Former Klansman donates to Cindy Hyde-Smith

A former member of the Ku Klux Klan, George Malvaney, donated $1000 to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) on November 20. The contribution was dated nine days after a video emerged of Hyde-Smith saying she would be willing to attend a "public hanging."

Malvaney was discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1979 after he organized a Klavern aboard a combat ship. Following his release from the military, Malvaney was part of a failed plot by white supremacists to overthrow the small Caribbean island of Dominica. The bungled operation is known as the Bayou of Pigs.

The attempted coup was disrupted by federal agents in Lousiana before it started. Malvaney and his co-conspirators were found with "eight Bushmaster automatic rifles, 10 shotguns, five rifles, 10 handguns, 10 pounds of dynamite and 5,246 rounds of ammunition." The men also had "a large red and black Nazi flag."

Malvaney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison. As part of his plea deal, Malvaney was able to get the felony expunged from his record, and his checkered history did not reemerge until 2010 when he was prominently involved in the cleanup from the explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon well.

"It's something that happened 30 years ago. I have an unblemished record. My work speaks for itself. My reputation speaks for itself," Malvaney said at the time.

This year, Malvaney published a book about his experiences. In media appearances, he is somewhat vague about how his views have changed since his time in the Klan. In an interview with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, he described it as a "long gradual process" that took "decades."

Malvaney also donated $2700 to Hyde-Smith in May.

Popular Information previously reported that Hyde-Smith accepted a $2700 contribution from a notorious racist in Washington State, Peter Zieve. After that report, Hyde-Smith's campaign told NBC News it was returning the money.