Record judgment blisters the Klan

Morris Dees, who argued the case for the Macedonia Baptist Church, predicted the victory would mean the end of the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which has chapters in five states.

The church and Dees' Southern Poverty Law Center intended to make the Klan organizations pay for the fire that destroyed the century-old church in rural Clarendon County on June 21, 1995.

The nine black and three white jurors made them pay dearly. They deliberated for only 45 minutes before finding all the parties named in the civil suit liable -- and awarded $12.2 million more than Dees had asked for.

The Macedonia Baptist Church has since been rebuilt, at a cost of $200,000, and parishioners who watched the trial were overjoyed by the verdict.

``This verdict was about vindication -- total vindication,'' the Rev. Jonathan Mouzon said. ``It's not about the money. It's about making a statement: We're not going to tolerate what they did.''

Dees, whose law project has been fighting white supremacist groups for 20 years, said he hopes the huge award will send a message to hate groups around the country.

``I think this verdict is going to speak loud and clear across the nation to those people who might go into a county and stir the races up against one another,'' said Dees. He broke his record of a $12.5 million judgment against the White Aryan Resistance in the killing of a black man.

In punitive damages, the jurors ordered Christian Knights headquarters in Mount Holly, N.C., to pay $15 million; Horace King of Pelion, the S.C. chapter's grand dragon, to pay $15 million; the S.C. chapter to pay $7 million; and the four former Klan members who were convicted in federal court of the burning to pay $500,000 among them. The jury also awarded $300,000 in actual damages.

``We intend to have the deed to the South Carolina Klan headquarters in the hands of this church quickly,'' said Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.

King's attorney, Gary White of Columbia, said he intends to appeal the case, as well as fight to keep King's land -- which includes the S.C. headquarters -- on the grounds that it is his homestead.

``I'm afraid the jury couldn't see past race,'' White said. ``Mr. King is a racist, and that's not a very popular position to have in today's society. Still, that is what he believes, and I think he has a right to that. But I don't think he came across as a nice guy.''

White said the Christian Knights have lost membership since the suit was filed, but he wouldn't reveal the size of the group, which also has chapters in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. It's one of 51 Klan groups nationwide, Dees said.

Dees argued that grand dragon King was ``evil'' and a ``yellow-bellied coward'' who incited an atmosphere of hate that led to the arson fire.

King declined comment after the verdict, but he was overheard in the courtroom emphatically telling a supporter: ``Remember one thing: We ain't dead yet. We ain't dead yet.''

The case could lead to criminal charges against King, because federal and state prosecutors were following the case closely to see what new evidence surfaced. King was never charged in the arson and denied involvement.

Since the trial began Monday, more than 40 state and local police agents patrolled downtown Manning, a 5,000-resident town in the heart of Clarendon County, 65 miles southeast of Columbia. The 120 daily observers had to pass through two metal detectors each day, and tracking dogs sniffed for bombs.

Dees assembled an array of evidence, from videotapes of Klan rallies to testimony against King from the former Klan members who burned the church.

``They were motivated by the teachings of the Klan,'' said Dees, who blamed King and the Klan for leading the men astray.

White argued that the four men acted alone and without the Klan's consent, and tried to portray the Klan as a benign social organization that held fund-raising turkey shoots and raffled off cakes.

The most graphic evidence was the videotapes Dees played and replayed to the jury, showing King at Klan rallies in Clarendon County and Washington, D.C.

``The n-----s is controlling the laws in this county, people,'' the 65-year-old King yelled at a Manning-area rally, jumping up and down in his green and gold robe. ``And it's time for you to wake up and control them for a while.''

During closing arguments Friday morning, jurors stared intensely as Dees passionately urged them to ``send a message to all them grand dragons and imperial wizards, with all their funny gowns.''

Dees told them to ignore White's attempt to turn the case into a question of freedom of speech.

``In America, you have the right to speak, and it can be nasty, because in America you have the right to hate,'' Dees said. ``But you do not have the right to hurt.''

As White gave his summation, the jurors appeared to become restless, shifting in their chairs and looking around the courtroom. White urged the panel to decide the case based on the facts, rather than because King's ``philosophy is evil.''

``To silence their voice will not end their beliefs, it will confirm their beliefs,'' White said. ``Slap them in the face, they'll become angrier.''

But the last words jurors heard came from state Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, who assisted Dees in the case. Land told jurors it was up to them to define Clarendon County to the world.

``These men do not represent our county,'' Land said, pointing at King. `` . . . Now is the time to speak up as Clarendon County citizens and tell the world what we think of the grand dragon.''

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