HAMLET – Subsequent to the discoveries of Ku Klux Klan-related disseminations in Hamlet during the recent Christmas parade celebrations, the City’s police department is continuing its aggressive investigation of the situation.
“We don’t need that type of stuff in this community,” stated Captain Randy Dover of the Hamlet Police Department.
This was a contention strongly supported by Chief Scott Waters.
According to Dover, HPD was immediately proactive in its reaction to this situation, and Dover asks that anyone with any information about any such activity contact him or the Department.
Recent distributions of fliers similar to the ones found in Hamlet have been reported in Alexander County, N.C., as well as Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland.
Dover said that it was important to realize that the organization denoted on the “recruiting advertisement” is not from this area.
“They are based in Pelham, N.C., on the Virginia line,” Dover pointed out.
As an unincorporated community in Caswell County (but close enough to Danville, Virginia to be considered a “suburb” of that city), Pelham is a two-hour drive (127 miles) in a direct route up U.S. 220/I-73 North from Richmond County.
Referring to themselves as “The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,” the flyer provided a website (www.KKKKnights.com) that describes them as “an active group that formed circa 2012.”
Their stated purpose, according to their website, is to, “protect our family, race and nation” and “restore America to a White, Christian nation founded on God’s word.”
The LWK has been cited as one of the most active branches of KKK-affiliated hate groups, and their leader, Christopher Barker, has been mentioned in conjunction with the stabbing of another Klan member (as well as the murder of Heather Heyer by James Field in the Charlottesville, Va., incident in August).
Dover noted that, while the fliers themselves are technically not illegal (beyond possible littering charges and/or violations of federal law if placed in mailboxes), and that there has been no other reported KKK activity in the area of late, it remains “a concerning issue” that the Hamlet Police Department will continue to take very seriously.
Those with any information are encouraged to call HPD at (910) 582-2551.
