Summary

In Chapter 5: “Fireman and Brimstone,” Colorado Springs was a small city with a large military presence; there was little political unrest or hate group activity in Colorado, the major exception was Lakewood firefighter Fred Wilkens—the state organizer (Grand Dragon) of the KKK. There was “public outcry” (58) over Wilkens’ position as public servant given his affiliations with the KKK, but Wilkens insisted that he could do his duty as a firefighter without his personal beliefs interfering.

Ron called Wilkens to get to know more about him for the investigation and open up greater potential for undercover investigations into the Klan. Ron asked Wilkens about his pending membership card, David Duke’s visit to Colorado Springs, and for more literature regarding “the Cause” (60). After agreeing to check up on Ron’s membership card, Wilkens explained that the main goal of the KKK was to...