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The Ku Klux Klan Act—Short Version

 
1. Any person, even if acting within the law or custom of his state, who deprives a citizen of the United States of his or her rights as a citizen, may be sued in the courts of the United States.
 
2. Any person found guilty of committing the following offenses will be punished by a fine not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, possibly with hard labor, for not less than six months nor more than six years or by both fine and imprisonment:
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to levy war against the United States, to overthrow or destroy by force the government of the United States.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to stop the execution of any law of the United States or to seize the property of the United States.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to prevent any person from holding any office of the United States government or to force any person to resign from an office of the United States government by injuring him or destroying his property.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to prevent any person holding a position under the United States government from carrying out his job.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to prevent anyone from testifying truthfully as a witness, serving as a juror or grand juror, or in any other role in the court system.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to punish anyone who had testified, served as a juror or attended a trial.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons, either directly or indirectly, to deprive any person or any group of people of the equal protection of the laws.
  1. Conspiring with one or more persons to use force, intimidation or threat to prevent any citizen of the United States who is lawfully entitled to vote and participate in the election process during presidential and congressional elections, from doing so.
 
3. If any State is unable or unwilling to prevent the activities listed in #2 above, the President of the United States shall call out the militia or the army and navy to suppress such actions.
 
4. If unlawful combinations overthrow the lawful State governments or if the State governments are acting in complicity with the unlawful combinations in such a manner that rebellion shall be deemed to exist, the President of the United States shall make a proclamation ordering the insurgents to stop their activities and if they do not to suspend the writ of habeas corpus.
 
5. No person may serve on a grand jury or as a juror in any case involving this act who the court believes to be part of any combination or conspiracy and every such juror shall take an oath in open court that he has never voluntarily aided or participated in such a conspiracy.
 
6. Anyone who knows that the illegal actions described in #2 above are about to be committed and, having the power to prevent them, fails to do so is responsible for the actions and may be sued by the people who are damaged.
 

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