A reporter of the Washington Daily News who, under an assumed name, had joined George Lincoln Rockwell’s Nazi party today told his readers how Rockwell and his troopers had deliberately agitated the audience into a riot at a rally on July 3.
Rockwell, who will stand trial tomorrow on charges of disorderly conduct at this same rally, has announced his intention to prove that the riot was planned and organized by a Jewish organization. However, this might prove rather hard for him now since a most qualified witness has come up with details undisclosed until now.
The reporter, George Clifford, probably knows more than anyone –except those loyal to Rockwell who would not testify against him– about what really happened July 3, since he stood all the time near Rockwell behind the ropes in the uniform of the “troopers” and was in Rockwell’s confidence. It was not until much later that the Nazi party realized that Clifford actually infiltrated to gain more knowledge about the real face of the movement.
Clifford and another reporter of the Washington Daily News, Tom Kelly, wrote a three-part series on Rockwell which is now being published in the popular newspaper. Here is how Clifford describes what happened on the mall before police broke up the riotous meeting:
“Rockwell sent me to a park police officer standing beyond the ropes, to say he would not speak until the mob was quiet. ” But the police officer did not care, so Rockwell sent another trooper through the ropes to stir up the crowd. A fight started but police grabbed the two involved before it spread. At that point J. V. Kenneth Morgan, the “deputy commander,” suggested “We ought to agitate them some more” and Rockwell said, “Go ahead. ” Morgan walked up and down in the “circle of defense” and made loud insulting remarks to the crowd. While Morgan was still circulating, Rockwell mounted the platform and screamed “Jews, dirty Jews, ” until finally the crowd broke through the ropes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
