mississippi burning
...activists. After meeting the sheriff they inquire about the three men. The sheriff tells them a story that they don't believe. The two agents Ward and Anderson (played superbly by Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman respectively) decide to follow bureau procedure and question some residents of Jessup. The agents are surprised to see that the town is so racially segregated. All the residents that they question either choose to remain tight-lipped, or have no information to give. They get a break in the investigation when they find some evidence that might lead to the whereabouts of the men. Agent Ward orders over 200 agents to the small town to help conduct a search party. While Ward is searching, Anderson is trying to get any information out of the deputy's wife. Agents Ward and Anderson are amazed when they learn that the head leader of the local charter of the Ku KLux Klan has arrived for a meeting with the police department and other local residents of Jessup. The constant prying that the FBI agents are doing, infuriates some of the members of the police department and some other residents. They decide to take out their rage on the colored residents of the town. We see the angry townspeople burn down other persons homes, kidnap them and beat some of them up and we also see them hang a man. Meanwhile, the deputy's wife just cannot take any more of this cruelty, and tells some important information to agent Anderson. It is when they beat up the deputy's wife that agent Anderson wants to go after them his own way. After a scuffle between the two agents, Anderson gets Ward's authority to try to do it his way. Agent Anderson then proceeds to u...