This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

The relevant facts included the killing of a black reserve officer returning from active duty to Washington, D.C. The six defendants, after state murder acquittal, were indicted for criminal conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 241. Brennan's separate opinion indicates that that section prohibits all conspiracies to interfere with exercise of a right secured by the Constitution; Harlan's separate opinion indicates the section protects against interference with rights secured by other federal laws or by the Constitution itself (the latter including the right to interstate travel). The indictment alleged a single conspiracy by the defendants to deprive Negro citizens of the free exercise and enjoyment of several specified rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The defendants successfully moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that it did not charge an offense under the laws of the U.S. Essentially, the second numbered paragraph of the indictment alleged that the defendants conspired to oppress black citizens of the United States in the free exercise and enjoyment of the right to equal utilization of public facilities owned, operated or managed by or on behalf of the State or subdivision thereof; the fourth numbered paragraph alleged that the defendants conspired to oppress black citizens in the free exercise of the right to use highway facilities and other instrumentalities of interstate commerce within the State.

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