Black Legion (political movement)

The Black Legion was a secret vigilante terrorist group white supremacist organization in the Midwest of the United States that splintered from the Ku Klux Klan and operated during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The white paramilitary group was founded in the 1920s by William Shepard in east central Ohio in the Appalachian region, as a security force known as the Black Guard to protect Ku Klux Klan officers. The Legion became active in chapters throughout Ohio. One of its self-described leaders, Virgil "Bert" Effinger, lived and worked in Lima, Ohio.

Black Legion (political movement)

The Black Legion was a secret vigilante terrorist group white supremacist organization in the Midwest of the United States that splintered from the Ku Klux Klan and operated during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The white paramilitary group was founded in the 1920s by William Shepard in east central Ohio in the Appalachian region, as a security force known as the Black Guard to protect Ku Klux Klan officers. The Legion became active in chapters throughout Ohio. One of its self-described leaders, Virgil "Bert" Effinger, lived and worked in Lima, Ohio.