Feb. 15, 1963 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said today the enrollment of Harvey Gantt (pictured) without incident at Clemson College proves local law enforcement “can prevent a second University of Mississippi.” “The reason there were no incidents at Clemson,” the Attorney General said, “was local law enforcement had said they would not be tolerated.” Mr. Kennedy made the remarks at a news conference on his arrival for conferences with Texas’s four U.S. district attorneys and other officials. Mr. Kennedy said the Justice Department did what it thought was necessary at Mississippi. “The orders of the court were enforced,” he said. “It was not really a matter of integration or segregation. It is not a question of likes or dislikes — just enforcement of the law.” He said he had “no apologies” concerning the arrest of former Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker of Dallas on the Mississippi campus, Walker’s mandated psychiatric examination, or the presentation of the case to the grand jury.
Comments