Daniel Carver is a former Grand Dragon of the Georgia chapter of the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, whose activity as a KKK leader in the 1980s and 1990s produced a criminal conviction, a federal civil rights judgment that helped dismantle his organization, and a second life as a recurring white supremacist caller on The Howard Stern Show. A resident of Hall County, Georgia, Carver led one of the state’s most active Klan factions during a period of intense racial conflict and was named as a defendant in the landmark lawsuit brought after the 1987 attack on civil rights marchers in Forsyth County.
Leading the Invisible Empire in Georgia
Carver served as Grand Dragon of the Georgia chapter of the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., a Louisiana-incorporated group that traced its origins to a 1975 split within the Knights of the KKK after David Duke’s departure.1Tampa Bay Times. Klan Group to Give Up Name, Assets in Georgia Rights Case At its height, the Invisible Empire operated in roughly 20 states and maintained a mailing list of more than 11,000 names. The Georgia chapter ran an office on the Atlanta Highway in Oakwood, in Hall County, where Carver lived.2Southern Poverty Law Center. Hosea Williams v. Southern White Knights, Civil Complaint His wife, Darlene Carver, served as the grand secretary of the Georgia KKK.3The Washington Post. White Power Women
1986 Conviction for Terroristic Threats
In September 1986, Carver was convicted of making terroristic threats under Georgia law (OCGA § 16-11-37) after a confrontation involving Carver and other Klan demonstrators in a Black neighborhood in Gainesville, Georgia. Carver told a resident, “Get back, I’ll shoot.”4Justia. Carver v. State, 258 Ga. 385 He was sentenced to four years of probation, with conditions prohibiting him from wearing Klan robes or taking part in public demonstrations.5Reagan Library. Klan Prosecutions and Convictions Report
Carver appealed. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in 1987, and the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the judgment on June 23, 1988.4Justia. Carver v. State, 258 Ga. 385 As of 1991, the court order barring him from public Klan activity was still in effect, though he continued to be identified as a figure within the Georgia Klan.6Radical Archives. Hatred in Georgia, 1991
The 1987 Forsyth County March and Federal Lawsuit
On January 17, 1987, civil rights leader Hosea Williams led about 75 marchers along Bethelview County Road in Forsyth County, Georgia, to protest racial discrimination in the historically all-white county. A crowd of white residents and Klan supporters confronted the marchers. Williams and other participants were injured by objects thrown at them, and law enforcement halted the march after roughly 20 minutes for safety reasons.2Southern Poverty Law Center. Hosea Williams v. Southern White Knights, Civil Complaint
Williams filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on March 24, 1987, naming the Southern White Knights and the Invisible Empire as defendants along with individual Klan leaders, including Carver and Southern White Knights Grand Dragon David Holland. The suit was brought under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1985(3), alleging a conspiracy to harass and intimidate Black citizens. Morris Dees and J. Richard Cohen of the Southern Poverty Law Center represented the plaintiffs.2Southern Poverty Law Center. Hosea Williams v. Southern White Knights, Civil Complaint
The litigation produced serious consequences for the Klan organizations involved. A related case yielded compensatory and punitive damages exceeding $800,000 against the Southern White Knights.7Anti-Defamation League. State v. Miller, Georgia Anti-Mask Law Case By the summer of 1991, 67 plaintiffs from the Forsyth County march received settlement checks of approximately $550 each as part of a broader resolution.6Radical Archives. Hatred in Georgia, 1991
In May 1993, a federal settlement required the Invisible Empire, its publishing arm Empire Publishing, Imperial Wizard James W. Farrands, and Carver (identified in the settlement record as “George Carver,” which appears from context and title to reference Daniel Carver) to pay $37,500 to 50 plaintiffs. The organization forfeited all assets, including cash, computer equipment, and printing presses, and surrendered its name along with all mailing and membership lists.1Tampa Bay Times. Klan Group to Give Up Name, Assets in Georgia Rights Case The settlement effectively dismantled the Invisible Empire as a functioning organization, mirroring the strategy that had previously ended the United Klans of America after a $7 million judgment in the 1981 murder of Michael Donald in Alabama.5Reagan Library. Klan Prosecutions and Convictions Report
The Howard Stern Show Appearances
Carver gained a second, more mainstream form of notoriety through his frequent call-ins to The Howard Stern Show, where he became a member of the program’s “Wack Pack,” a rotating cast of eccentric or outrageous recurring guests.8New Republic. The Trigger Presidency His signature greeting on the show was “Wake up, white people!” — a rallying cry he used to broadcast white supremacist views to Stern’s audience of millions.9Boston Herald. Howard Stern’s White Supremacist Interview Suddenly Doesn’t Look So Funny
Stern and his co-hosts generally treated Carver as an object of mockery, but critics noted that the segments handed a Klan leader direct access to a large radio audience. As the New Republic observed, while Stern mocked Carver, the arrangement also let Carver use the show as a recruiting tool for the Klan.8New Republic. The Trigger Presidency
In a characteristic 2009 appearance, Carver called the show to deny rumors that he had a biracial grandchild, insisting that all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren were white. When Stern asked whether he would kill himself if the rumor turned out to be true, Carver replied, “Yeah.” During the same segment, Carver described interracial pornography as “plum sickness” and claimed “the Jews are behind all these porn movies.” He also refused to believe that Stern himself was Jewish, telling the host, “Howard ain’t no Jew. If he was a Jew, he wouldn’t be so nice to me.”10Howard Stern Show. Does Daniel Carver Have a Bi-Racial Grandchild
In 2014, renewed scrutiny of Stern’s history of platforming extremist guests brought fresh attention to the Carver segments. The Boston Herald wrote that what had once been treated as shock-jock comedy no longer seemed funny in light of ongoing white supremacist violence in the United States.9Boston Herald. Howard Stern’s White Supremacist Interview Suddenly Doesn’t Look So Funny