The Wilmington morning star., 1946-10-25
TO CAPTURE
POLICE REVEALED
Asheville Reform Group
Alleged To Have Plan
ned To Blow Up Jail

ASHEVILLE, Oct. "a U.p -
City court witnesses testified this
afternoon that w. E. Conner, %,
self-appointed reform" leader,
was collecting guns and ammuni-
ton to capture the police force
and had threatened to elbow up
the courthouse with dynamite if
necessary"
Conner and David Wright, %,
one of his lieutenants, were order
ed held for the grand jury on
charges of conspiracy to commit
murder and conspiracy to rebel
against the state, after Thursdays
hearing. Both originally had been
charged with conspiracy to COM
NIT a riot.
Charles B. Rollins, Jr., and F.
M. Kuykendall, two other Conner
confederates, turned states evil
dence, and were cleared of con-
spiracy to commit rioting.
Rollins, a 23-year-old veteran
with shrapnel wounds in his
hands, testified that Conner had
planned to enlist 100 armed men,
who would capture the city's en-
tire police force at the zero
hour"
Four men would surround each
policeman and lock him up in the
jail, Rollins said.
Rollins said Conner outlined his
plans at a secret meeting in a
downtown garage attended by 43
men. many with guns. He also told
of Connor's plans for blowing up
the 16-story Buncombe county
courthouse here, eff necessary to
capture the police force"
Conner, who led a mob on police
headquarters recently and unsuc-
cessfully demanded the suspen-
sion of nine policemen, later
charged Police Chief Eric Hall with
corruption, but Hall was acquitted.
The 29-year-old promoter of the
"Citizens Welfare Protective asso-
citation then was arrested on con-
spiracy charges. He is free under
81, 1000 cash bond set by City Judge
Sam Cathey.
Wright's bond was set at $3.50.
Collins and Wright had been in
jail here since they were arrested
with Conner and Kuykendall last
week.
Gross Banks, four-time convict
ed bootlegger, testified that Con-
nor had named II local officials
he would like to get out of Of
fice,' and that the reform
promoter told him that "getting
them out will be a little worse
than Athens (Tenn.)", where a CT
political group recently overthrow
an entrenched local machine with
guns and votes.
The Rev. E. r. Bartlett, a Bap-
fist evangelistic preacher, tes.i-
fled he had heard Conner say IF
the courts refrain from giving us
justice, we'll blow up the court
house."
Banks quoted Connor as saying
It'll be a sight to see the blood
running out of police headquar-
ters."
Rollins and other witnesses testi-
fled that Connor, a filling station
operator, was collecting guns and
ammunition to carry out his plan
of taking over the police force.
Conner, whose "organization''
~wastrying to enlist ex-servicemen,
served only a few months in the
Army and Was gwen a medical dis
charge. He did not go overseas.
Leaders in a "GI" political or
ganization that recently defeated
several Organization" candidates
IN peaceful local elections. dis
claimed any connection with Con-
nor's movement, and several OF
them were active in prosecuting
him.
Conner also is under 5000 cash
bond pending trial on charges OF
stealing tools from his partner in
the filling station. Wright is under
another charge of assaulting Fred
Singleton, when the latter alleged
ly called him Connor's "stooge.'