:27:29the police decided
00:27:30they needed access
00:27:31to the planning council
00:27:32of the Klan.
00:27:33So they recruited
00:27:34Ed Dawson.
00:27:36Upon his own initiative,
00:27:38Dawson designed
00:27:39a poster himself.
00:27:40And this is the
00:27:42Death to the Klan poster,
00:27:44which was posted
00:27:46all over Greensboro
00:27:47before November the 3rd.
00:27:49This is correct, yes.
00:27:50Yes.
00:27:51But I gather
00:27:51you had your own posters.
00:27:53Yes.
00:27:54Give me some of that.
00:27:56Right here.
00:27:56There it is.
00:27:57Yes.
00:27:58I have this poster here,
00:28:00uh,
00:28:01which is placed
00:28:01on top of the,
00:28:02uh,
00:28:02Death to the Klan
00:28:03communist poster.
00:28:05Notice to traitors,
00:28:06communists,
00:28:07race mixers,
00:28:08and black rioters.
00:28:09Traitors, beware.
00:28:11Even now,
00:28:11the crosshairs
00:28:12are on the back
00:28:13of your necks.
00:28:15It's time
00:28:15for all-time justice,
00:28:17American justice.
00:28:18And the vision
00:28:20of a lynching?
00:28:22There's a vision,
00:28:23yes,
00:28:23of a lynching.
00:28:25Yes.
00:28:28Dawson took
00:28:28the communist poster
00:28:29to a Klan meeting
00:28:30two weeks
00:28:31before the Greensboro march.
00:28:33Oh, we don't want
00:28:34niggers in our schools.
00:28:35We're not for integration.
00:28:37Keep those niggers
00:28:38in their place.
00:28:39We'll have a better nation.
00:28:41Our Southmen
00:28:42got a loan just fine.
00:28:43Till those integrators
00:28:44came down here
00:28:46stirring up the mess
00:28:47with outside agitators.
00:28:49They'll march
00:28:49sit in and demonstrate.
00:28:51If I didn't take
00:28:52our shoes,
00:28:53they won't...
00:28:53Grand Dragon
00:28:54Virgil Griffin
00:28:54and his men
00:28:55went to a Lincolnton meeting
00:28:57much like this one
00:28:58to decide what to do
00:29:00about the communist
00:29:00declaration of war.
00:29:03Let's have a big hand
00:29:04for Virgil Griffin.
00:29:05We stand for what is right.
00:29:08No court of left-wing liberals
00:29:10can ever make him white.
00:29:12Form a solid line of white men.
00:29:19We can take our country
00:29:20back from the Communist Party.
00:29:22We can take it back
00:29:22from the niggers.
00:29:24It's time for us
00:29:25to band together.
00:29:26If we have to get in the streets
00:29:27and fight blood up to our knees,
00:29:29by God,
00:29:29it's time to get ready to fight.
00:29:31Give them what they want.
00:29:33Fight for this country.
00:29:34Fight for this country.
00:29:34After Griffin,
00:29:40Ed Dawson spoke.
00:29:42Witnesses remembered it this way.
00:29:44He brought one of those posters
00:29:46with him
00:29:46and we passed that around
00:29:48so that people could see it.
00:29:50And he got the crowd
00:29:51real, real emotional.
00:29:55And he said that
00:29:56he knew what we had to face
00:29:58and he said,
00:29:58I'm telling you guys,
00:29:59right now,
00:30:00it's going to be a fight.
00:30:02Landmen, throw them in.
00:30:04He said that he felt
00:30:06it was our patriotic duty
00:30:08that everybody should go.
00:30:12He said time and time again
00:30:14in that meeting,
00:30:15Dawson said,
00:30:17bring guns.
00:30:19Long guns,
00:30:19shotguns,
00:30:20rifled.
00:30:21Pistols,
00:30:22if you keep them unconcealed.
00:30:24I mean, you know,
00:30:25you can't conceal a gun
00:30:26nowhere in North Carolina on you.
00:30:28And did he say,
00:30:29why bring those guns?
00:30:30No.
00:30:31He just said it might,
00:30:32perhaps we may need them.
00:30:34The question was asked,
00:30:37is it all right to bring guns?
00:30:40And I said,
00:30:40my answer to that was,
00:30:42if you bring a gun,
00:30:44there will be wall-to-wall
00:30:45police there.
00:30:46The gun,
00:30:47if it's hidden,
00:30:48a bulge is seen,
00:30:50you would be arrested
00:30:51and you better have
00:30:53the bond money
00:30:53in your back pocket.
00:30:55I am not your father.
00:30:57I cannot tell you
00:30:58to bring guns
00:30:59or not to bring guns.
00:31:01That was basically
00:31:03the main thing
00:31:03that Eddie Dawson said
00:31:05was to imply
00:31:07and keep pounding
00:31:08on the fact
00:31:09that we should take shotguns
00:31:10and long guns
00:31:12and nothing else.
00:31:13The Klan was not
00:31:16the only group
00:31:17planning to confront
00:31:18communists in Greensboro.
00:31:27Nazis had met
00:31:28with Klansmen
00:31:28to discuss forming
00:31:29a united racist front.
00:31:31As Nazis prepared
00:31:32to go to Greensboro,
00:31:34they too were concerned
00:31:35about informants
00:31:36in their midst.
00:31:36I would say
00:31:38that the government
00:31:40has for a long time,
00:31:42I would say
00:31:42since the creation
00:31:43of the FBI
00:31:44back in,
00:31:46I think,
00:31:4729 or 28,
00:31:49I believe
00:31:49that the government
00:31:50has, of course,
00:31:51kept close watch
00:31:52on any group
00:31:53that they perceive
00:31:56as extremist.
00:31:57In other words,
00:31:57anybody that's not
00:31:58a Republican
00:31:59or a Democrat.
00:32:00And I think
00:32:01that the right-wing
00:32:02groups in this country
00:32:04today
00:32:05have a very large
00:32:06number of informers
00:32:08and agents
00:32:09that are in
00:32:10leadership roles
00:32:11in these organizations.
00:32:14Nazis' suspicions
00:32:15were justified.
00:32:17A Bureau of Alcohol,
00:32:18Tobacco,
00:32:19and Firearms agent
00:32:20was present
00:32:20at this meeting
00:32:21two days before
00:32:22the Greensboro killings.
00:32:25This is Agent
00:32:26Bernard Butkovich,
00:32:27and although he did
00:32:28not go to Greensboro,
00:32:29he was there
00:32:30when Nazis
00:32:31brandished weapons
00:32:32and made threats.
00:32:34And he was still there
00:32:36when representatives
00:32:37of Virgil Griffin's clan
00:32:38arrived to coordinate
00:32:39Greensboro activities.
00:32:42The ATF
00:32:43declined to discuss
00:32:44the role of their agent
00:32:45in the events
00:32:46leading to Greensboro.
00:32:48Nor would it
00:32:48discuss charges.
00:32:50He trained Nazis
00:32:50in weapons
00:32:51and explosives.
00:32:55That same afternoon,
00:32:57on the steps
00:32:57of the Greensboro
00:32:58police station,
00:32:59the CWP
00:33:00held its own
00:33:01press conference.
00:33:01Reporters
00:33:04and one police informant
00:33:06listened to
00:33:06Nelson Johnson
00:33:07denounce the police.
00:33:09The police hate us.
00:33:10We know it.
00:33:11They are not neutral.
00:33:12They are out to do
00:33:13everything they can
00:33:14to disrupt this.
00:33:15Posing as a reporter
00:33:17was Ed Dawson.
00:33:19And we are here
00:33:20to say that we are
00:33:21going ahead with the march,
00:33:22permit or no permit.
00:33:24And I want to add
00:33:25that we just picked up
00:33:26the permit
00:33:26a few minutes ago
00:33:27after running around
00:33:28the building
00:33:28two or three times
00:33:29this morning.
00:33:30The people of Greensboro
00:33:31are intent on
00:33:32smashing and driving
00:33:34out the scum
00:33:35Ku Klux Klan
00:33:36and their secret supporters.
00:33:38The march will be
00:33:38more powerful than ever.
00:33:40We fully expect
00:33:42the police to continue
00:33:43their slimy tactics.
00:33:45They will do anything
00:33:46to disrupt this march
00:33:48and disguise themselves.
00:33:50They might harass us
00:33:51or send provider tools
00:33:52into our ranks
00:33:53to try to disrupt the march.
00:33:55What do you think
00:33:56the march is going
00:33:57to accomplish?
00:33:57What we want to do
00:33:59is say the Klan's
00:34:00nothing but a bunch
00:34:01of cowards.
00:34:01They're not going
00:34:02to come here.
00:34:02If they come here,
00:34:03it'll be because
00:34:04the police aided them
00:34:05in coming here
00:34:06and attacking us.
00:34:08Informant Dawson
00:34:08had a question of his own.
00:34:11Do they have Klansmen
00:34:11in Greensboro here?
00:34:12Oh, yeah,
00:34:13they got Klansmen.
00:34:13They have Klansmen
00:34:14everywhere.
00:34:15In the building
00:34:15right here.
00:34:17Dawson struck up
00:34:18a conversation
00:34:18with Nelson Johnson
00:34:20and Paul Burmizan,
00:34:21both of whom
00:34:22would be wounded
00:34:23in the Klan attack
00:34:24two days later.
00:34:26Minutes after
00:34:26these pictures were taken,
00:34:28Dawson went into
00:34:29the police station
00:34:29and got his own copy
00:34:31of the parade permit.
00:34:33Clearly printed
00:34:33on its face
00:34:34was the time,
00:34:3511 a.m.,
00:34:36and the starting point
00:34:38at Morningside Homes.
00:34:40Did the FBI
00:34:42ever tell you
00:34:43shortly before
00:34:44November the 3rd
00:34:45not to attend
00:34:47the November the 3rd
00:34:48caravan?
00:34:49I had called
00:34:52an agent
00:34:53in the FBI
00:34:54and he knew
00:34:56this agent
00:34:57that I was
00:34:58relaying messages
00:34:59from the Klan
00:35:01to the police department.
00:35:03When I called him,
00:35:05he said to me,
00:35:06relay your information
00:35:08but stay away
00:35:09from the march.
00:35:11Okay.
00:35:11Why did you not
00:35:12stay away
00:35:13when the FBI
00:35:14said you should?
00:35:15That is a very
00:35:16good question.
00:35:17If I knew then
00:35:18what I know now,
00:35:19I'd be able to
00:35:20answer your question
00:35:21much better.
00:35:22But why I went
00:35:23is they expected
00:35:26me there
00:35:26to go over
00:35:29to Morningside
00:35:30and to lead them
00:35:32over there,
00:35:33we might as well say.
00:35:33In the hours
00:35:41that followed,
00:35:42Dawson's leadership
00:35:43role was critical.
00:35:45The night before,
00:35:46he drove Klansmen
00:35:47over the parade route
00:35:48so they would be
00:35:49familiar with the streets.
00:35:51Because virtually
00:35:52all the Klansmen
00:35:53and Nazis
00:35:53were not from
00:35:54Greensboro,
00:35:55Dawson arranged
00:35:56a rendezvous
00:35:57at the home
00:35:58of the one Klansman
00:36:00who has remained
00:36:00his friend,
00:36:01Brent Fletcher.
00:36:02An alcoholic,
00:36:05disabled,
00:36:05Vietnam veteran,
00:36:07Fletcher was
00:36:07the second Klansman
00:36:08to open fire
00:36:09the next morning.
00:36:11Ed,
00:36:12that morning
00:36:13when you were
00:36:15back here
00:36:16with Brent
00:36:17and Jerry Paul Smith
00:36:18and Coleman Pridmore,
00:36:20were you acting
00:36:21as a Klansman
00:36:22or as a police informant?
00:36:25I was acting
00:36:26as a police informant.
00:36:28I was here
00:36:29to observe
00:36:30what was being said
00:36:32if there was
00:36:32any violent talk
00:36:33and to try
00:36:35to make contact
00:36:36if there was
00:36:36at the time.
00:36:38Do you always
00:36:39keep that pistol
00:36:40by your side?
00:36:4124 hours a day.
00:36:43Can I see it?
00:36:44Well,
00:36:45it's a 9-millimeter.
00:36:46It's a good gun.
00:36:50I keep it
00:36:51for self-protection.
00:36:52It's a good gun.
00:36:53on the morning
00:37:01of the shooting,
00:37:02Dawson made
00:37:02the first
00:37:02of two phone calls
00:37:04to his police contact,
00:37:05Detective Jerry Cooper,
00:37:07nicknamed Rooster.
00:37:11The police
00:37:11were already
00:37:12taking these photographs
00:37:13across from
00:37:14Brent Fletcher's house.
00:37:18Rooster's assignment
00:37:19that day
00:37:19was to shadow
00:37:20the Klan caravan.
00:37:24Ed Dawson
00:37:25was one
00:37:25of the first arrivals.
00:37:28After staying
00:37:29some minutes,
00:37:30Dawson managed
00:37:31to slip away
00:37:31and make his
00:37:33second call
00:37:33to Rooster.
00:37:35You called,
00:37:35what did you say
00:37:36to Rooster
00:37:37at 7.30?
00:37:38They were there
00:37:39and they had
00:37:39a couple of guns.
00:37:42You reported
00:37:42to Cooper
00:37:43on the presence
00:37:44of guns?
00:37:45Oh, definitely.
00:37:46And what did you say
00:37:47in that second conversation?
00:37:49Oh, that there was
00:37:50at that time
00:37:51about 13, 14
00:37:53or 15 people
00:37:54at Brent's house.
00:37:56By that time
00:37:57you had seen
00:37:57more weapons?
00:37:59Yes, there was
00:38:00more weapons, yes.
00:38:03Shotguns,
00:38:03handguns.
00:38:05The police version
00:38:06of events
00:38:07is contained
00:38:07in a report.
00:38:09A careful document.
00:38:10It finds no fault
00:38:11with police conduct
00:38:12and specifically
00:38:13portrays Dawson
00:38:15as a stranger
00:38:15to the department.
00:38:16Some police actions
00:38:19are detailed, however.
00:38:21At 10 a.m.,
00:38:21Rooster briefed
00:38:22police commanders.
00:38:27It's clear
00:38:28they were expecting
00:38:28trouble.
00:38:30Rooster related
00:38:31his intelligence
00:38:31including the presence
00:38:32of guns.
00:38:34Rooster's intelligence
00:38:35said the report
00:38:36was considered
00:38:37reliable and up-to-date.
00:38:39But Dawson
00:38:40was not mentioned
00:38:41as the source.
00:38:45Meanwhile,
00:38:45the question of leadership
00:38:46was being raised
00:38:47back at Brent Fletcher's.
00:38:50Who said
00:38:50who's in charge?
00:38:52God knows.
00:38:52Somebody just
00:38:53hollowed out.
00:38:55And what was
00:38:55the reply to that?
00:38:56I looked at Virgil.
00:38:57Virgil looked at me
00:38:58and Virgil said
00:39:00I guess he knows
00:39:01the city better
00:39:01than we do.
00:39:02and Buck made a remark
00:39:05to me that
00:39:05you have a copy
00:39:06of the permit.
00:39:09The streets are all
00:39:10in the back of that.
00:39:12And I did have it
00:39:13with me
00:39:13and went out
00:39:14and brought it
00:39:15in the house.
00:39:17Now the police
00:39:18made a fatal error.
00:39:20With Klan rank
00:39:21swelling,
00:39:22with the start
00:39:23of the march
00:39:23only a half an hour
00:39:24away,
00:39:25the two tactical
00:39:26squads assigned
00:39:27to the march
00:39:28were given
00:39:28permission to take
00:39:29their lunch break.
00:39:33Head,
00:39:33do you remember
00:39:34saying
00:39:34let's get going
00:39:35we're running late?
00:39:36This is correct,
00:39:37yes.
00:39:38You looked at your watch
00:39:39said we're running late?
00:39:40Yes,
00:39:40it was approaching
00:39:42I think
00:39:435 of 11.
00:39:44I wasn't timing it.
00:39:45Well what was
00:39:46so important
00:39:46about getting there
00:39:47right at the time
00:39:48that they started?
00:39:49The parade
00:39:50was supposed
00:39:50to go off at 11.
00:39:51The communist parade.
00:39:53The death of the Klan.
00:39:55And you were
00:39:56concerned to get there
00:39:57at the time
00:39:58that it started?
00:39:59At the time,
00:39:59yes.
00:40:04Whether he intended
00:40:05it or not,
00:40:06Dawson's haste
00:40:07ensured
00:40:07that the caravan
00:40:09would arrive
00:40:09at Morningside
00:40:10before the police
00:40:11finished their sandwiches.
00:40:13We had 8 cars
00:40:14with us.
00:40:16The van
00:40:17was last.
00:40:18Did you check in
00:40:19on the CB radio
00:40:20about here?
00:40:21Just about here,
00:40:22yes.
00:40:22We asked,
00:40:23I used the CB
00:40:25and I asked
00:40:27if everything
00:40:28was okay.
00:40:29He said KKK.
00:40:30KKK.
00:40:31KKK.
00:40:31Everything okay?
00:40:33And I got to respond.
00:40:35Doing wild.
00:40:35Doing good.
00:40:36In the rush
00:40:43to leave Fletcher's
00:40:44a Klan car
00:40:45had been left behind.
00:40:46It was the blue
00:40:47Ford Fairlane
00:40:48and most of the guns
00:40:50used minutes later
00:40:51in the killing
00:40:51were in the trunk
00:40:52of that car.
00:40:56Rooster's photographs
00:40:57show the caravan
00:40:58stopped on the
00:40:59interstate ramp
00:41:00waiting for the
00:41:01stray Fairlane.
00:41:02The time
00:41:06was 11.06.
00:41:10Another police
00:41:11photograph
00:41:12shows Dawson
00:41:13walking to the
00:41:14rear of the
00:41:14motorcade
00:41:15as the Fairlane
00:41:15pulls in.
00:41:16Did you know
00:41:20that the guns
00:41:20were in the
00:41:21Fairlane?
00:41:21I knew
00:41:22absolutely
00:41:22nothing about
00:41:23the guns
00:41:23in the Fairlane.
00:41:25Did you know
00:41:26that you were
00:41:26being photographed
00:41:27by your police
00:41:28case officer?
00:41:28No, I did not.
00:41:30No.
00:41:31And you've never
00:41:31seen these
00:41:32photographs before?
00:41:33No.
00:41:34I have not.
00:41:35On the caravan?
00:41:37Were you not
00:41:38there at the
00:41:38back of the
00:41:39caravan?
00:41:39I was at the
00:41:40back because
00:41:41coming down
00:41:41the ramp
00:41:41constantly.
00:41:42I just
00:41:42didn't pay
00:41:43attention.
00:41:44When the
00:41:44Fairlane
00:41:45arrived,
00:41:46did you
00:41:47direct where
00:41:48the Fairlane
00:41:49should go
00:41:49in the
00:41:50caravan?
00:41:51Absolutely
00:41:51not.
00:41:52I do not
00:41:53remember it.
00:41:54I did not
00:41:54look for it.
00:41:54I did not
00:41:55see it.
00:41:59As the
00:42:00motorcade
00:42:00pulled out,
00:42:01Rooster
00:42:01communicated
00:42:02constantly with
00:42:03headquarters.
00:42:04Eight minutes
00:42:05before the
00:42:05first shots,
00:42:06the police
00:42:07radio crackled
00:42:07with Rooster's
00:42:08alarm.
00:42:09headed for
00:42:12Morningside
00:42:12were nine
00:42:14cars,
00:42:15thirty-five
00:42:16boisterous and
00:42:17belligerent
00:42:17clansmen.
00:42:19Okay,
00:42:20we're turning
00:42:21into Everett
00:42:21Street now.
00:42:22All right.
00:42:23Did it surprise
00:42:24you that there
00:42:24were so many
00:42:25people here?
00:42:26Yes,
00:42:27it sure did.
00:42:29The television
00:42:31and newspaper
00:42:32reporters was
00:42:33to our left.
00:42:34And where
00:42:34were the police
00:42:35at?
00:42:35Where were
00:42:36the police
00:42:36at?
00:42:36There wasn't
00:42:36a police or
00:42:38a cop or
00:42:39unmarked
00:42:39car in sight.
00:42:41And did
00:42:41you recognize
00:42:42anybody on
00:42:42the right
00:42:43there?
00:42:44Just about
00:42:44as we
00:42:45approached
00:42:45this spot
00:42:45here,
00:42:46I recognized
00:42:47Paul
00:42:47Berzajon.
00:42:49I just
00:42:49looked at
00:42:50him,
00:42:50he looked
00:42:51at me,
00:42:51our eyes
00:42:51caught,
00:42:52and I
00:42:52said,
00:42:53you communist
00:42:53son of a
00:42:54place for
00:42:54the clan,
00:42:55here we
00:42:55are.
00:42:56And then
00:42:57you stopped.
00:42:58And the
00:42:59reason we
00:43:00stopped,
00:43:00I was
00:43:01looking back
00:43:01and Buck
00:43:02was looking
00:43:02in his
00:43:03mirror,
00:43:04and we
00:43:04stopped,
00:43:05everybody
00:43:05stopped.
00:43:06So it
00:43:07had been
00:43:07very difficult
00:43:07for him
00:43:08to get
00:43:08around
00:43:08you.
00:43:09Oh yeah,
00:43:09sure.
00:43:10And then
00:43:11you got
00:43:11back in
00:43:12and you
00:43:12got out
00:43:12of here
00:43:12as quickly
00:43:13as you
00:43:13could.
00:43:14Buck
00:43:14came running
00:43:15and he
00:43:15said,
00:43:16let's get
00:43:16the hell
00:43:16out of
00:43:16here.
00:43:21Rooster
00:43:21was behind
00:43:22the caravan
00:43:22when the
00:43:23first shots
00:43:23rang out,
00:43:24and he
00:43:25stayed a
00:43:25block away
00:43:26for the
00:43:26next 88
00:43:27seconds.
00:43:28At
00:43:2811.23
00:43:29and 47
00:43:30seconds,
00:43:30he radioed
00:43:31the words
00:43:32heavy gunfire,
00:43:33there,
00:43:33but the
00:43:33lieutenant
00:43:34in charge
00:43:35was still
00:43:35confused
00:43:36about the
00:43:36location
00:43:37of the
00:43:37trouble.
00:43:39I want
00:43:39you to
00:43:40look at
00:43:40me now,
00:43:40just close
00:43:41your eyes
00:43:41real lightly
00:43:41now,
00:43:43and you
00:43:43can tighten
00:43:44your eyes,
00:43:45as you tighten
00:43:45your eyes,
00:43:46just arch your
00:43:46eyes back a
00:43:47little bit.
00:43:47During the
00:43:48course of the
00:43:49trial,
00:43:49the jury
00:43:50viewed this
00:43:51videotape of
00:43:52a local
00:43:52television
00:43:52reporter who
00:43:54had been
00:43:54interviewed under
00:43:55hypnosis.
00:43:55hypnosis
00:44:01revived her
00:44:02subconscious
00:44:02feeling that
00:44:03the communists
00:44:04had brought
00:44:04the violence
00:44:05upon themselves,
00:44:06and this
00:44:06became powerful
00:44:07court testimony
00:44:08for the Klan
00:44:09and Nazi
00:44:10defendants.
00:44:16Now,
00:44:16Laurie,
00:44:16I want you
00:44:17to go back
00:44:17this night,
00:44:19November 3rd.
00:44:22I know
00:44:23what's coming.
00:44:25I know
00:44:28what's coming.
00:44:30Walk down!
00:44:31Walk down!
00:44:33People start
00:44:34fighting
00:44:35with the sticks
00:44:37that they had
00:44:37those posters
00:44:38on.
00:44:42And shots.
00:44:43I didn't know
00:44:43where they
00:44:44come from.
00:44:45I heard one
00:44:46hit the news
00:44:47car window
00:44:47because I
00:44:48heard them
00:44:49shatter.
00:44:51And I was
00:44:52really scared.
00:44:54Shots.
00:44:55more shots.
00:44:58Shots were
00:44:59coming from
00:44:59both sides.
00:45:01Now.
00:45:10I just
00:45:11wanted them
00:45:13to start
00:45:14shooting.
00:45:15and left
00:45:24squealing tires.
00:45:31I thought
00:45:32we can get
00:45:32out now.
00:45:35I can get
00:45:35out from
00:45:36another car.
00:45:37So I got
00:45:38out.
00:45:41Brushed
00:45:42myself off
00:45:42and went
00:45:44around
00:45:44in front
00:45:47of the car.
00:45:49Three people
00:45:50were there.
00:45:51Three.
00:45:52One guy
00:45:53on the left
00:45:53put my hand
00:45:55on his shoulder.
00:45:56I said,
00:45:56are you okay?
00:45:59He turned
00:46:00on and he
00:46:00looked at me
00:46:01and he had
00:46:02been shot
00:46:03or something.
00:46:05He had blood
00:46:05on his head.
00:46:08I'd never
00:46:09seen it
00:46:10but he
00:46:11gets shot
00:46:11before.
00:46:14And the guy
00:46:15next to
00:46:17the news car
00:46:20he had
00:46:22a really
00:46:23big
00:46:26piece of
00:46:27his
00:46:27head
00:46:30gone
00:46:31and that
00:46:33blood
00:46:33huge pool
00:46:35of blood
00:46:36with
00:46:36broken
00:46:37glasses
00:46:38laying in it.
00:46:41And this
00:46:41black woman
00:46:42came over
00:46:43he was still
00:46:44alive
00:46:44and she
00:46:46said to me
00:46:46she said
00:46:47put your
00:46:48hand
00:46:49over the
00:46:50hole in his
00:46:51head
00:46:51and I
00:46:52said
00:46:53you
00:46:53kissed
00:46:54my
00:46:54you
00:46:56started
00:46:56this
00:46:57you
00:46:58put your
00:46:59hand
00:46:59on the
00:46:59hole in his
00:47:00head.
00:47:07We got
00:47:08shots of
00:47:09the guy
00:47:10over
00:47:11against
00:47:12the
00:47:12building
00:47:13and his
00:47:14wife
00:47:14had been
00:47:16looking for
00:47:16him.
00:47:18I couldn't
00:47:18believe
00:47:19she went
00:47:21over
00:47:21put his
00:47:23head
00:47:24in her
00:47:25arms
00:47:25and
00:47:25started
00:47:28yelling
00:47:29about the
00:47:30client.
00:47:31Go
00:47:31close!
00:47:33I'm not
00:47:33going to
00:47:34hug
00:47:34my
00:47:34husband!
00:47:35Go
00:47:35close!
00:47:36Clay
00:47:36and
00:47:36came
00:47:37in here!
00:47:38And her
00:47:39husband
00:47:40was
00:47:40laying
00:47:42there
00:47:42dying
00:47:43while those
00:47:43barometics
00:47:44worked on him
00:47:45and she's
00:47:46yelling
00:47:47about the
00:47:48client.
00:47:49I couldn't
00:47:49believe it.
00:47:52I couldn't
00:47:52believe it.
00:47:55And
00:47:56across the
00:47:57street
00:47:58it was the
00:47:59same thing.
00:48:01We got
00:48:01her on
00:48:02tape.
00:48:02she was
00:48:13hollering at
00:48:14the police
00:48:14hollering at
00:48:16them.
00:48:16I'm
00:48:16hollering at
00:48:17them.
00:48:19But these
00:48:20people
00:48:21were crazy.
00:48:24They're
00:48:24crazy.
00:48:26In the
00:48:26view of
00:48:27Sidney
00:48:27Waller,
00:48:28Floris
00:48:28Cossé,
00:48:29and Dale
00:48:30Sampson,
00:48:30their
00:48:31husbands
00:48:32were the
00:48:32victims
00:48:33of an
00:48:33organized
00:48:34conspiracy.
00:48:35When I
00:48:36stood over
00:48:37Jim's body
00:48:37and said
00:48:38long live
00:48:38the
00:48:38Communist
00:48:39Workers
00:48:39Party
00:48:39and long
00:48:40live
00:48:40the
00:48:40working
00:48:40class,
00:48:42then
00:48:42why I
00:48:44said that
00:48:44was that
00:48:45moment
00:48:45capsulized
00:48:48for me
00:48:48everything
00:48:49that Jim
00:48:50had lived
00:48:51his life
00:48:51for and
00:48:52had laid
00:48:52down
00:48:53his life
00:48:53for.
00:48:54The
00:48:54moment
00:48:55just
00:48:55stopped.
00:48:56You know,
00:48:57you're kind
00:48:57of in
00:48:57between
00:48:58understanding
00:49:00what's
00:49:00happening
00:49:00right
00:49:01in front
00:49:01of you
00:49:01and at
00:49:02the
00:49:02same
00:49:02time
00:49:02you're
00:49:03aware
00:49:03of
00:49:04everything
00:49:04that's
00:49:04going
00:49:05on.
00:49:05I
00:49:06was
00:49:06aware
00:49:06of
00:49:06Sidney
00:49:06across
00:49:07with
00:49:07Jim.
00:49:08But I
00:49:09was
00:49:09very
00:49:09aware
00:49:10that I
00:49:11knew
00:49:11something
00:49:11was
00:49:11terribly
00:49:12wrong
00:49:12besides
00:49:13the fact
00:49:13that my
00:49:13husband
00:49:13was
00:49:14dying
00:49:14in my
00:49:14arms.
00:49:15That I
00:49:16knew
00:49:16that
00:49:16this
00:49:17happened
00:49:18by itself.
00:49:20And when
00:49:21Sidney stood
00:49:21up across
00:49:22the street
00:49:22from me
00:49:23and said
00:49:23long live
00:49:24the
00:49:24Communist
00:49:25Workers
00:49:25Party
00:49:25and we'll
00:49:26fight for
00:49:27Socialist
00:49:27Revolution
00:49:28when despite
00:49:29you cops
00:49:30it forced
00:49:31me at least
00:49:32at some
00:49:33level to
00:49:33become
00:49:33conscious.
00:49:34And I
00:49:35realized
00:49:35that it
00:49:37was a
00:49:38setup.
00:49:39You know
00:49:39that we
00:49:39had been
00:49:40set up
00:49:40like a
00:49:41shooting
00:49:41gallery.
00:49:42what did
00:49:43you say
00:49:43to that
00:49:43policeman
00:49:44that
00:49:44morning?
00:49:45The
00:49:46young
00:49:46policeman
00:49:47that
00:49:47was
00:49:47standing
00:49:47over
00:49:48Caesar's
00:49:48body?
00:49:49I
00:49:49was
00:49:50telling
00:49:50him
00:49:50that
00:49:51he
00:49:52and
00:49:53his
00:49:53buddies
00:49:53were
00:49:53responsible
00:49:54for
00:49:54the
00:49:55murders
00:49:55that
00:49:55had
00:49:55just
00:49:55happened.
00:49:56That
00:49:57the
00:49:57Greensboro
00:49:57Police
00:49:58Department
00:49:58was
00:49:58responsible
00:49:59for
00:49:59everything
00:50:00that
00:50:00was
00:50:00going
00:50:01on
00:50:01there.
00:50:02That
00:50:02all
00:50:02the
00:50:03dead
00:50:03bodies
00:50:03lying
00:50:04on
00:50:04the
00:50:04ground,
00:50:05all
00:50:05the
00:50:05blood
00:50:05in
00:50:05the
00:50:06streets,
00:50:06the
00:50:07fear
00:50:08and
00:50:08anger
00:50:09and
00:50:09hatred
00:50:10that had
00:50:10been
00:50:11spread
00:50:11all
00:50:11over
00:50:11their
00:50:11community
00:50:12that
00:50:12he
00:50:12would
00:50:13believe
00:50:13me
00:50:13and
00:50:13understand
00:50:14in
00:50:14a
00:50:14few
00:50:40of
00:50:41the
00:50:41people
00:50:41say
00:50:42that
00:50:42you
00:50:42did
00:50:43advocate
00:50:43confrontation
00:50:44and that
00:50:44you advocated
00:50:57taking
00:50:57guns.
00:50:59Secondly,
00:51:00that
00:51:01by being
00:51:02the
00:51:03Klan's
00:51:03point man,
00:51:04if you
00:51:05will,
00:51:05in
00:51:05Greensboro
00:51:06that
00:51:07you
00:51:07gave
00:51:08the
00:51:09Klan
00:51:09information
00:51:10about
00:51:10coming
00:51:11in
00:51:11here
00:51:11that
00:51:11they
00:51:11would
00:51:11not
00:51:12ordinarily
00:51:13have
00:51:13had.
00:51:15Three,
00:51:16that
00:51:16you
00:51:16gave
00:51:17them
00:51:17a
00:51:17rendezvous
00:51:18point.
00:51:19Four,
00:51:19that
00:51:19you
00:51:20willingly
00:51:20composed
00:51:21and
00:51:22distributed
00:51:22Klan,
00:51:24inflammatory
00:51:25Klan
00:51:25literature.
00:51:27Five,
00:51:27that
00:51:27you
00:51:27willingly
00:51:28accepted
00:51:28a
00:51:29leadership
00:51:29role
00:51:29at
00:51:30Brent
00:51:30Fletcher's
00:51:31house.
00:51:32Six,
00:51:33that
00:51:33you rushed
00:51:34people
00:51:34along
00:51:35at
00:51:35Brent
00:51:35Fletcher's
00:51:36house
00:51:36when there
00:51:36was no
00:51:36apparent
00:51:37reason
00:51:37to
00:51:38get there
00:51:39at the
00:51:39absolute
00:51:40opening
00:51:40of the
00:51:41march.
00:51:42You
00:51:43got into
00:51:43Everett
00:51:44Street.
00:51:45Even
00:51:45seeing no
00:51:46police
00:51:46there,
00:51:47you
00:51:47shouted
00:51:47out a
00:51:48provocative
00:51:48statement
00:51:49at
00:51:49Paul
00:51:50Bermazan.
00:51:51And
00:51:51lastly,
00:51:53that
00:51:53the car
00:51:54was stopped.
00:51:55When you
00:51:56stopped the
00:51:56car,
00:51:56you blocked
00:51:57an escape
00:51:57for the
00:51:58whole
00:51:58caravan,
00:51:59which
00:51:59led to
00:52:00the
00:52:00violence.
00:52:01Now,
00:52:01that's
00:52:01the case
00:52:02all in
00:52:03a
00:52:03capsule.
00:52:04All right.
00:52:04what do
00:52:05you say
00:52:05about that?
00:52:06Well,
00:52:07start over
00:52:07in the
00:52:08first one.
00:52:09We've gone
00:52:11through
00:52:11them all
00:52:13point by
00:52:14point.
00:52:14I'm asking
00:52:16you about
00:52:16it as
00:52:17a total
00:52:18case.
00:52:19Is that
00:52:19a fair
00:52:20case?
00:52:21Is there
00:52:22a case
00:52:22against
00:52:23Eddie
00:52:23Dawson?
00:52:23I don't
00:52:27like to
00:52:27use the
00:52:27word
00:52:28frame
00:52:28up
00:52:28job.
00:52:29These
00:52:30are a
00:52:30bunch
00:52:30of
00:52:30half
00:52:32wits
00:52:32that
00:52:33got
00:52:34themselves
00:52:34into
00:52:35a
00:52:35jam
00:52:35and
00:52:36they're
00:52:36looking
00:52:36for
00:52:36an
00:52:37escape
00:52:37goat
00:52:37and
00:52:38they
00:52:39have
00:52:40been
00:52:40laying it
00:52:40on my
00:52:40shoulder
00:52:41for two
00:52:41and a
00:52:41half
00:52:41years
00:52:42and
00:52:43they're
00:52:43not
00:52:44big
00:52:44enough
00:52:44to
00:52:44admit
00:52:45their
00:52:45part
00:52:45in
00:52:46it.
00:52:46I
00:52:47couldn't
00:52:47control
00:52:47this
00:52:48thing
00:52:48any
00:52:49more
00:52:49than
00:52:49I'm
00:52:50not
00:52:50the
00:52:50city
00:52:51police
00:52:51and
00:52:52this
00:52:53is
00:52:53one
00:52:53more
00:52:54peril
00:52:54of
00:52:54being
00:52:54a
00:52:55police
00:52:55informant
00:52:55isn't
00:52:56it?
00:52:56When
00:52:56you're
00:52:56exposed
00:52:57they
00:52:58want
00:52:58to
00:52:59discard
00:52:59you.
00:52:59Discard
00:53:00you is
00:53:00right.
00:53:01That's
00:53:01for
00:53:01sure.
00:53:02When
00:53:03this
00:53:03happened
00:53:03it
00:53:05happened
00:53:05on a
00:53:05Saturday
00:53:06I
00:53:06heard
00:53:06nothing
00:53:07from
00:53:07the
00:53:07police
00:53:08until
00:53:08Tuesday
00:53:08they
00:53:09never
00:53:09called
00:53:10or
00:53:10was
00:53:10never
00:53:10interested
00:53:11are
00:53:11you
00:53:11okay
00:53:12can
00:53:13we
00:53:13do
00:53:13anything
00:53:13for
00:53:14you
00:53:14or
00:53:14anything
00:53:14they
00:53:15just
00:53:18he
00:53:19was
00:53:20now
00:53:20truly
00:53:20alone
00:53:21to
00:53:23blame
00:53:23it
00:53:23all
00:53:23on
00:53:24him
00:53:24would
00:53:24exonerate
00:53:25all
00:53:25others
00:53:26once
00:53:29at his
00:53:29house
00:53:29he
00:53:30put
00:53:30on
00:53:30his
00:53:30old
00:53:30uniform
00:53:31for
00:53:31me
00:53:31the
00:53:32same
00:53:33uniform
00:53:33he
00:53:33designed
00:53:34for
00:53:34the
00:53:34clan
00:53:34security
00:53:35forces
00:53:35true
00:53:42the
00:53:43episode
00:53:43might
00:53:43not
00:53:44have
00:53:44happened
00:53:44but
00:53:45for
00:53:45Dawson's
00:53:45provocative
00:53:46behavior
00:53:46but
00:53:47he
00:53:47only
00:53:48became
00:53:48involved
00:53:48at
00:53:49the
00:53:49behest
00:53:49of
00:53:49the
00:53:49authorities
00:53:50they
00:53:51launched
00:53:51him
00:53:51into
00:53:52the
00:53:52darkness
00:53:52with
00:53:52no
00:53:53guidance
00:53:53they
00:53:54ignored
00:53:54valuable
00:53:55information
00:53:55he
00:53:55did
00:53:56provide
00:53:56five
00:54:01deeply
00:54:01committed
00:54:02people
00:54:02are
00:54:03dead
00:54:03their
00:54:05tombstone
00:54:05calls
00:54:06them
00:54:06martyrs
00:54:07but
00:54:07they
00:54:07were
00:54:07far
00:54:08from
00:54:08innocent
00:54:08victims
00:54:09for
00:54:11me
00:54:11the
00:54:11conclusion
00:54:12is
00:54:12inescapable
00:54:13the
00:54:13police
00:54:14could
00:54:14have
00:54:14prevented
00:54:15the
00:54:15massacre
00:54:15they
00:54:16could
00:54:16have
00:54:16stopped
00:54:17the
00:54:17caravan
00:54:17and
00:54:18they
00:54:18could
00:54:18have
00:54:18been
00:54:18at
00:54:19morning
00:54:19side
00:54:19was
00:54:20their
00:54:20failure
00:54:21to
00:54:21do
00:54:21so
00:54:21accidental
00:54:22or
00:54:22deliberate
00:54:23at
00:54:26least
00:54:26this
00:54:27can
00:54:27be
00:54:27said
00:54:27no
00:54:28matter
00:54:28how
00:54:29undesirable
00:54:29a majority
00:54:30may view
00:54:31them
00:54:31Americans
00:54:32should
00:54:32be able
00:54:33to take
00:54:33to the
00:54:33streets
00:54:34without
00:54:34fear
00:54:35that
00:54:35police
00:54:36or
00:54:36their
00:54:36agents
00:54:37will
00:54:37promote
00:54:38or
00:54:38tolerate
00:54:39violence
00:54:39against
00:54:40them
00:54:40a
00:54:49federal
00:54:50grand
00:54:50jury
00:54:50is
00:54:51expected
00:54:51to
00:54:51return
00:54:51new
00:54:52indictments
00:54:52in the
00:54:53Greensboro
00:54:53case
00:54:53at
00:54:54any
00:54:54time
00:54:54Eddie
00:54:55Dawson
00:54:56has
00:54:56been
00:54:56called
00:54:56to
00:54:57testify
00:54:57until
00:54:58that
00:54:58case
00:54:59and
00:54:59others
00:54:59are
00:54:59resolved
00:55:00no
00:55:00law
00:55:01enforcement
00:55:01agency
00:55:02alleged
00:55:02to be
00:55:03involved
00:55:03in
00:55:03Greensboro
00:55:04can
00:55:04comment
00:55:05please
00:55:05be
00:55:05assured
00:55:06that
00:55:06when
00:55:06they
00:55:06can
00:55:07Frontline
00:55:07stands
00:55:08ready
00:55:08to
00:55:08report
00:55:08it
00:55:09however
00:55:10Greensboro
00:55:11is
00:55:11only
00:55:11part
00:55:12of
00:55:12an
00:55:12ongoing
00:55:12nationwide
00:55:13debate
00:55:13on
00:55:14the
00:55:14need
00:55:14to
00:55:15use
00:55:15informants
00:55:16versus
00:55:16the
00:55:16need
00:55:17to
00:55:17protect
00:55:17individual
00:55:18freedoms
00:55:19the
00:55:20FBI
00:55:20guidelines
00:55:21for
00:55:21informers
00:55:21put into
00:55:22effect
00:55:22after
00:55:22Watergate
00:55:23are now
00:55:24being
00:55:24called
00:55:24too
00:55:24restrictive
00:55:25FBI
00:55:26director
00:55:26William
00:55:26Webster
00:55:27has
00:55:27asked
00:55:27for
00:55:27fewer
00:55:28restrictions
00:55:28on
00:55:30a
00:55:30local
00:55:30level
00:55:30many
00:55:31police
00:55:31departments
00:55:31including
00:55:32Greensboro
00:55:32told
00:55:33Frontline
00:55:34they
00:55:34do
00:55:34have
00:55:35guidelines
00:55:35on
00:55:35use
00:55:36of
00:55:36informants
00:55:36but
00:55:37at
00:55:37this
00:55:37time
00:55:38no
00:55:39uniform
00:55:39policies
00:55:40exist
00:55:40historically
00:55:42the
00:55:43tougher
00:55:43the
00:55:43economic
00:55:44times
00:55:44become
00:55:45in
00:55:45this
00:55:45country
00:55:45the
00:55:46more
00:55:46vulnerable
00:55:46we
00:55:47become
00:55:47to
00:55:47the
00:55:48type
00:55:48of
00:55:48misdirected
00:55:49rage
00:55:49and
00:55:49frustration
00:55:50that
00:55:50begets
00:55:51violence
00:55:51we've
00:55:52charged
00:55:53our
00:55:53law
00:55:53enforcement
00:55:53agencies
00:55:54with
00:55:54the
00:55:54awesome
00:55:55responsibility
00:55:56of
00:55:56on the
00:55:56one
00:55:56hand
00:55:57assuring
00:55:57our
00:55:58constitutional
00:55:59rights
00:55:59to
00:55:59speak
00:56:00out
00:56:00to
00:56:00bear
00:56:00arms
00:56:01and
00:56:01to
00:56:01assemble
00:56:02while
00:56:02on
00:56:02the
00:56:02other
00:56:03hand
00:56:03ensuring
00:56:04we
00:56:04may
00:56:04do
00:56:05so
00:56:05in
00:56:05safety
00:56:06that's
00:56:07a
00:56:07delicate
00:56:07problem
00:56:08the
00:56:09larger
00:56:09question
00:56:10left
00:56:10by
00:56:10whatever
00:56:11you
00:56:11choose
00:56:11to
00:56:12believe
00:56:12really
00:56:12led
00:56:13up
00:56:13to
00:56:13those
00:56:1388
00:56:14seconds
00:56:14in
00:56:14Greensboro
00:56:15is
00:56:15at
00:56:16what
00:56:16point
00:56:17does
00:56:17an
00:56:18informer
00:56:18cease
00:56:18being
00:56:19part
00:56:19of
00:56:19the
00:56:19solution
00:56:20and
00:56:21instead
00:56:21contribute
00:56:22to
00:56:23the
00:56:23problem
00:56:23next
00:56:25week
00:56:26on
00:56:26Frontline
00:56:26a
00:56:27story
00:56:27about
00:56:28power
00:56:28and
00:56:28politics
00:56:29in
00:56:29the
00:56:29other
00:56:30Washington
00:56:30the
00:56:31Washington
00:56:31which
00:56:32is
00:56:3270%
00:56:33black
00:56:33once
00:56:36they
00:56:36fought
00:56:36for
00:56:37a
00:56:37revolution
00:56:37civil
00:56:38rights
00:56:39activists
00:56:39but
00:56:40today
00:56:41they
00:56:41run
00:56:41Washington
00:56:42D.C.
00:56:43Mayor
00:56:44Marion
00:56:44Barry
00:56:45and his
00:56:45advisors
00:56:45activists
00:56:49who
00:56:50become
00:56:50power
00:56:50brokers
00:56:51but
00:56:53can
00:56:53they
00:56:53make
00:56:53a
00:56:54difference
00:56:54that's
00:56:55the
00:56:55question
00:56:56for
00:56:56them
00:56:56and
00:56:56for
00:56:57every
00:56:57one
00:56:57of
00:56:57their
00:56:57generation
00:56:58who's
00:56:59now
00:56:59inside
00:56:59the
00:57:00halls
00:57:00of
00:57:00power
00:57:00the
00:57:01program
00:57:01is
00:57:02called
00:57:02in
00:57:03the
00:57:03shadow
00:57:03of
00:57:03the
00:57:03capital
00:57:04it
00:57:05is
00:57:05next
00:57:05week
00:57:05on
00:57:06Frontline
00:57:07I'm
00:57:08Jessica
00:57:08Savage
00:57:24the
00:57:27one
00:57:29the
00:57:31the
00:57:35the
00:57:37the
00:57:41the
00:57:43the
00:57:44the
00:57:45the
00:57:49the
00:57:51the
00:57:53For a transcript of this program,
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