weeks to forestall any assassination attempts. On November 10, he declared that there was no longer a state of insurrection in Alamance and Caswell counties. Aftermath Media response According to McGuire, the Kirk–Holden war was a police operation and not a true war. The term "Kirk–Holden war" or "Holden–Kirk war" (the latter was commonly used in the 1870s) was coined by Holden's Democratic opponents and used as a derisive epithet. No persons were killed during the affair. The Conservative press continued to mock and criticize the militias' performance during the event after they were disbanded, characterizing Kirk and his men as poor, backwards, and barbaric. Republican newspapers came to their defense. The Democratic press accused Holden of deploying the militias as a political maneuver to try to secure a Republican victory in the elections and of acting unlawfully. They also declared that the action was a waste of government funds and omitted any mention of Klan-related violence. The Republican Raleigh-based paper Weekly Standard, edited by Holden's son, attempted to defend the actions of the government by highlighting the Klan's violent actions preceding the affair. Legal consequences and Holden's impeachment On September 1, Turner petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court to issue warrants for the arrest of Holden, Kirk, and several other militiamen. The court rejected his request, but other former detainees lodged official complaints against Kirk for false arrest. Fearing that Conservative authorities would try to detain him, he asked a United States marshal to arrest him and take him to Raleigh. While passing through Hillsborough he narrowly avoided being seized by the Sheriff of Orange County and a posse. The Raleigh court where he was brought dismissed his case, and on December 1 he fled to Washington D.C. and found employment as a police officer. Turner later tracked him down but was unable to obtain his arrest. Meanwhile, Conservatives demanded Holden's impeachment, and on December 9 Orange County legislator Frederick N. Strudwick—himself a Klan leader—introduced eight articles of impeachment in the North Carolina House of Representatives. The first article accused Holden of falsely declaring a state of insurrection in Alamance County to "stir up civil war, and subvert personal and public liberty, and the Constitution of said State". The second article stated the same concerning Caswell County. The last six items concerned various issues, including the unlawful detention of 102 men (namely including Turner), the suspension of the writ