Belew 2018

Main Argument:

Intro:

Chapter 2: Building the Underground

• Louis Beam in 1977 purchased 50 acres of swampland using the Texas Veterans Land Board Grant
• He created a training facility which transformed Klansmen into Soldiers
  • Curating a paramilitary that was unified by a white power movement, would implement various methods to target undocumented immigrants such as a Klan border watch
• Southern Poverty Law Center banned paramilitary training, further fueled this movement
• Shared acts of violence, such as the harassment of Vietnamese refugees tied members together to share a common purpose

Beams Creation of His Own Group

• In 1968, he joined the United Klans of America, but left due to the governments interference
• He searched for other opportunities, exploring five options, but they each had a problem that made them not desirable to join according to Beam
• Instead he created his own group
• The Vietnam war was utilized as the basis of his actions and narrative
  • He believed the war wasn't over when he returned home in America, which he used as a excuse for his violent actions
• In 1975 he affiliated his independent Klan with the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan
  • Managed by David Duke, claiming they did not advocate for the denial of minority rights but the rights to only associate with white people
• Although they put up a soft public front, they had several violent underground activities and violence was the basis of their ties; Beam even had kill zones throughout the US

The Klans

• The Klan Paramilitary camps sought to copy army training-one surge of violence was to carry out the past excitement of "army scenes"
  • Veterans made up a large majority of the third Klan resurgence