On November 3 , 1979 members of the KKK , including a police informant , and the American Nazi Party drove up to the rally organized by the CWP . Members of both the Klan and the CWP were armed , and an exchange of gunfire soon ensued . Two members of the CWP and three rally participants were killed by the KKK . These deaths became known as the " Greensboro Massacre " . Two subsequent trials of KKK and ANP members resulted in acquittals , when jurors found that the defendants acted in self defense , and were motivated by a political ideology opposed to the white communists , rather than racial animus . In response to the acquittals of the accused killers , the CWP attempted to storm the 1980 Democratic National Convention and succeeded in setting off firecrackers in Madison Square Garden
1980 Democratic National Convention
1980 Democratic National Convention
Communist Workers' Party (United States)