home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
AOL File Library: 9,300 to 9,399
/
9300.zip
/
AOLDLs
/
Legal Documents
/
Church Burning Civil Suit
/
KKKCMP2.txt
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
2014-12-11
|
10KB
|
313 lines
[Editor's Note: On June 21, 1995, the Macedonia Baptist Church in Bloomville, South
Carolina burned to the ground. In a suit filed August 22, 1996 against the
Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan-Invisible Empire and four of its
members who were indicted for their involvement in the church fire, the
church alleges that the fire was racially-motivated and designed to intimidate
the Church's congregation, disrupt its activities, and discourage it from
holding property in the area.]
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF CLARENDON
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
FOR THE THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH,
an unincorporated association;
Plaintiff,
v.
CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS OF THE KU
KLUX KLAN-INVISIBLE EMPIRE,
INC., a North Carolina corporation;
CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS OF THE KU
KLUX KLAN-INVISIBLE EMPIRE,
an unincorporated South Carolina
association; ARTHUR A. HALEY;
HUBERT "HERBERT" L. ROWELL;
TIMOTHY A. WELCH; and
GARY C. COX;
Defendants.
CIVIL ACTION NO. 96-CP-14-217
AMENDED COMPLAINT
Jury Trial Demanded
Nature of the Action
1. This is a civil action brought by the Macedonia Baptist
Church. The Church's place of religious worship was
destroyed by a fire that was authorized by an officer of
the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and set by its
members on June 21, 1995. The Church alleges that the fire
was racially-motivated and was designed to intimidate the
Church's congregation, disrupt its activities, and
discourage it from holding property in the area. The Church
seeks compensatory and punitive damages pursuant to South
Carolina's common law governing trespass.
Parties
2. The Macedonia Baptist Church ("Church") is an
unincorporated association. All the members of the Church
are African-Americans. Prior to being destroyed by the
defendants, the Church's place of worship was located on
property in the Bloomville area of Clarendon County. The
Church is the owner and possessor of the property.
3. The Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Invisible
Empire, Inc. ("Christian Knights") is a North Carolina
corporation conducting business in South Carolina.
4. The Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan -- Invisible
Empire ("Christian Knights") is an unincorporated
association conducting business in South Carolina. The
association is the South Carolina chapter and an agent of
Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Invisible Empire,
Inc.
5. Arthur Haley is an adult citizen and resident of
Clarendon County. He has been indicted by federal
authorities for his involvement in the Church fire. At the
time of the fire, Haley was an officer and agent of the
Christian Knights.
6. Hubert "Herbert" Rowell is an adult citizen and resident
of Clarendon County. He has been indicted by federal
authorities for his involvement in the Church fire. At the
time of the fire, Rowell was a member and agent of the
Christian Knights.
7. Timothy Welch is an adult citizen and resident of
Clarendon County. He has pled guilty to federal criminal
charges for his involvement in the Church fire. At the time
of the fire, Welch was a member and agent of the Christian
Knights.
8. Gary Cox is an adult citizen and resident of Clarendon
County. He has pled guilty to federal criminal charges for
his involvement in the Church fire. At the time of the
fire, Cox was a member and agent of the Christian Knights.
Jurisdiction and Venue
9. The Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to
S.C. Const. art. V, Sec. 11.
10. Venue is proper pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. Sec.
15-7-10(1). This action involves injury to real property
located in Clarendon County.
Statement of Facts
11. The Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was founded
by Virgil Griffin in Mt. Holly, North Carolina, in 1985. As
national leader of the organization, Griffin holds the
title of "Imperial Wizard." The Christian Knights have
chapters in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South
Carolina. Horace King is the "Grand Dragon" or leader of
the South Carolina chapter.
12. The Christian Knights are dedicated to the supremacy of
the white race and advocate the separation of white people
from minority groups. Membership in the organization is
limited to white persons of non-Jewish ancestry.
13. Upon information and belief, the Christian Knights
encourage their members to commit acts of violence and
intimidation against African-Americans to promote the
organization's white supremacist goals.
14. Upon information and belief, the Christian Knights
encourage their members to arm themselves with firearms in
preparation for a race war between blacks and whites.
Defendants Haley and Rowell have been indicted on federal
charges for illegal possession of firearms.
15. One of the tenets of the Christian Knights provides
that "a church that is not grounded on the principles of
morality and justice is a mockery to God and to man." Upon
information and belief, the Christian Knights instructs its
members that churches with predominantly black
congregations promote the interests of black persons to the
detriment of white persons.
16. Upon information and belief, on or about June 21, 1995:
a. defendants Haley, Rowell, Welch, and Cox met at Haley's
residence to discuss burning a church attended by black
parishioners. Haley selected the Macedonia Baptist Church
to be burned.
b. Haley, Rowell, Welch, and Cox willfully conspired and
agreed to injure and intimidate the members of the
Macedonia Baptist Church by setting fire to the Church's
place of worship in Clarendon County.
c. Haley, Rowell, Welch, and Cox agreed that Welch and Cox
would travel to the Church and set it afire.
d. Haley provided flammable liquids from a shed behind his
residence to use as accelerants in burning the Church.
e. Rowell mixed the flammable liquids in a plastic jug and
instructed Welch and Cox how to use the mixture to set the
Church afire.
f. Welch and Cox drove to the Church and forcibly entered
it through a locked side door.
g. Cox poured the flammable mixture on the Church's floor
and Welch ignited the mixture, setting the church afire.
The Church's building was completely destroyed by the fire.
17. Welch and Cox have pled guilty to setting the fire and
are awaiting federal sentencing. Haley and Rowell have been
indicted on federal charges for their involvement in the
fire.
18. The destruction of the plaintiff's Church was
undertaken pursuant to the Christian Knights' practice of
promoting their white supremacist goals through violent
means.
a. Haley, as officer and agent of the Christian Knights,
authorized, aided, and abetted the burning of the Church.
Haley, Rowell, Welch, and Cox, as members and agents of the
Christian Knights, aided and abetted each other in burning
the Church.
b. In the weeks preceding the fire, Haley, Rowell, Welch,
and Cox had attended several Klan meetings and rallies. On
at least one of those occasions, a speaker made disparaging
and inflammatory statements about black churches.
c. Less than a month before the fire, a Klan poster was
tacked to the Church's door. The poster was marked with a
skull and cross-bones and a picture of a hooded Klansman.
Another Klan poster was placed across the street from the
Church on a roadside stake.
Upon information and belief:
d. on or about June 20, 1995, hours before they destroyed
the plaintiff's church, Welch and Cox set fire to the Mount
Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in
Greeleyville, South Carolina.
e. on or about March 2, 1995, Haley, Rowell, and other
persons conspired to and set fire to the automobile of
Manuel Leroy Thompson, a black man.
f. on or about February 22,1995, Haley, Rowell, and a third
person conspired to and set fire to a migrant camp, located
off Cecil Road in the Bloomville area of Clarendon County,
that was used by Latino farm workers.
g. on or about October 17,1994, Rowell set fire to a
structure used by Manuel Leroy Thompson, a black man, at
the Clarendon County Service Center (a.k.a. Recycling
Center).
h. on or about October 12,1992, Rowell and other persons
set fire to a migrant camp, located off Liberty Church Road
in the Bloomville area of Clarendon County, that was used
by Latino farm workers.
Cause of Action -- Trespass
19. The defendants' willful entrance upon the Church's
property and their intentional destruction of the Church's
place of worship interfered with the plaintiff's right of
peaceful possession and quiet enjoyment of its property.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, plaintiff prays that this Honorable Court and
the jury award the plaintiff:
(1) compensatory damages for the destruction of its
property;
(2) punitive damages to punish the defendants for their
intentional and malicious acts and to deter others from
engaging in such acts; and
(3) any other relief that the Court deems necessary and
just.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/
Morris S. Dees
J. Richard Cohen
Marcia K. Bull
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 264-0286
/s/
Tom Turnipseed
Peter Tepley
1337 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 252-9000
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I have served a true and correct copy
of plaintiff's Amended Complaint by first-class mail,
postage prepaid, on the 21st of August, 1996, on the
persons listed below:
Wm. Gary White, III
2009 Lincoln Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201-2003
Timothy Welch
Berkeley County Jail
300 California Avenue
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
Gary Cox
Berkeley County Jail
300 California Avenue
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
/s/
Morris S. Dees
J. Richard Cohen
Marcia K. Bull
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 264 0286
/s/
Tom Turnipseed
Peter Tepley
1337 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 252-9000
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF