Federal prosecution in the case of the Greensboro massacre

              GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301     102 North Elm Street    Greensboro, North Carolina 27401     919 275-6589
FEDERAL PROSECUTION IN THE CASE OF THE GREENSBORO MASSACRE
Mr. Michaux's Recommendation
On June 24, 1981, Mr. H. M. Michaux, then U.S. Attorney, stated to the press
that on May 5th, 1981, he had recommended to the Justice Department that they proceed
with indicting and prosecuting participants in the November 3, 1979 attack on the
anti-klan demonstration in Greensboro which left 5 people dead, for criminal violations of the evil rights statutes. The bases for his decision were (1) his research,
including conferences with legal experts and examination of the evidence; and
(2) the human factors - the deaths of five people, that an innocent neighborhood
was terrorized, and that non-prosecution is a license to terrorist groups. He said
that while there were difficult legal questions, he felt that they should be resolved
by the courts.
Confusion has been projected through the media on two basic and extremely
important points:  (1) who is the intended target of Mr. Michaux's recommendation
and (2) that the victims (the demonstrators) have been and are a "hold up" in the
Justice Department's attempt to fil charges and prosecute civil rights violations
for November 3rd. Both of these areas of confusion serve to continue the view
that those who committed the crime and the victims are equally to blame and this
confusion tends to undercut public support for vigorous prosecution of Klansmen,
Nazis and other parties responsible for the deaths of November 3rd.
(a) Confusion on the intended target of Mr. Michaux's recommendation:
In an Associated Press (AP) story carried in the June 25 Durham Morning Herald,
the headline was "Rally Charges Urged; Possibly Klan, Nazis, CWP". The story also
said that Mr. Michaux indicated that charges could be brought against Klansmen,
Nazis and supporters of CWP. The article, which is attached, tends to suggest
that the victims are equally responsible for the deaths of November 3rd. AP stories
are carried nationally throughout the country. A similar statement suggesting
that anti-klan demonstrators could be indicted based on Michaux's recommendation
appeared in the June 25 Winston-Salem Journal.
There is no basis for this view. One Tuesday, June 23, Mr. Michaux, at his
office, informed Nelson Johnson that his recommendation had been that charges be
brought against the six Klan/Nazi defendants (from the state court proceeding) and
other Klan/Nazi participants under sections 241 and 245(b)(4) of the Civil Rights
Act of 1871.  (Section 241 prohibits conspiracies against the rights of citizens
and section 245 prohibits interference with legally protected activities for a
discriminatory motive.)  On Thursday, June 25, Mr. Michaux confirmed this information
with Nelson Johnson by phone. Mr. Michaux further stated that demonstrators could
not be prosecuted under the civil rights statutes and that it would be difficult,
in his opinion, to prosecute them under any other federal statute.
(b) Confusion on the victims "holding up" the bringing of civil rights violation charges:
In the Greensboro Record of June 25, 1981, the headline read "Michaux: Indict
Klansmen - Agent Says Mum CWP A Hold Up".  This headline gives the false impression
that "mum CWP' is a "hold up" to indicting the Klan and Nazis. Actually the story
about the Justice Dept. employee and FBI agent Cecil Moses does not really deal