Roy Frankhouser
Roy Everett Frankhouser, Jr. (also spelled "Frankhauser"; November 4, 1939 – May 15, 2009) was a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan,[1] a member of the American Nazi Party, a government informant, and a security consultant to Lyndon LaRouche. Frankhouser was reported by federal officials to have been arrested at least 142 times.[2] In 2003 he told a reporter, "I'm accused of everything from the sinking of the Titanic to landing on the moon."[3] He was convicted of federal crimes in at least three cases, including dealing in stolen explosives and obstruction of justice. Irwin Suall, of the Anti-Defamation League, called Frankhouser "a thread that runs through the history of American hate groups."[4]
Biography
Early years
Frankhouser was born in
When he was 19 he met
Dan Burros, a prominent member of the American Nazi Party, committed suicide in Frankhouser's apartment in 1965 upon seeing the headline of a New York Times article revealing Burros's Jewish background.[1]
Frankhouser became the Grand Dragon of Pennsylvania in 1965.
In 1972, he marched down
Frankhouser was convicted of conspiring to sell 240 pounds (110 kg) of stolen
LaRouche trial
Frankhouser became a security consultant for political activist
LaRouche was called as a defense witness in Frankhouser's trial but he refused to testify, exercising his
Clayton trial
Starting in the 1980s he appeared regularly on Berks County
He was arrested April 28, 1993, for stabbing a KKK guard at a Klan convention. He testified that he was ambushed by the guard and several skinheads, and that he defended himself with his Swiss Army knife. He was acquitted of the crime due to self-defense.[8]
In 1995 he was convicted in a federal court in Boston of advising the mother of Brian Clayton, the white supremacist head of the "New Dawn Hammerskins" gang, to destroy evidence linking her son to the desecration of synagogues and to attacks on black residents.[8] Frankhouser had been harboring Clayton, who was sought by the FBI, for nine months. At the time, Frankhouser was described by the U.S. Attorney as the leader of the Pale Riders faction of the KKK.[26] US District Court Judge Patti B. Saris sentenced him to 25 months in prison. On appeal, one count of obstruction of justice was overturned while another was affirmed.[27]
Jouhari trial
According to a 1997 complaint, Frankhouser, then
Later years
Frankhouser became the pastor of the Mountain Church of Jesus Christ, an arm of Robert E. Miles' movement.[11] Frankhouser held services in his home, and sought a property tax exemption for the row house. The house reportedly had a small worship room with a makeshift altar, Klan flags, and pictures of Adolf Hitler and cross burnings. In 1998, Berks County tax officials refused to recognize it as a legitimate church on the grounds that Frankhouser could not provide adequate proof that he was an ordained minister.[31]
Frankhouser fought with Lancaster, Pennsylvania, officials in 2001 over their restrictions on demonstrations by the KKK.[32] He called himself a spokesman for the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; however, doubts were expressed in both the KKK and anti-hate communities over whether Frankhouser had any actual connection to the group.[33]
Death
Frankhouser died of a heart attack at the Spruce Manor Nursing Home in West Reading, Pennsylvania, where he had resided since 2006. He had no known survivors. There was a parade in Reading, PA a few days later.
References
- ^ a b "From Jew to Jew-hater: the curious life (and death) of Daniel Burros" Archived 2008-10-16 at the Wayback Machine by William Bryk in New York Press, February 25, 2003
- ^ a b HOLMES, STEVEN A. (May 12, 2000). "White Supremacist Agrees to Make a Public Apology to Victim". New York Times.
- ^ SULOK, NANCY J. (July 28, 2003). "Goal is to avoid confrontations at White Pride Fest". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Ind. p. 1.
- ^ a b SHENON, PHILIP (October 8, 1986). "LAROUCHE WARNS U.S. ON ANY MOVE TO ARREST HIM". New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gemperlein, Joyce (November 10, 1986). "LAROUCHE PROBE SNARES MAN WITH A PAST OF HATE". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A.1.
- ^ NELSON, JACK (September 25, 1975). "Moore Case May Stir Probe of FBI Tipsters". Los Angeles Times. p. A1.
- ^ RANALLI, RALPH (November 29, 1994). "Pa. man denies he hindered rights probe". Boston Herald. p. 026.
- ^ a b c d e Kelly, Dan (May 16, 2009). "Longtime Klansman from Reading dies in nursing home". Reading Eagle.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8264-1409-0.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-2254-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-385-23880-9
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8131-0887-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8078-2316-3.
- ^ Blum, Howard (1979). "U.S. Labor Party: Cult Surrounded by Controversy", New York Times, October 7, 1979.
- ^ Marable, Manning (Spring 1998). "Black fundamentalism". Dissent. Vol. 45, no. 2. New York. p. 69.
- ^ Rose, Gregory F. (1979). "The Swarmy Life and Times of the NCLC", National Review, March 30, 1979.
- ^ a b c Mintz, John (December 18, 1987). "Defense Calls LaRouche, Followers 'Most Annoying'; Trial Begins for Leesburg Group Accused of Obstructing Probe Into Its Fund-Raising". The Washington Post. p. A18.
- ^ Clark, John; Mike Weibel (January 18, 1987). "Frankhouser 'Broken' By Arrest In LaRouche Probe". The Morning Call.
- ^ Mintz, John (October 21, 1987). "Judge Delays Trials of LaRouche, Six Associates; Case of Former Ku Klux Klan Leader Frankhouser Is Severed and Will Be Tried First". The Washington Post. p. A10.
- ^ Wald, Matthew (December 10, 1987). "LaRouche Taken In By Aide, Trial Told". The New York Times. p. B17.
- ^ OSTROW, RONALD J.; KEVIN RODERICK (October 10, 1986). "Extremist's Ex-Aide Disclosed Alleged Statement FBI Tells of Threat by LaRouche;". Los Angeles Times. p. 19.
- ^ Doherty, William F. (November 17, 1987). "LaRouche Takes Fifth At Former Aide's Trial Probe Of Credit Scheme Prompted Charges". The Boston Globe. p. 67.
- ^ "Aide To LaRouche Guilty In A Plot". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 11, 1987. p. A30.
- ^ "Frankhouser Seized By FBI In Reading On Firearms Charges Police". The Morning Call. October 6, 1988.
- ^ U.S. v. Frankhauser, 878 F.2d 1571 (4th Cir. July 4, 1989).
- ^ "KKK leader from Reading is sentenced". Lancaster New Era. May 20, 1995. p. A.2.
- ^ Murray, Frank J. (August 21, 1998). "Vague federal obstruction laws create legal headaches;". Washington Times. p. A.7.
- ^ a b c "Jouhari/Horton v. United Klans of America/Frankhouser". Southern Poverty Law Center. 1988. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
- ^ David Bernstein. You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws. Cato Institute, 2003. page 74
- ^ a b "Klansman must pay 10% of his income and apologize to housing worker in bias lawsuit settlement". Jet. May 29, 2000. p. 9.
- ^ "White supremacist plans appeal for church". York Daily Record. York, Pa. Associated Press. December 4, 1998. p. C.04.
- ^ Lardner, Charles (September 8, 2001). "City, uncertain what to expect, braces for KKK rally". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pa. p. A.1.
- ^ Spidaliere., John M. (September 8, 2001). "We can come together' Over 100 men gather on courthouse steps in stance against racism Several Klan members reportedly seen in cars". Lancaster New Era. Lancaster, Pa. p. A.1.
External links
Roy Frankhouser's
- FBI headquarters file:
- Philadelphia FBI office file: