General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis is the face of domestic terrorism
From the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch:
West Virginia Klan Leader Claims Returning Military Will Help Them Train for the Upcoming Battle
By David Neiwert on June 13, 2014 - 1:34 pm, Posted in Extremists in the Military, Klan
A British television crew filming a gathering of Ku Klux Klansmen in West Virginia this spring recorded one of the groups leaders discussing a plan to use returning military veterans to train KKK members in combat techniques for the upcoming battle presumably the coming race war that the Klan and other white supremacists have long predicted.
The nine-minute video documentary by Barcroft TV is a striking portrait of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization based in Pelham, N.C., with chapters throughout the South, including this one in West Virginia. It includes some appalling insights into their childrens upbringing and their certainty about a looming social apocalypse.
But most disturbing is the segment in which the hooded Klansman leading the rally tells the crowd about the groups future plans:
Were looking at something a little different for probably the next couple of years, trying to get our men and women ready for the upcoming battle that were about to take upon us. And this is something that no Klan has ever done, and were going to start it. All our boys are finally coming back home from the military, which is good. And were getting a lot more military members joining, which is good, as were going to start doing a lot more military training....
More at http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2014/06/13/west-virginia-klan-leader-claims-returning-military-will-help-them-train-for-the-upcoming-battle/
We have been discussing this topic at Appalachian Group (see http://www.democraticunderground.com/1272256 ) but make no mistake -- there has been a resurgence around the country of hate groups and armed militias whose intent is violent revolution. These are this country's real enemies, the terrorists within.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,987 posts)Though it didn't seem to interest many.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Last edited Sat Jun 14, 2014, 04:19 AM - Edit history (1)
There is a chapter north of where we live; The Imperial Klans of America or IKA.
The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist organization styled after the original Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In 2008, it was reported that the IKA had the nation's second largest KKK membership.
The IKA, headed by Ron Edwards, claims to be the sixth era of the Ku Klux Klan. Members of the 6th era, like members of previous eras, claim constitutional rights as part of the "Unorganized Militia". The IKA claims to stand upon Supreme Court decisions in favor of previous Klans. They are headquartered near Dawson Springs, Kentucky and claim external Imperial Klan offices in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, South Africa, South America, and throughout Europe.
The IKA was featured on National Geographic's "Inside American Terror" in 2008 and The History Channel's Gangland in 2009.
***
In July 2006, 3 IKA members beat Jordan Gruver, a 16-year-old of Native American and Panamanian descent at a Kentucky county fair.
In February 2007, IKA members Jarred Hensley and Andrew Watkins were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for beating Gruver. The Southern Poverty Law Center also filed a civil suit on Gruver's behalf in Meade County, Kentucky against IKA "Imperial Wizard" Ron Edwards and the IKA for the actions of the IKA members. Morris Dees, together with William F. McMurry of Louisville, KY, represented Jordan Gruver in the trial against the IKA.
On November 14, 2008, an all-white jury of seven men and seven women awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages to Gruver against Edwards. Edwards appealed the ruling, and the court overturned the decision on January 14, 2011, sending it to a second trial in the original court venue. His appeal was ultimately denied by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
During the case, the SPLC received nearly a dozen threats "promising the most dangerous threat" ever faced. A July 2007 letter allegedly came from Hal Turner, a white supremacist talk show host. In 2007, Terrence was shown on CNN speaking at an event on the IKA Headquarters' grounds. On the second day of the civil trial, a former member of the IKA testified that the Klan had told him to kill Southern Poverty Law Center chief attorney Morris Dees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Klans_of_America
The SPLC should be commended for their bravery in the pursuit of justice.
Behind the Aegis
(53,987 posts)It is so good to see you, even if on this topic!
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)How are you?
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)We keep assuming that's what they mean.
It may be an outright assault on the Capital. (As if the public would hail them as heroes and expel all other races.)
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)I read the following article and watched the video. Most of us have seen the video by now.
What was even more disturbing to me was people defending this woman in the comments section. This country is a mess. http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/meet-upstate-new-york-man-who-calmly-recorded-womans-racist-rant-video?akid=11915.173602.TQlLwG&rd=1&src=newsletter1002690&t=19
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I used to read them as a matter of course but after digesting so much poison in response to LGBT articles I can't stomach them much anymore. Thanks for the warning.