Well, well, well. First we have Fred Koch's fascist background, and now here comes Fred Trump, daddy to The Donald, who is proving himself to have learned well.
In an article subtitled "Klan assails policeman", Fred Trump is named in among those taken in during a late May "battle" in which "1,000 Klansmen and 100 policemen staged a free-for-all." At least two officers were hurt during the event, after which the Klan's activities were denounced by the city's Police Commissioner, Joseph A. Warren.
“The Klan not only wore gowns, but had hoods over their faces almost completely hiding their identity,” Warren was quoted as saying in the article, which goes on to identify seven men “arrested in the near-riot of the parade.”
Named alongside Trump are John E Kapp and John Marcy (charged with felonious assault in the attack on Patrolman William O'Neill and Sgt. William Lockyear), Fred Lyons, Thomas Caroll, Thomas Erwin, and Harry J Free. They were arraigned in Jamaica, N.Y. All seven were represented by the same lawyers, according to the article.
The final entry on the list reads: “Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, was discharged.”
In 1927, Donald Trump's father would have been 21 years old, and not yet a well-known figure. Multiple sources report his residence at the time—and throughout his life—at the same address.
Maybe Trump was just an innocent bystander. Or maybe he couldn't be proven to be part of the violence. But I don't view it as mere coincidence that the man was one of seven arrested at a KKK rally when more than one thousand were in attendance, nor do I believe people go to KKK parades as innocent spectators.
Make of it what you will, but as activist Shaun King tweeted, "Racism is taught."
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/641785049520730112
