I have had this under my skin for a while now, but with my eyes, it took a little time to do a wee bit of research. Last week Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson, in conjunction with the NAACP, announced that they were filing a federal lawsuit against several far right groups over the Capitol insurrection. The basis of their lawsuit is the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act.
In brief, the act goes back to post Civil War reconstruction. Following the enactment of civil voting rights, African Americans began getting elected, some going to Washington. Furious Klan groups started roaming around, threatening, beating, and in some cases even killing newly elected blacks to keep them from doing their jobs. It also covered federal officials in the South, administering the new rules and Reconstruction.
Thompson and the NAACP are not going after individuals with imprisonment in mind. Instead, they are going after the umbrella groups themselves, with the legal theory that the insurrection was sprung with the intent of stopping federal officers from performing their legal duties, in this case, certifying the electoral college vote. The suit, at least the last I saw is seeking unspecified civil financial damages from groups like The Proud Bois and The Oath Keepers.
In current legal environment where there are no actual domestic terrorism laws, due to civil liberties concerns, this current tactic is about as good as it gets. And the fact of the matter is that it’s already a proven winner. Most far right hate groups are fairly small, and run on a small budget. The current political and social environment makes it rather uncomfortable for anyone even thought of as a respectable citizen to be seen supporting racist hate groups.
- In 2008, a federal court judge ordered a Kentucky based Klan group to pony up $2.6 million in a civil settlement awarded by a jury previously. The judgement basically broke the group, forcing them to go so far as to sell office equipment and furniture from their headquarters.
- And in 2001, a Native American mother and son combination successfully sued the local chapter of the notorious Aryan Nation, and were awarded $6.3 million in damages. They were so successful that they not only beat the group, but had named the group’s leader personally in the lawsuit, and he ended up having to sell personal property he owned to put into the settlement kitty.
Hopefully, as the congressional investigations and hearings into the Capitol riot continue, and more information comes out as to just how strong and coordinated these hate groups have become, congress will act with legislation to assist local, state, and federal authorities to investigate and get a handle on these gangs. But until then, the path chosen by Benny Thompson and the NAACP is the best weapon we currently have available to make a dent in these cretins. And the best part is, as I showed above, properly applied and tried, it can work like a charm.
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It took too long but Alex Jones got his wings clipped due to getting sued by Sandy Hook parents. He’s not penniless and still makes some noise but nowhere near the amount of it he used to. And having had to formally acknowledge having told all those lies about Sandy Hook on the record he’d be in a world of hurt both financially and criminally if he tried to crank up that particular moneymaking machine again.
As you’ve noted with the KKK Act there’s a mechanism that’s been successfully used already and held up under appeal. It can be used both in civil and criminal legal actions. Sometimes the old stuff is still the best way to go. This is I think one of those times and one of those old pieces of legislation that needs to be pulled down off the shelf and once again be used to obtain some actual justice.
The SPLC has been using this tactic, suing the racists, for years.
They have indeed, and will never stop. I have supported them for years; they are some dedicated warriors.
From what I read the RNC gave the rioters of Jan. 6th money for expenses , Doesn’t that make them just as guilty ?