The Courtroom Crowd

When Cole faced trial, the courtroom itself became another stage in the conflict.

Historical accounts describe large numbers of Lumbee observers attending proceedings.

Their presence sent a message very different from the one Cole had tried to send in January.

He was no longer addressing a crowd from a Klan platform.

He was a defendant in a county where the people he had insulted were watching the legal process unfold.

The shift in setting is striking.

At Hayes Pond, Cole had tried to define the Lumbee publicly.

In court, his own actions were being judged publicly.

This is another reason the legal aftermath belongs inside the story rather than as a footnote.