Klan Chief, 5 Others
Held toPonttacBlast
?psi Awl L..
Dispatches
FBI agents 34sterday ar- Mich., whom the FBI identirested six persons, including
the grand dragon of the Michi- fied as the grand dragon of
gan Ku Klux Klan, in connec- the local Ku Klux Klan, and
tion with the bombing of 10 Wallace Elwood Fruit, 29, of
school buses Aug. 30 in Pon- Drayton Plains, Mich., allegtiac, Mich.
edly a state officer of the
The six were charged with Michigan Klan.
conspiracy to violate federal
The government said the albomb laws, conspiracy to ob- leged conspiracy involving the
struct federal court orders six men began at a statewide
and conspiracy to violate the meeting of the Klan at Lake
1968 Civil Rights Act.
Odessa, Vassar, Mich., on July
Attorney General John N. 4.
Mitchell said the arrests were It charged that a number of
based on warrants issued in other meetings were held, and
U.S. District Court in Detroit the bombing was Pslianned by
following an intensive FBI in- the six. It said a report on revestigation into the bombing sults of the bombing was
of the school buses the night made at a regularly scheduled
of Aug. 30. Pontiac has been meeting of the Michigan Klan
the scene of continued pro- on Sept. 5.
tests over court-ordered bus- That meeting was held at
ing of pupils.
the farm home of Miles, who
Arrested were Robert Ed- was said to be unemployed.
ward Miles, 46, o, FIowell,
See BUS, A2, Col. 3
Three days later, the government said, the six accused and
others unnamed met and discussed additional acts of violence and destruction involving the school buses.
It has long been known that
the FBI keeps watch on the
Ku Klux Klan through informers.
Besides Miles and Fruit,
FBI agents arrested four others whom they did no connect
with the Klan.
They are: Alexander John
Distel Jr., 28, of Clarkston,
Mich., who works for a water
conditioner firm; Dennis Claxton Ramsey, 24, of Drayton
Plains, who works in an auto
plant; Raymond Quick Jr., 24,
of Pontiac, an employee of a
cemetary, and Edmund Reimer of Howell.
It was not immediately
known where the arrests were
made.
The FBI said Fruit was an
auto plant employee and Reimer was unemployed.
The complaint accused the
six of conspiring "to willfully
and knowingly attempt by
force to prevent, obstruct,
impede and interfere with the
performance of the Pontiac
school district in the exercise
of its duties under an order
of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District
of Michigan."
It said they entered the Pontiac school bus parking lot and
maintenance area and set explosive charges designed to
damage the school buses.
The six were accused of
willfully and knowingly conspiring to "intimidate and interfere with . . . Negro students in the Pontiac school
district because of their race
and color."
Attached to the complaint
was an unsigned affidavit submitted to the court in support
of an FBI request for a search
warrant.
In it, the federal officer who
apparently swore to it said he
had received information relating to a conspiracy to bomb
and burn the school buses
from "a reliable informant
who has served as a non-paid
FBI undercover agent for approximately four years."
"During this period of time
he infiltrated and became a
member in good standing of
the Pontiac unit of the United
Klans of America, Inc.,
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,"
the affidavit said.
ol bus
best method of morning at the scho
"Since joining the Klan, the to discuss the'
iac
Pont
the
site
oppo
t
depo
from
s
fire truck
informant has furnished writ- delaying the
urge
to
plant
ion
Divis
r
Moto
the location where
ten and verbal reports and in- reaching
an end to the picketing and
were kept."
formation on a ;egular basis the buses
concentration instead on a
the
d
t who signe
on Klan activities and meet- The agenand who is a mate- boycott of the schools.
laint,
comp
of
e
offic
oit
Detr
ings to the
pickets, about 100
rial witness, was Philip L. The
the
the FBI."
ial agent of strong, had little choice inwho
spec
a
ado,
Merc
long
a
listed
avit
The affid
ibed himself face of some 50 officers
descr
who
FBI
the
basis
the
as
s"
"fact
ways
of
series
erial witness" in lined one of the drive
for search warrants. Included as a "matwith the charges.
leading from the bus depot.
tion
conec
to
uted
attrib
ent
statem
a
was
But not a few of the demonby
d
issue
were
nts
warra
Milts at the July 4 "campout" The
rs simply stepped back
strato
KoJ.
Paul
e
istrat
Mag
at Lake Odessa when he alleg- U.S. .
sidelines rather than
the
to
edly said. "If they bus the Nig- mives ting of Pontiac's public leave as Mrs.. McCabe has
Picke
gers, we're going to do somesting since Wednesschools, meanwhile, crumbled been suggenoon in hopes of
thing about it."
day after
of
show
heavy
a
of
face
the
in
ing,
es
Prior to the July 4 meet
igan state troop- avoiding any more scrap
the affidavit said the inform- force by Mich
city with the law.
and
ties
depu
ff's
sheri
ers,
two
by
ant had been told
"I can't believe this is the
Klansmen that the Pontiac police.
s- real you, Irene," one mother
prote
e
whit
the
of
e
Som
mem
a
unit of which he was
st the city's massive chided.
ber had dynamite stored at its ters again
Later in the day, school offig program also
busin
ol
scho
ac.
Ponti
in
meeting place
by what cials reported that absenteeted
chan
disen
were
afthe
in
"
"facts
, deAmong the
ed as the defection ism seems to be dwindling
fidavit was a statement that they view abe, leader of the spite the white boycott, and
McC
Irene
a
of
with
met
Fruit
29
have led
on Aug.
Action Group which fears of violence thatwhite and
man identified as, Jerome National
both
ts,
paren
ion
other
regat
deseg
the
ing
Lauinger, a klansman, to re- is fight
black, to keep their children
ceive information about• the plan. turned up again this home.
Pontiac fire department "and She