Ex-Klan leader sues federal government

A former Ku Klux Klan leader once accused of plotting to blow up several Johnston County buildings is suing the federal government over his religious views.

Charles Barefoot Jr., a former grand dragon of the North Carolina chapter of The National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, is serving time in federal prison in Butner on explosives charges in connection with an arsenal of weapons found in his car and his home near Benson in July 2002.

Barefoot, who refers to himself as pastor in the lawsuit, said prison officials are violating his rights by not allowing him to practice or display items related to the Church of the Nations of the Ku Klux Klan.