In June 1996 a branch of the Ku Klux Klan announced plans to hold a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Several people in the Ann Arbor area planned to hold a protest against the Ku Klux Klan's presence on the day of the rally. Thomas was one of several people that attended and protested from an area that had been fenced and set aside for the protesters. The protest proceeded until one protester announced over a megaphone that there was "a Klansman in the crowd". The unnamed man was a middle-aged white male wearing a t-shirt depicting the Confederate flag and an "SS tattoo". The man began to run but was knocked down, kicked, and beaten with placards. Thomas, who was at that time 19-years-old, shielded the man from the crowd and shouted for the attackers to stop. Shortly after that point the police arrived on the scene. A news report stated that seven anti-Klansmen protesters were arrested at the event and a large group of protesters were tear gassed after they attempted to enter the police station where fifteen Klansmen were being kept for their safety. The police later reported that the man was not a Klan member.
Thomas expressed that she had protected the man due to her own religious convictions and because she "knew what it was like to be hurt ... The many times that that happened, I wish someone would have stood up for me."A few months after the June event, Thomas was thanked by the son of the unnamed man she rescued. The victim has never attempted to contact Thomas.