A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

The defense opened with testimony from its own medical expert who testified that the poison Oberholtzer ingested could have caused her fatal infection. He also testified that he witnessed Oberholtzer being “affectionate” with Stephenson. Remy tried to depict the doctor—a veterinarian—as a quack. When Inman suggested that Oberholtzer had an affair with a married man, Remy objected—Oberholtzer was not on trial. His objection was sustained.

Then followed a succession of Stephenson’s paid witnesses, all of whom fabricated a story about seeing Oberholtzer in a car with Stephenson and asking about a “good time” and where to get alcohol. All the while, armed men stood in the back of the courtroom to assure “that Steve [got] a fair trial” (298). Later, when another of Stephenson’s allies was called, he testified—without the slightest hesitation—that he and Stephenson had worked together to “manipulate” the levers of government. When the defense rested, Remy wondered about the whereabouts of Shorty Defriese, Stephenson’s chauffeur. He was missing.

For his closing argument, Remy decided to use Stephenson’s own boast against him: “I am the law” (243). He highlighted all of Stephenson’s corrupt dealings—corroborated by his own words—and painted a portrait of a man so bloated with cash and power he believed himself above the law.