The alleged mastermind behind the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers has been arrested in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi.
Police said Edgar Killen, reputed to be a longtime leader of the white supremacist group known as the Ku Klux Klan, would be arraigned Friday on three counts of murder.
Officials said the now-79-year old Mr. Killen, known as "The Preacher," organized a group of men who murdered the three civil rights workers. The young men, one black and two white, were helping African Americans register to vote in the highly segregated South.
Mr. Killen was tried previously on federal civil rights violations in connection with the murders, but he was freed when the trial ended in a hung jury.
Prosecutors say there may be more arrests in the 41-year-old murder case, one of the most notorious civil rights crimes still not resolved.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.