First Published: Workers Viewpoint, Vol. 4, No. 19, November 12, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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The assassination of five Communist Workers Party members Saturday, November 3rd, was a combined attack by Nazi-Klansmen and U.S. government agents.
The publicly announced starting point of the rally was the Windsor Center. The Communist Workers Party chose the actual starting point of the march, however, to be the Morningside Houses housing project. The Communist Workers Party then filed for a permit to demonstrate with the Greensboro Police Department. The Police Department were the only persons, other than the march organizers, to know the true location of the rally. None-the-less the Nazi-Klan caravan knew the exact location of the rally and drove directly to the site an hour before the rally was scheduled to begin. Obviously, someone in the Police Department told the Nazi-Klan caravan where the rally was to be held.
The Greensboro Police Department issued a specific ordinance denying the Communist Workers Party the right to carry open or concealed weapons at this demonstration. The police guaranteed that the marchers would be disarmed, and set-up the Communist Workers Party for the kill.
The police were not at the rally because someone in the Police Department tipped them off not to be there. The Police Department has issued a number of lies and conflicting reports to explain why they withdrew from the rally prior to the assassinations.
First, Police Chief W.E. Swing says in a news report dated November 5th, that police did not attend the rally because Communist Workers Party Nelson Johnson told the police not to come, “Johnson and other march organizers told officers to stay away,”[editor’s emphasis] (Greensboro Record, Nov. 5). However, in a news report dated November 4th, Chief Swing stated that “Johnson wouldn’t talk to officers and became belligerent.” The truth is that Nelson Johnson and other Communist Workers Party members did not talk to the police, and told them neither to come or not to come. Police Chief Swing is telling a big lie, groping at an excuse to cover for why the police withdrew from the rally prior to the assassinations.
Second, Police Captain Hampton said that the police did not come to the rally because “We don’t, as a normal routine, sit in front of the site of a peaceable, legal, legitimate gathering.” (Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 4th). Did the police really expect a “peaceful” demonstration as Captain Hampton says or did they expect violence? “Yes, we felt there could be some violence”, (Police Chief Swing. The Greensboro Record, Nov. 5) In fact, the Greensboro Record reported that “police had extra men on duty Saturday, including the riot-trained tactical squad ...”
Clearly, the police expected a violent confrontation with the Klan; they even had the riot squad on duty. Still, the police withdrew their forces from the Anti-Klan rally and allowed the Nazi-Klan caravan to pass unchecked into the site of the rally. Again, someone in the Police Department was tipped-off not to come to the rally.
The strongest evidence of a premeditated government attack on the Communist Workers Party is that four of the five comrades were leading Party members, including Jim Waller, a member of the Central Committee. North Carolina’s Chief Medical examiner, Dr. Page Hudson, confirmed that all five had been “hit in the head and upper-body” (Winston-Salem Journal, Nov. 6, pg. 2). Yet in an eyewitness account by Greensboro Daily News reporter Winston Calvin says that the KKKers and Nazis “didn’t really have time to aim for specific targets. They simply fired broadside into a group.” (Nov. 4, 1979, pg. A4) Clearly, the assassins, using the confusion of the battle knew exactly who were Party leaders and were expert marksmen. Neither the Klan nor the Nazis have this combination of knowledge and ability–but the government does.
The latest arrest of Nazi-Klansmen is a cover-up for a government plot to murder Communist Workers Party leadership. The 12 Nazi-Klansmen arrested include some of the killers, but the professional assassins responsible for the murder of leading Communist Workers Party members escaped. According to the Greensboro Record (Nov. 5th): “Some of the killers then carefully packed their weapons into the trunk of an auto and sped away before police arrived. A van loaded with attackers were stopped and occupants arrested.” According to the Greensboro Daily News (Nov. 4th) “But not all the Klansmen who passed the scene were caught. Several of the lead cars apparently got away without being stopped.”
In a press conference, Police Chief Swing could not explain how the white vehicle which police are still looking for was able to leave the area without being intercepted by police (Greensboro Record). Chief Swing stated that after the shooting erupted, which reportedly lasted for two minutes, “officers responded in less than a minute” (Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 4th). This is an obvious lie, the police did not respond immediately to the shooting, and several vehicles got away. Mayor Jim Melvin, however, “strongly defended the police handling of the situation,” (Ibid).
Despite the fact that several cars got away, one of them a white four door sedan reportedly containing seven white males, the police claim they have most of the murderers are under arrest and are narrowing their search to a single Nazi leader. Not a word is being spoken about the several cars that sped away which includes the professional government assassins responsible for most of the murders. According to an eyewitness report, Winston Calvin, “...I saw four or five men step from an old compact sedan and aim guns at the turbulent, scuffling crowd.” The arrest of Nazi-Klansmen is a cover for the escape of the government agents who targeted out leading Communist Workers Party members for assassination.