David Duke

David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the United States, and former Louisiana State Representative. He has run unsuccessfully for the Louisiana State Senate, Governor of Louisiana, and twice for President of the United States. Duke is a strong supporter of the white-nationalist movement in America. He is widely regarded as a white supremacist by a number of organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Conviction and release

In December 2002, David Duke pleaded guilty to tax and mail fraud. Four months later Duke was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his crimes. He was also fined US$10,000, ordered to cooperate fully with the IRS, and to pay money still owed for his 1998 taxes. Following his release in May 2004, he claimed publicly that his decision to take the plea bargain was motivated by the bias that he perceived in the United States federal court system and not his guilt.

Related Topics:
Tax - Mail fraud - May 2004 - United States federal court system

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Duke was charged for what was described by prosecutors as a six-year scheme to mail thousands of his followers asking for donations. In the mail, Duke told his supporters that he was about to lose his house and his life savings. Duke raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in this campaign. However, prosecutors claim he had already sold his home, at a hefty profit, had multiple investment accounts and spent much of his money gambling at casinos.

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