Ku Klux Klan Seizes Control of Indiana State Government

The Ku Klux Klan under Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson completes its takeover of Indiana state government, controlling the Governor’s office, the state legislature, and numerous local governments. Stephenson, a charismatic organizer who built the Indiana Klan from a few thousand members to an estimated 250,000-300,000, wields influence so complete he reportedly boasts “I am the law in Indiana.” The capture demonstrates how an extremist movement can achieve total control of a state government through mainstream political channels.

Stephenson’s Klan operates as a sophisticated political machine, endorsing candidates, mobilizing voters, and rewarding allies with patronage. Governor Ed Jackson, elected in 1924 with Klan support, owes his position to the organization and takes direction from Stephenson on appointments and policy. The Indiana General Assembly passes Klan-backed legislation, and local governments throughout the state fall under Klan control. Mayors, sheriffs, prosecutors, and school boards answer to the organization. In some counties, Klan membership is effectively required for public employment.

The Indiana Klan targets Catholics particularly, alongside African Americans, Jews, and immigrants. Anti-Catholic sentiment drives the organization’s success in a state with relatively small Black and immigrant populations. Klan members infiltrate and control police departments, ensuring selective enforcement against Catholic and immigrant communities while protecting Klan activities. The organization’s political dominance collapses after Stephenson’s 1925 arrest for the rape and murder of Madge Oberholtzer, a state employee. Governor Jackson, linked to Klan-connected bribery, is later indicted. Yet the collapse of the formal organization leaves institutional influences intact: the officials installed during Klan control remain in office, and the policies they implemented persist. Indiana’s Klan era demonstrates how extremist capture of democratic institutions can reshape governance even after the capturing movement disintegrates.