Ramtin Arablui

To the federal government, it wasn't clear exactly what it was or how deep the conspiracy went.

If Ackerman won, it would be a dramatic expansion of the role the federal government could play in enforcing civil rights.

It could even mean the end of the Klan.

But could he pull it off?

That's coming up.

And I can't help but think that some people see history

as a tale of caution and others see it as a plan to be recreated.

You're listening to ThruLine from NPR.

The pledge taken by Klan members.

Some of the Klan members fled the county.

Some even fled the country during the raids.

But Merrill and his troops did arrest several Klan leaders —

including men accused in Tom Roundtree's and Jim Williams' murders.

Most of the arrests happened in broad daylight with no resistance.

The 14th Amendment enshrined equal protections under the Constitution.

Amos Ackerman and his prosecutors argued that the 14th Amendment gave the federal government power over states to uphold these equal protections.

And since the state of South Carolina hadn't protected Black people from the Klan,

They argued the federal government could.

But the 14th Amendment had just been ratified a few years before, and what it meant had still not been totally tested.

Prosecutor David Corbin told The Room, What does the 14th Amendment mean?