Restored archive. The original History Commons is no longer online; this is a read-only edition of its timelines. Content is licensed CC BY-NC-SA.

April 22, 1997: Texas Ku Klux Klan Members Arrested for Plotting to Blow Up Natural Gas Refinery; Blast Would Have Leveled Nearby School

1997-04-22

Three Ku Klux Klan members are arrested in a plot to blow up a natural gas refinery outside Fort Worth, Texas. The three, along with a fourth arrested later, planned to blow up the refinery, killing hundreds of people including children at a nearby school, as a diversion for a simultaneous armored car robbery. All four will plead guilty to conspiracy charges and be sentenced to terms of up to 20 years. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001]