Incident Summary:
05/26/1979: Members of the Ku Klux Klan, armed with guns, clubs, and sticks, disrupted a march of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Decatur, Alabama, United States. The march was in support of a mentally disabled black man who was charged with raping a white woman, and convicted by an all-white jury. During the march, Klansmen blocked the street, disobeyed police orders to allow the marchers to pass, and opened gunfire, injuring two black marchers and five law enforcements officials. Two Klansmen were also shot and wounded. In May 1984, ten Klansmen were charged in federal court for civil rights violations in a violent disruption of black marchers and police, and nine of the men were charged with the conspiracy of use of force or threat of force for purposes of intimidating parade participants because of their race. By January 1989, all ten Klan members had either been found guilty or pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them in this incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
197905260007
When:
1979-05-26
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Alabama
City:
Decatur
Location Details:
at Southern Christian Leadership Conference march
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Alabama Police |
Specific Description |
police |
Nationality of Target |
United States |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
a group of black marchers during a Southern Christian Leadership Conference parade, who were marching in support of a black man who was previously charged for the rape of a white woman |
Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Weapon Details |
guns, clubs, and sticks |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
The perpetrators were Roger D. Handley, William D. Riccio, Ray W. Steele, David L. Kelso, Terry J. Tucker, William J. Mason, Lenwood L. White, Ricky L. Creekmore, Derane O. Godfrey, and Jack R. Mize. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Ku Klux Klan |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
10 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
10 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 9 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
9 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
7 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
2 |
Sources
Sources
Michael J. Sniffen, The Associated Press, May 17, 1984. |
Jerry Schwartz, "Guilty Pleas Close Case Against 10 Klan Members," New York Times, January 10, 1989. |
Christopher Hewitt, "Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology," Praeger Security International, 2005. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties