McShane was born in 1909 in
New York City. As head of the Executive Office for U.S. Marshals, he supervised federal agents during the
Freedom Rides of 1961, but is most known for his role in leading the federal agents who escorted
James Meredith, the first African American student at
University of Mississippi in 1962. In November 1962, McShane was indicted by a Lafayette County Mississippi grand jury on charges that he "did incite a riot" in relation to his decision to fire tear gas into crowds of violent protesters during the
Ole Miss riot of 1962. McShane subsequently gave himself up for arrest, was processed, and released. The U.S. District Court found that McShane acted under orders and statutory authority and "had reasonable cause to believe ... that the use of tear gas ... was a proper measure to be taken". The court granted
summary judgment in favor of McShane. Before being a U.S. Marshal, he worked for the Senate's select
McClellan Committee, was chief of security and the personal bodyguard for President
John F. Kennedy and a
New York City Police Department homicide detective. He had a wife, Teresa Curtis, and two children. ==References==