Virgil Griffin | Klan leader, 64
Virgil Griffin, 64, who led a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina that was involved in a deadly 1979 clash with members of the Communist Workers Party, died Wednesday in Mount Holly, N.C., his son James said. He did not give a cause of death.
Virgil Griffin, 64, who led a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina that was involved in a deadly 1979 clash with members of the Communist Workers Party, died Wednesday in Mount Holly, N.C., his son James said. He did not give a cause of death.
Griffin, a member of the Klan for 40 years, became known nationally when five communist marchers were killed in a clash with members of the Klan in Greensboro. He was imperial wizard of the Cleveland Knights of the KKK.
Griffin was tried and cleared of state murder charges and federal civil-rights conspiracy charges. Several Klan members also were acquitted of murder charges in state court. - AP