User:Crotalus horridus/National Indignation Convention

The National Indignation Convention (NIC) was an American right-wing political organization that existed during the 1960s.

Formation
Frank McGehee, a garage owner from Dallas, founded the National Indignation Convention. The organization's initial purpose was to protest the training of Yugoslav pilots at United States Air Force bases.

Growth
In late 1961, TIME characterized the NIC as "one of the fastest growing" new right-wing organizations. Near its inception, it drew crowds of 2,000 or more. Although it began in Texas, it quickly spread nationwide. That year, 1,800 delegates from 90 cities attended a NIC meeting at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas.

Activities
J. Evetts Haley, one of the speakers at the 1961 convention, called for the lynching of Chief Justice Earl Warren. The organization also protested U.S. membership in the United Nations, mounting protests against Adlai Stevenson's speech on United Nations Day 1963. Perlstein describes the protesters as "sweating and furious, shrieking down the speaker for the television cameras". During Stevenson's speech, NIC founder Frank McGehee was removed from the auditorium for disruption. Later, in an incident that received nationwide publicity, a NIC protester assaulted Stevenson with the wooden handle of a picket sign as he exited the auditorium.