GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301 102 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 919 275-6589
PRESS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
DATE: 6/ 25/81
FROM: GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 275-6589 (919) in Greensboro
"U.S. ATTORNEY RECOMMENDS PROSECUTION IN GREENSBORO MASSACRE CASE"
On Wednesday, June 24, U.S. Attorney H.M. Michaux stated to the press that he had
made recommendations to the Washington office of the Justice Department that criminal
indictments be brought against some of those responsible for the killings of five
Communist Workers Party members in Greensboro, N.C, November 3, 1979.
Michaux sent the recommendations to Washington on May 5, 1981, but was instructed at
that time not to make public their content. According to the Winston-Salem Journal,
his comments on Wednesday, his last day in office, came after continued urgings on the
part of his superiors to remain mum.
Michaux criticized the department for not acting sooner on his recommendations. "I
am really disappointed. It didn't take me six or seven months to come up vith my
conclusions and they are far smarter than I am."
John Wilson, a Justice Department spokesman, refused to comment on Michaux's recommendations, and stated that it would take "months" before a decision on prosecution is
reached.
Michaux said that November's acquittal of six Klan and Nazis in Greensboro Superior
Court "stunned" him, and that he has been investigating the possibility of bringing
federal civil rights charges since that time.
In a Greensboro Daily News interview, Klansman Jerry Paul Smith, one of the defendants in the Klan/Nazi trial, reacted violently. "Y ou can take...(Michaux) and bury
him just like they buried Sandi Smith." Sandi Smith, a black textile anion organizer,
was one of those killed at the anti-Klan rally. Michaux isthe first black US Attorney
in NorthCarolina.
Earl Tockman, a lawyer for the Greensboro Justice Fund which is filing suit against
Klan, Nazis, and federal, state and local agents involved in the November 3 murders,
commended Michaux for his recommendations for prosecution. "It is extremely significant
that a U.S. Attorney, after a lengthy and thorough investigation, has strongly
recommended criminal prosecution of at least some of those responsible for the
November 3 assassinations"
GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301 102 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 919 275-6589
PRESS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
DATE: 6/ 25/81
FROM: GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 275-6589 (919) in Greensboro
"U.S. ATTORNEY RECOMMENDS PROSECUTION IN GREENSBORO MASSACRE CASE"
On Wednesday, June 24, U.S. Attorney H.M. Michaux stated to the press that he had
made recommendations to the Washington office of the Justice Department that criminal
indictments be brought against some of those responsible for the killings of five
Communist Workers Party members in Greensboro, N.C, November 3, 1979.
Michaux sent the recommendations to Washington on May 5, 1981, but was instructed at
that time not to make public their content. According to the Winston-Salem Journal,
his comments on Wednesday, his last day in office, came after continued urgings on the
part of his superiors to remain mum.
Michaux criticized the department for not acting sooner on his recommendations. "I
am really disappointed. It didn't take me six or seven months to come up vith my
conclusions and they are far smarter than I am."
John Wilson, a Justice Department spokesman, refused to comment on Michaux's recommendations, and stated that it would take "months" before a decision on prosecution is
reached.
Michaux said that November's acquittal of six Klan and Nazis in Greensboro Superior
Court "stunned" him, and that he has been investigating the possibility of bringing
federal civil rights charges since that time.
In a Greensboro Daily News interview, Klansman Jerry Paul Smith, one of the defendants in the Klan/Nazi trial, reacted violently. "Y ou can take...(Michaux) and bury
him just like they buried Sandi Smith." Sandi Smith, a black textile anion organizer,
was one of those killed at the anti-Klan rally. Michaux isthe first black US Attorney
in NorthCarolina.
Earl Tockman, a lawyer for the Greensboro Justice Fund which is filing suit against
Klan, Nazis, and federal, state and local agents involved in the November 3 murders,
commended Michaux for his recommendations for prosecution. "It is extremely significant
that a U.S. Attorney, after a lengthy and thorough investigation, has strongly
recommended criminal prosecution of at least some of those responsible for the
November 3 assassinations"
