Plaintiffs: Jordan Gruver
Defendants: Imperial Klans of America, Ron Edwards, Joshua Edward Cowles, Jarred R. Hensley and Andrew R. Watkins
Co-Counsel:
Steven R. Crebessa and William F. McMurry
Date(s) of Disposition:
07/25/2007: Complaint in case no. 07-CI-00294 Gruver v. IKA, etal.
09/06/2007: Order granting Motion to Consolidate 07-CI-00294 with 07-CI-00082
06/06/2008: 2nd Amended Complaint
Brief
: Plaintiff_Pretrial_Brief
Amended Complaint
: Second Amended Complaint
Judgment
: Edwards Judgment
: Hensley Judgment
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit against the Imperial Klans of America (IKA) and four Klansmen, saying several members were on a recruiting mission for the group in July 2006 when they beat a teenage boy at a county fair in Kentucky. The lawsuit claims that as part of an official recruiting drive organized by the IKA leadership, members went to the Meade County Fairgrounds in Brandenburg, Ky., to hand out business cards and flyers advertising a "white-only" IKA function. Two of the Klansmen at the fair began harassing a 16-year-old boy of Panamanian descent, calling him a "spic," according to the lawsuit. The boy, who stood 5-foot-3 and weighed just 150 pounds, was beaten to the ground and kicked by the Klansmen, one of whom was 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds. The beating left the boy with two cracked ribs, a broken left forearm, multiple cuts and bruises, and jaw injuries requiring extensive dental repair.
Read related stories:
Morris Dees discusses lawsuit against Klan
Live chat with Richard Cohen and Morris Dees on IKA case
SPLC Sues Leading Klan Group over Beating
Hatewatch blog: Taking on the Klan
