The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center’s “What Is True?” team investigated claims circulating on social media that the Ku Klux Klan has never been officially designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. federal government.
RESULT: True.
While laws are in place to combat the Ku Klux Klan, federal law does not allow the U.S. government to designate a domestic organization as a “terrorist organization” and restricts that title to foreign organizations. To learn more about the history of the KKK, read the full fact-check below.
In May, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History publicly released a collection of 1960s-era KKK materials recovered from Department of Public Safety storage. The release triggered online debate about the Klan’s activities. One question kept coming up in social media comments: Has the Ku Klux Klan ever been officially designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. federal government?
The answer is no. Federal law defines domestic terrorism, but the federal government has no legal mechanism to formally designate domestic groups, including the KKK, as terrorist organizations. Only foreign groups, such as the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, can receive that designation through the State Department.
However, history is more complex. In 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act, authorizing the federal government to prosecute Klan members and use military force to suppress the organization’s campaign of racial violence. The U.S. Department of Justice, created in 1870, was immediately used to arrest and convict hundreds of Klansmen.
Marian Allen, founder of the Laurel-Jones County Black History Museum and Art Facility, said the 1871 act effectively treated the Klan as a terrorist group.
“Terrorist organizations are described as anyone who uses violence, intimidation or murder to enforce their white supremacy,” Allen said. “The Klan was and is an organization that does exactly that.”
The MDAH collection contains Klan charters, meeting minutes and propaganda. It is available to researchers and the general public online and at the MDAH research library.
Incoming MDAH Director Barry White said the records “will give researchers broader access to documentation that deepens our understanding of Ku Klux Klan activities in Mississippi during the 1960s.”
About “What Is True?”
The RHCJC “What Is True?” team of graduate investigators examines everything from viral online posts to local community rumors. If you have a question, submit it to the “What Is True?” inquiry form on the RHCJC website or call 855-IS-IT-TRU (855-474-8878).
