Thread by @egavactip

This is a thread about a Ku Klux Klan group that got what was coming to them when they messed with the wrong people in North Carolina in 1958.

If you'd like to know more, read on.

The story starts with James "Catfish" Cole, a Klan leader in North & South Carolina in the 1950s/1960s. Cole usually tried to terrorize Black Americans, but in the late 1950s he expanded his hate to Robeson County, where the local population was divided between whites, Blacks &

Native Americans, primarily Lumbee Indians. In early 1958, Cole and his fellow Klansman staged two separate cross-burning incidents to intimidate local Native Americans. Then Cole made a mistake, deciding to up the ante by holding a public Klan rally near Maxton, N.C.

The thing about public Ku Klux Klan rallies is that, well, they are public. As news spread of the upcoming anti-Indian Klan rally, local Native Americans got angry--and began buying guns.

[note racist language in below headline; this was typical of a lot of the coverage]

Despite local opposition and warnings, Cole was determined to have his Klan rally.

However, Cole's Klansmen did bring their own guns, setting the stage for a possible bloody encounter.

Cole did get nervous and demanded police protection.

Well, Cole and his Klansmen showed up. And the Native Americans of Robeson County showed up in force; estimates ranged from between several hundred people and a thousand. They meant business, firing hundreds of shots--mostly up into the air, to scare the Klansmen, who certainly

were scared. They shot the single light at the rally, plunging the area into darkness, and then stormed the field where the rally was to take place. Some Klansmen fled, as did their supporters who had come out to see them, while others huddled together around a car until the

state police showed up to bail them out of their self-created jam.

The anti-Klan counterprotesters even seized Klan flags and regalia left behind by the fleeing white supremacists.

A couple of people were wounded by shotgun pellets, but none too seriously. One of those wounded was a local reporter.

One of the leaders of the anti-Klan opposition was Simeon Oxendine (on the right, below), a Native American, VFW commander and son of the mayor of Maxton. He said, "I told the boys to take it easy. Slap 'em around a little, if you have to, but don't hurt 'em."

In the aftermath, Cole--the Klan leader--claimed he was discriminated against. But injury was about to be added to insult for Cole, as the county sheriff announced he was going to call for an indictment against Cole for inciting a riot.

The news probably wiped the smile off of Cole's face.

Cole was extradited from his home in South Carolina to stand trial in North Carolina (he was later allowed to post bond). Meanwhile, his Klan group foundered and some members deserted him.

Cole went on trial in March 1958. Trials of Ku Klux Klansmen in the Jim Crow south in the 1950s were no sure thing. All it would take would be one juror to refuse to convict.

But the jury in this case *did* convict Cole--and on the first ballot, at that. The judge sentenced Cole to 18 months "on the roads" (sounds like a chain gang) for inciting a riot.

Cole served his time--but not having learned any lessons, went back to Ku-Kluxing, gradually rebuilding his reputation among other white supremacists. In 1967, he was arrested for a cross-burning, but never even saw trial for it, as he died in a car accident shortly thereafter.

Simeon Oxendine, on the other hand, had a long and happy life as a local civic leader, becoming a member of the town council and the county board of education.