White supremacist group drops recruitment fliers in two Kentucky communities
In communities about two hours east of Louisville, reports have been confirmed that a white supremacist group dropped fliers in multiple neighborhoods.
One flyer dropped in Mt. Sterling depicts a hooded figure pointing forward with the phrase "You can sleep sound tonight. The Klan is awake!" as well as contact information for the group. Another report from Paris shows the same figure with the phrase "The KKK wants you!" along with a list of "beliefs of a hate group from another city," according to a Facebook post from the Mt. Sterling Police Department.
My dad found this in the driveway in Mt. Sterling, KY and said they’re in the driveways throughout their subdivision and in the neighboring subdivision. How unbelievably frightening. pic.twitter.com/A6foUEksmp
— LKP (@lexkypol) June 11, 2023
News station LEX 18 reported out of Mt. Sterling and confirmed at least eight fliers around Holly Hills Drive Sunday. afternoon. The station also said there were more fliers before neighbors started removing them. They also received reports that the fliers were found on at least two streets in Paris.
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"Investigators are working to identify the individuals," Mt. Sterling police said on Facebook and it doesn't "tolerate any kind of hate or bigotry in our community."
LEX 18 also reported that Lexington NAACP President Whit Whitaker was worried that the fliers, which said people should report “crime and drug dealers," meant that the group was potentially interfering with what should be a police matter.
"That is a problem because this movement will continue to grow and fester like a cancer," he said. "There's not enough people in those neighborhoods standing up."
Some Kentuckians took to social media to express their shock at the group's actions.
A user named Mark Sandmann said he lives in Louisville but spends time in Paris.
"I sincerely apologize on behalf of all of us here who find this absolutely despicable. The vast majority of us find this reprehensible," they wrote.
As someone who is from Louisville Kentucky, and spends time in Paris, Kentucky, I sincerely apologize on behalf of all of us here who find this absolutely despicable. The vast majority of us find this reprehensible.
— Mark Sandmann (@dognamedsugaree) June 11, 2023
Author and former 2022 Teacher of the Year Willie Carver Jr. tweeted that the white supremacist sentiments were not new in the area.
"This is much of the Mt Sterling I know. Not the common people. The leaders," he wrote.
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Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KKK flyers dropped in Paris and Mt. Sterling, Kentucky
