President of the Memphis Citizens Council Richard Ely told the Nashville White Citizens Council that "I firmly believe Mr. Kennedy died a tyrant's death. He did not set back communism. He encouraged integration, which has the support of communism. He was a tyrant", causing half of the room, some were Peabody College professors, to leave after they unsuccessfully demanded Ely to provide evidence for his claims. In Biloxi, Mississippi, student Thomas Hansen was thrown across the front glass door after protesting against the banners of celebration of the local section of the John Birch Society before being hit with ultimately abandoned charges of vandalism.