Knights of Liberty (vigilante group)

This article is about the World War I vigilante organization. For the anti-slavery organization, see Knights of Liberty.

Three black-robed men with pointy hoods around a table that has a skull lying on top. One man is holding a sign saying "Death to the pacifists". Text underneath reads "The Inquisition in America".
1918 German propaganda depicting an American "inquisition" against pacifists.

The Knights of Liberty (sometimes Liberty Knights, Loyalty Knights, or Knights of Loyalty[1]) was an American volunteer nationalist secret society and vigilance committee active circa 1917–1918, claiming responsibility for violence against perceived disloyalty during World War I. They are known for the 1917 Tulsa Outrage in Oklahoma, the 1918 lynching of Olli Kinkkonen in Minnesota, and a spree of 1918 tarring and feathering events in Wisconsin and California.

  1. ^ "Loyalty Knights to Quit; 800 Members Enrolled". Duluth News Tribune. Vol. 50, no. 253. January 19, 1919. p. 4.