On this day, Sept. 15, in 1923, Oklahoma Gov. John C. Walton put the state under martial law to combat the violence of the Ku Klux Klan.
The Klan had grown to dangerous levels, and to curb the violence Walton placed Tulsa County under martial law and suspended habeas corpus in violation of state’s constitution. In an effort to prevent a grand jury from pursuing an investigation of his actions, he placed the entire state under martial law and used the National Guard to stop the state legislature from meeting.
Lawmakers moved to impeach Walton anyway. He was removed from office 10 months into his first term, the shortest stint of any Oklahoma governor.
Walton’s ordeal, however, created a perception of lawlessness in the state. Oklahoma passed an anti-mask bill aimed at suppressing Klan violence.
– Scott McCabe
