The Ku Klux Klan Act, 1871 | Records of Rights

That any person who . . . shall subject, or cause to be subjected any person within the jurisdiction of the United States to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution of the United States . . .
. . . shall . . . be liable to the party injured in any action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress . . .

The Ku Klux Klan Act 1871

The Ku Klux Klan Act made private criminal acts Federal crimes. President Grant used this act to fight the Ku Klux Klan’s campaign of violence and intimidation, sending the military to restore order in several areas. Predominately black juries convicted hundreds of Klan members under the act, successfully extinguishing the first-generation KKK.

National Archives, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives