Knights of the Flaming Circle

The Knights of the Flaming Circle was a militant organization founded in 1923 to fight the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan. They were part of an opposition that included politicians, labor leaders and immigrant groups. Membership was open to anyone who opposed the KKK and was "not a Protestant". They had significant support amongst various ethnic groups in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Bryce Bauer has written that, "Instead of only admitting white, native-born Protestants as the Klan did, the organization vowed to accept anyone who was anything other than that."

They were one of a number of national organizations in the US organized in the 1920s in opposition to growing influence of the KKK. Notable outbreaks of violence took place in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio and in "Bloody Williamson" county of Southern Illinois.

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