n 1995 a Ku Klux Klan group called the Christian Knights burned down a 100-year-old black Baptist church in South Carolina, one of many church-burnings during the 1990s.

On behalf of the congregation, attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights law firm based in Alabama, sought to hold the Klan itself accountable.

SPLC attorneys exposed the Christian Knights’ involvement, including evidence showing then South Carolina Klan leader Horace King authorizing racist violence and stating, “the only good n----r church is a burned n----r church.”

After a five day trial the jury imposed restitution of $37.8 million against the Christian Knights and its leaders–the largest ever against a hate group.

Though the total was reduced to $21.5 million by the judge, the case rang the death knell for the Christian Knights. The Klan group was forced to give up its land and headquarters, and have the land deed amended to prohibit its use ever again by white supremacists. The proceeds from its sale went to the church congregation. The Christian Knights was transformed from one of the nation’s most active Klan groups to a defunct organization.