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COMMUNIST WORKERS PARTY
GPO BOX 2256
NEW YORK, NY 10001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Marion Yuen
May 1, 1980 (212) 233-0988
FELONY INDICTMENTS: MORE VICTIMS BLAMED FOR U.S. GOVERNMENT CRIMES
Tomorrow May 2, the Greensboro N.C. District Attorney M. Schlosser
will present indictments before a Grand Jury against six anti-klan
demonstrators present at the November 3 rally when Klan/Nazi gunmen
assassinated five members of the Communist Workers Party. Among the
six anti-klan demonstrators who will be charged with felony, inciting
to riot and possibly other counts are: Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella,
Dori Blitz and Allen Blitz.
Nelson Johnson, leading Communist Workers Party member in N.C.
and well-known Greensboro activist, and Rand Manzella, CWP supporter,
as well as Wellena Cannon, CWP supporter had been scheduled to face
trial on misdemeanor charges on May 5.
District Attorney Schlosser's request for indictments will pro-,
bably be approved and attempts will be made to arrest the six anti-klan
demonstrators. The six have declared that they will not turn themselves
in to the police. They will appear together tomorrow, May 2 at 9 a.m.
press conference in Greensboro. To prevent the distinct possibility
of police violence, the CWP is calling on observers to attend the
Greensboro press conference tomorrow.
The bail requested for each of the six will be $15,000. This must
be contrasted to the low bail of $4,000 set for Klan/Nazi charged with
shooting in the murders of the five CWP members last November 3.
It has always been CWP's position and it is clear to all honest
observers that the assassinations of the CWP 5 were planned and directed
by the highest levels of state and federal governments and FBI. Tomorrow's request for felony indictments completely confirms this view.
While the police never apprehended 21 of the 35 Klan/Nazi that attacked
the November 3 anti-klan rally in the Black community of Morningside in
Greensboro, the police arrived after the murders to immediately'arrest
the Greensboro 3 — Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella and Willena Cannon.
To further impose their upside down justice and blame the CWP members
and supporters for the deaths of their comrades, the government, through
the district attorney, is delivering felony charges against Nelson
Johnson, Rand Manzella and four other anti-klan demonstrators.
Meanwhile the conspiracy to murder charges against all apprehended
Klan/Nazi assassins have been dropped. The trial of six Klan/Nazi
assassins have been postponed to June while a second group of five
assassins with "less degree of cupability" will be even later. Raefford
Caudel, the man who owned many of the weapons and whose car brought
many weapons to Greensboro, has been cleared of all charges.
The government must deliver these indictments against the anti-klan
demonstrators tomorrow before the trial of the Greensboro 2 on May 5
and the trial of the Klan/Nazi assassins in June. In doing so they
/over
Object Description
| Title | Felony indictments: More victims blamed for U.S. government crimes |
| Date | 1980-05-01 |
| Creator | Communist Workers Party U.S.A. |
| Contributors | Yuen, Marion |
| Biographical/historical note |
The Communist Workers Party (CWP) was a Maoist group in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the Workers' Viewpoint Organization. The party is mainly remembered for the "Greensboro Massacre", a November 3, 1979 Death to the Klan march that left five of the CWP protesters dead. The CWP emphasized unionization and self-determination for African-Americans and enjoyed some success in textile cities of North Carolina. The party established branches in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Greensboro, West Virginia, Colorado and other locations. Prior to its reorganization as a political party, the group had been known as the Workers Viewpoint Organization. Under this umbrella, it directed groups as the Revolutionary Youth League, the African Liberation Support Committee, and the Trade Union Education League. Confrontations with the Klan were particularly acute in Greensboro, where the Klan attempted to disrupt the work of the CWP and vice versa. In July, 1979, the Klan held a rally and viewing of The Birth of a Nation in China Grove, N.C., which was disrupted by CWP members who burned a Confederate flag and taunted members of the KKK. There were also challenges in the press. These provocations were a precursor to the November 3, 1979. "Death to the Klan!" rally organized by the CWP. Members of the Klan were armed, as were some members of the CWP. Two members of the CWP and three rally participants were killed in the assault by the KKK. This was the incident that became known as the "Greensboro Massacre". In response to the acquittal of the accused killers, the CWP attempted to storm the 1980 Democratic National Convention and succeeded in setting off firecrackers in Madison Square Garden. Subsequent to the Greensboro massacre, the group moved towards a social democratic formation that would work for peaceful transition to socialism; it dissolved the Communist Workers Party and formed the New Democratic Movement in 1985. The New Democratic Movement lasted but a few years. The Greensboro Justice Fund is a still extant remnant of this movement. |
| Subject headings | Greensboro Massacre, Greensboro, N.C., 1979 |
| Topics | Greensboro Massacre, 1979 |
| Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
| Description | This May 1, 1980 press release, issued by the Communist Workers Party (CWP), discusses the charges against six CWP supporters present at the November 3, 1979, Death to the Klan march (also known as the Greensboro Massacre). Indictments were scheduled for May 2, 1980, and the press release notes that the bail requested for CWP supporters charged with inciting to riot was higher than that set for the accused murderers of five CWP members who were killed at the march. The CWP accuses the state and federal governments of arranging the murders and of blaming the victims. It is mentioned that the defendants will represent themselves. The CWP demands that charges be dropped, that thirty-five Ku Klux Klan and Nazi party members be prosecuted for their roles in the murders, and that all law enforcement documents related to the event be made public. |
| Type | text |
| Original format | reports |
| Original dimensions | 8.5" x 11" |
| Original publisher | Greensboro, N.C. : Communist Workers Party U.S.A. |
| Language | en |
| Contributing institution | Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University |
| Source collection | RL.00134 Blanche M. Boyd Papers |
| Finding aid link | http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/boyd/ |
| Rights statement | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Additional rights information | IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse. |
| Object ID | Duke_RL.00134.1200 |
| Digital publisher | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/ |
| Sponsor | LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html |
| OCLC number | 884367503 |
Page/Item Description
| Title | 4.66.1200-01 |
| Full text | COMMUNIST WORKERS PARTY GPO BOX 2256 NEW YORK, NY 10001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Marion Yuen May 1, 1980 (212) 233-0988 FELONY INDICTMENTS: MORE VICTIMS BLAMED FOR U.S. GOVERNMENT CRIMES Tomorrow May 2, the Greensboro N.C. District Attorney M. Schlosser will present indictments before a Grand Jury against six anti-klan demonstrators present at the November 3 rally when Klan/Nazi gunmen assassinated five members of the Communist Workers Party. Among the six anti-klan demonstrators who will be charged with felony, inciting to riot and possibly other counts are: Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella, Dori Blitz and Allen Blitz. Nelson Johnson, leading Communist Workers Party member in N.C. and well-known Greensboro activist, and Rand Manzella, CWP supporter, as well as Wellena Cannon, CWP supporter had been scheduled to face trial on misdemeanor charges on May 5. District Attorney Schlosser's request for indictments will pro-, bably be approved and attempts will be made to arrest the six anti-klan demonstrators. The six have declared that they will not turn themselves in to the police. They will appear together tomorrow, May 2 at 9 a.m. press conference in Greensboro. To prevent the distinct possibility of police violence, the CWP is calling on observers to attend the Greensboro press conference tomorrow. The bail requested for each of the six will be $15,000. This must be contrasted to the low bail of $4,000 set for Klan/Nazi charged with shooting in the murders of the five CWP members last November 3. It has always been CWP's position and it is clear to all honest observers that the assassinations of the CWP 5 were planned and directed by the highest levels of state and federal governments and FBI. Tomorrow's request for felony indictments completely confirms this view. While the police never apprehended 21 of the 35 Klan/Nazi that attacked the November 3 anti-klan rally in the Black community of Morningside in Greensboro, the police arrived after the murders to immediately'arrest the Greensboro 3 — Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella and Willena Cannon. To further impose their upside down justice and blame the CWP members and supporters for the deaths of their comrades, the government, through the district attorney, is delivering felony charges against Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella and four other anti-klan demonstrators. Meanwhile the conspiracy to murder charges against all apprehended Klan/Nazi assassins have been dropped. The trial of six Klan/Nazi assassins have been postponed to June while a second group of five assassins with "less degree of cupability" will be even later. Raefford Caudel, the man who owned many of the weapons and whose car brought many weapons to Greensboro, has been cleared of all charges. The government must deliver these indictments against the anti-klan demonstrators tomorrow before the trial of the Greensboro 2 on May 5 and the trial of the Klan/Nazi assassins in June. In doing so they /over |
