HAMLET – While hundreds of spectators lined the streets of Hamlet Thursday for the city’s annual Christmas parade, there were others spreading something other than holiday cheer.
Thanks to a tip from local concerned citizen, the Richmond Observer was made aware that fliers were found around the time of the parade that appear to be associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
Hamlet, which has seen a rise in gang-related activity in recent months, is the only placed reported to have been visited by the well-known hate group.
According to the tip, flyers inside of clear bags filled with white rice were either tossed or placed around several downtown Hamlet locations. Some fliers, which read “SAVE OUR LAND, JOIN THE KLAN,” were also placed in mail boxes.
Fliers were also found during Hamlet’s Old Fashion Christmas event Saturday evening near the Hamlet Depot.
Reading further on the flyer showed the group of “Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan” was not a group actually operating in Richmond County. Instead, the PO Box address left on the flyer is in Pelham, N.C., which is in Caswell County close to the North Carolina and Virginia state line.
The group appearing to claim the fliers, the “Loyal White Knights”, is the same group that has been holding rallies across the nation the last year or so, specifically in places such as Charlottesville, Va.
According to a source, the Loyal White Knights claim to be a white supremacist and anti-Semitic group whose goal is to “restore America to a White, Christian nation found on God’s word.” They claim to be part of a “new KKK” which is a “non-violent pro-white civil rights movement.”
However, the group’s leader, Christopher Barker, has been accused of aiding in stabbing another Klan member. Barker has also made comments in regard to the murder of Heather Heyer (Charlottesville victim) in support of James Field, Jr., the 20-year-old charged with second-degree murder.
Barker has gone record to say that, “when a couple of them [counter protesters] die, it doesn’t bother us.”
The flyer included a “Klan Hotline,” a website that does not exist, and a mailing address.
Based on the lack of activity in Richmond County, a source close to the Richmond Observer noted these fliers are not to be seen as a threat or proof of any real presence within the community. Instead, the fliers are more of a symbol of recruitment for a group that is dwindling and located two hours away.
The Richmond Observer contacted the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Hamlet and Rockingham Police Departments, but no comments were made available at the time of this publication.
