Page 6--Tuesday, June 17, 1980-The Michigan Daily
GREENSBORO POLICE OFFICERS wrestle yesterday with Communist Klansmen and American Nazis charged with murdering five CWP members
Workers Party member Tom Clark (center) outside the Guilford County last November in Greensboro, N.C. The scuffle occured when the CWP
Courthouse. Jury selection was underway there for the trial of six Ku Klux members were denied admittance to the courtroom.
SCUFFLE AT KLAN-NAZI TRIAL:
Police, demonstrators clash
From AP and UPI
GREENSBORO, N.C. -'About two
dozen leftist demonstrators scuffled
with police and four were arrested
yesterday as a trial got under way for
six Ku Klux Klansmen and American
Nazis charged with murdering five
members of the Communist Workers
Party.
Chanting "Avenge the CWP" and
"We are the victims," the demon-
strators had gathered in a courtroom
hallway to read a statement denoun-
cing "capitalist kangaroo courts."
SUPERIOR COURT Judge James
Long interrupted his speech to prospec-
tive jurors to tell officers, "I ask that
those persons who are disturbing the
court be removed."
The scuffle broke out when law-
enforcement officers who had been
searching spectators blocked the
demonstrators from entering the cour-
troom. Deputies told them that at that
time only relatives of the victims and
defendants would be seated, although
later in the day other people were ad-
mitted.
"Tell me, man, you're going to keep
me out. You try to live with a bullet in
your head," said Dr. Paul Berman-
zohn of Durham. Bermanzohn was shot
in the head and five other CWP mem-
bers were killed when Klansmen and
Nazis crashed a "Death to the Klan"
rally in Greensboro last Nov. 3.
"Y'ALL KILLED my husband. Out of
my way," said Marty Nathan, whose
husband, Michael Nathan of Durham,
was among those killed.
Authorities wrestled several demon-
strators to the floor and led away four
in handcuffs on charges of interfering
with court operations, a misdemeanor.
There were no serious injuries
although Capt. J. P. Worrell of the
Guildord County Sheriff's Department
said two of those arrested were "hit up-
side of the head" by officers trying to
restore order.
LATER, FIVE communists charged
with felonious riot in connection with
the November rally were ejected from
a second-floor courtroom during their
arraignment. They told the presiding
judge they wanted to speak indepen-
dently of court-appointed lawyers and,
when the judge refused, began to speak
out. The judge entered pleas of innocent
for them and ejected them from the
courtroom.
In another courtroom, Long ad-
dressed 41 potential jurors out of a
group of 100 summoned for the Klan-
Nazi trials. The others had been ex-
usedfr s vyceiv ame
Of the pool of 41 prospective jurors, 33
were examined by the prosecution
yesterday. The remaining eight will be
examined today, along with others
from a list of 100 more possible jurors.
FIVE OF the 33 were approved by the
prosecution - two black men, one
white man and two white women. After
40 to 50 people are approved by the
prosecution, Long said, the defense will
examine them. If a jury cannot be for-
med from the group, more people will
be called, he said.
Long ordered the five approved
yesterday not to read newspapers, wat-
ch television news, or discuss the case
with anyone. He told them to come back
to court next Monday.
Long told the prospective jurors the
trial may last 10 weeks or more.
Each of the six Klan or Nazi defen-
dants is charged with five counts of fir-
st-degree murder and one count of
felonious rioting.
Despite the controversy surrounding
the slayings and trial, the courtroom,
which seats 148 people, was not
crowded yesterday. The jury pool filled
one side of the room. Reporters and
friends and relatives of the defendants
filled perhaps ilf the other side:-
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