Roy Elonzo Davis

==Congressional investigation==
Congress launched an investigation of the KKK beginning in January 1966. According to John. D. Swenson's testimony to Congress, Davis was instrumental in reestablishing the KKK after it was disbanded in the post-war years. Davis had used a clause in the secret oath of 1915 KKK to reactivate the organization. Their investigation concluded that Davis had been Imperial Wizard since before 1960 and his group and leadership position had grown following a splintering of Eldon Edward's KKK in the late 1950s. They found that from his base in Dallas, Davis reactivated the KKK organization in multiple southern states.<ref name = c12>{{cite book|title=Activities of Ku Klux Klan Organizations of the United States; Parts 1–5|author=Committee on Un-American Activities|publisher=United States Congress|date=1967|page=12}}</ref> Swenson confirmed Davis played a major role in KKK organizations since at least the early 1920s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Activities of Ku Klux Klan Organizations of the United States; Parts 1–5|author=Committee on Un-American Activities|publisher=United States Congress|date=January 1966|pages=2334–2336}}</ref> He reestablished the KKK in Louisiana in 1960 and appointed John D. Swenson as Grand Dragon of the state and as Imperial Kleage (national organizer), who led the state group from Bossier City. The KKK had a strong presence in Shreveport. By 1963, Davis had also recreated the KKK in Mississippi and Arkansas. Swenson told Congressional investigators that Davis resigned and appointed him as leader and that all records related to the KKK were destroyed in March 1964, shortly after a subpoena for the records had been issued by Congress.<ref name = c48>{{cite book|title=Activities of Ku Klux Klan Organizations of the United States; Parts 1–5|author=Committee on Un-American Activities|publisher=United States Congress|date=January 1966|page=48}}</ref>

Following Davis's departure in 1964, the Original Knights suffered a three-way split in their organization. Swenson was removed as leader of the Original Knights for misuse of klan funds and was replaced by Murray H. Martin. Most of the Original Knights in Louisiana followed Houston P. Morris. The members in Mississippi broke away and formed the [[White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]] led by [[Samuel Bowers]], who Davis had appointed Grand Dragon of Mississippi in 1961. According to an FBI report published in May 1965, the KKK was divided into 14 different organizations at the time with a total membership of approximately 9,000.<ref name = "noag">{{cite news|title=No Assistance Given In Case|date=May 18, 1965|publisher=Lake Charles American Press}}</ref> The FBI reported that the Original Knights was the largest faction and had about 1,500 members. [[Robert Shelton (Ku Klux Klan)|Robert Shelton]] of Alabama was leading a faction of 400–600 members.<ref name = "noag"/> In 1966, Congressional investigators found that by the end of 1965 most members of Original Knights organization had joined Shelton's United Klans and the Original Knights of the KKK disbanded. Shelton's United Klan continued to absorb members from the competing factions and remained the largest Klan group unto the 1970s, peaking with an estimated 30,000 members and another 250,000 non-member supporters during the late 1960s.<ref name = c49>{{cite book|title=Activities of Ku Klux Klan Organizations of the United States; Parts 1–5|author=Committee on Un-American Activities|publisher=United States Congress|date=January 1966|page=49}}</ref><ref name="UKA-Obit">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/us/robert-shelton-73-leader-of-big-klan-faction.html | title=Robert Shelton, 73, Leader of Big Klan Faction  | work=[[The New York Times]] |date= March 20, 2003 | access-date = 2007-09-18}}</ref>