The City of Springfield (OH) and numerous individuals filed suit against individuals and groups that stirred up hatred and discrimination against the city's Haitian community last fall (eating dogs, etc.). The complaint has two federal counts, both features of the KKK Act.
Section 1985(3) provides for private suit against those who conspire to deprive people of civil rights, a civil counterpart to 18 U.S.C. § 241 (from the 1870 Act). It targeted the Klan--suit runs against those who "conspire or go in disguise on the highway or on the premises of another"--and most recently was used to secure a substantial monetary judgment against the organizers of the "United the Right" Rally in Charlottesville. The HBO movie No Accident offers great behind-the-scenes look at the lawyers and the lawsuit in Charlottesville; worth watching.
Section 1986 imposes civil liability for failing to act to prevent others from violating § 1985. We will talk about § 1986 briefly when we get to municipal liability.
The lawsuit also gives a nice illustration of the role of defensive litigation: One defense these groups will raise is that their speech was constitutionally protected and thus they cannot be liable in private litigation.
