%
GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301 102 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 919 275-6589
or 273-6527
PRESS STATEMENT - July 9, 1982 477-6076
Greensboro Justice Fund Says FBI Lied About Involvement in Nov. 3rd Murders,
Calls for Appointment of Special Prosecutor
Yesterday (July 8, 1982) Ms. Daisy Crawford from Spencer, N.C. revealed in a
Raleigh press conference that she had been interviewed by FBI agents about a week
before the November 3rd murders and shown pictures of Sandi Smith, one of the
anti-klan demonstrators killed Nov. 3rd. She said the encounter not only frightened
her into cancelling her plans to attend the march and conference, but led her to
believe the FBI was involved in the subsequent shootings. The Greensboro Justice
Fund agrees with Ms. Crawford's conclusion. This new information about government
complicity again shows the need for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
The revelation from Ms. Crawford is actually only the most recent in a long
chain of facts implicating the government:
1) Shortly after the murders, Andrew Pelczar of the Greensboro FBI publicly
admitted the FBI was investigating the CWP in the weeks before Nov. 3rd. Soon
thereafter, however, the Washington office of the FBI denied that any such
investigation occurred. Now we have proof that the FBI was at least "investigating"
the CWP and showed a picture of a person who was murdered by a shot between the
eyes shortly thereafter.
2) The FBI righteously claimed (on TV) that they had no prior knowledge of
potential trouble on Nov. 3rd. Yet Klan leader Joe Grady testified to the Winston-
Salem grand jury that he met with and informed the FBI a few days prior to
November 3rd that there might be trouble.
3) Greensboro police informant Edward Dawson, who organized and lead the
Klan/Nazi caravan containing dozens of firearms which terrorized an entire
housing project and murdered and injured many of the demonstrators, was a longtime FBI informant. And Dawson told the Institute for Southern Studies that he
spoke with the FBI during his preparations for the November 3rd caravan.
The reasonable conclusion from such information is that the FBI has lied in
saying that they did not expect violence Nov. 3rd; that the FBI surveilled the
people killed and tried to cover it up; and that the FBI was in touch with the
Klan prior to Nov. 3rd.
Add to this the fact that former Nazi Roger Shannon testified before the
grand jury that BATF agent Bernard Butkovich, who was acting undercover as a
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Greensboro Justice Fund says FBI lied about involvement in Nov. 3rd murders, calls for appointment of special prosecutor
Date
1982-07-09
Creator
Greensboro Justice Fund
Subject headings
Greensboro Massacre, Greensboro, N.C., 1979
Topics
Greensboro Massacre, 1979
Place
Greensboro (N.C.)
Description
This July 9, 1982 press release from the Greensboro Justice Fund outlines various pieces of evidence which point to FBI involvement in the murder of five Communist Workers Party members at the Death to the Klan march in Greensboro, North Carolina, on November 3, 1979. Due to potential FBI involvement, the Greensboro Justice Fund is requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor in the current federal grand jury investigation.
Type
text
Original format
reports
Original dimensions
8.5" x 11"
Original publisher
Greensboro, N.C. : Greensboro Justice Fund
Language
en
Contributing institution
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
%
GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301 102 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 919 275-6589
or 273-6527
PRESS STATEMENT - July 9, 1982 477-6076
Greensboro Justice Fund Says FBI Lied About Involvement in Nov. 3rd Murders,
Calls for Appointment of Special Prosecutor
Yesterday (July 8, 1982) Ms. Daisy Crawford from Spencer, N.C. revealed in a
Raleigh press conference that she had been interviewed by FBI agents about a week
before the November 3rd murders and shown pictures of Sandi Smith, one of the
anti-klan demonstrators killed Nov. 3rd. She said the encounter not only frightened
her into cancelling her plans to attend the march and conference, but led her to
believe the FBI was involved in the subsequent shootings. The Greensboro Justice
Fund agrees with Ms. Crawford's conclusion. This new information about government
complicity again shows the need for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
The revelation from Ms. Crawford is actually only the most recent in a long
chain of facts implicating the government:
1) Shortly after the murders, Andrew Pelczar of the Greensboro FBI publicly
admitted the FBI was investigating the CWP in the weeks before Nov. 3rd. Soon
thereafter, however, the Washington office of the FBI denied that any such
investigation occurred. Now we have proof that the FBI was at least "investigating"
the CWP and showed a picture of a person who was murdered by a shot between the
eyes shortly thereafter.
2) The FBI righteously claimed (on TV) that they had no prior knowledge of
potential trouble on Nov. 3rd. Yet Klan leader Joe Grady testified to the Winston-
Salem grand jury that he met with and informed the FBI a few days prior to
November 3rd that there might be trouble.
3) Greensboro police informant Edward Dawson, who organized and lead the
Klan/Nazi caravan containing dozens of firearms which terrorized an entire
housing project and murdered and injured many of the demonstrators, was a longtime FBI informant. And Dawson told the Institute for Southern Studies that he
spoke with the FBI during his preparations for the November 3rd caravan.
The reasonable conclusion from such information is that the FBI has lied in
saying that they did not expect violence Nov. 3rd; that the FBI surveilled the
people killed and tried to cover it up; and that the FBI was in touch with the
Klan prior to Nov. 3rd.
Add to this the fact that former Nazi Roger Shannon testified before the
grand jury that BATF agent Bernard Butkovich, who was acting undercover as a
|. '■".'•:....'
■■• « ■■ - •*>■*& •■■