Editing Deacons for Defense and Justice (section)

==FBI investigation begins in 1965==
In February 1965, after an article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' about the Deacons in Jonesboro, FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] became interested in the group. His office sent a memo to its Louisiana field offices: "Because of the potential for violence indicated, you are instructed to immediately initiate an investigation of the DDJ [Deacons for Defense and Justice]."{{sfn|Hill|2004|p=264-265}} As was eventually exposed in the late 1970s, the FBI established the [[COINTELPRO]] program, through which its agents were involved in many illegal activities against organizations that Hoover deemed "a threat to the American way".<ref name="wisc.edu" />

The Bureau ultimately produced more than 1,500 pages of comprehensive and relatively accurate records on the Deacons and their activities, largely through numerous informants close to or who had infiltrated the organization.{{sfn|Hill|2004|p=264-265}} Members of the Deacons were repeatedly questioned and intimidated by F.B.I. agents. Harvie Johnson (the last surviving original member of the Deacons for Defense and Justice) was interviewed by two agents during this period. He said they asked only how the Deacons obtained their weapons, never questioning him about the Klan activity or police actions they were responding to.{{sfn|Hill|2004|p=264-265}} Although the FBI and white media regarded the Deacons as bringers of race warfare, they actually worked closely with CORE in their nonviolent protests as a way to bring about change in Bogalusa.<ref name="enc 2" /> The Federal Government finally intervened and forced local police to uphold the law and protect citizens' right.<ref name="enc1" /> As a result of the Deacons' actions the Klan had to restrict themselves to night terror raids.<ref name="enc1" /> The Deacons served as a symbol of power and pride, and undermined the stereotype of black submission.<ref name="enc1" />

According to columnist [[Ken Blackwell]] in 2007, activist [[Roy Innis]] had said that the Deacons "forced the Klan to re-evaluate their actions and often change their undergarments".<ref>{{cite news
 |url          = http://www.townhall.com/columnists/KenBlackwell/2007/02/06/second_amendment_freedoms_aided_the_civil_rights_movement
 |title        = Second Amendment Freedoms Aided the Civil Rights Movement
 |author-link  = Ken Blackwell
 |first        = Ken
 |last         = Blackwell
 |publisher    = [[Townhall.com]]
 |date         = February 6, 2007
 |access-date  = April 7, 2007
 |archive-date = April 3, 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070403024830/http://www.townhall.com/columnists/KenBlackwell/2007/02/06/second_amendment_freedoms_aided_the_civil_rights_movement
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>