Police: Origin of KKK fliers still unknown
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 23, 2015
By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY — Although the origin of a number of KKK fliers that had been randomly distributed to about 2o or more homes is unknown to law enforcement, Chief Mark Cook of the Granite Quarry-Faith Joint Police Authority said his department would still like to hear from the community with information about who distributed the fliers.
A resident brought a flier to the station Monday that had been left on her property, near her newspaper in a Ziploc bag with white rice inside. He said after speaking to area residents they believe the person tossing the flier was driving a small, dark in color vehicle with a loud muffler and may have followed a newspaper carrier to avoid suspicion.
A resident said he was up around 4 a.m. Monday when he saw the vehicle trail behind a paper carrier. He thought it was strange, but didn’t think more about it. He didn’t even know he had a flier in his driveway. He assumed it was litter, which is all the person who left them can be charged with, Cook said.
He added that if a person is identified he’ll consult with federal and state partners to see if they can push forward with more charges.
“It was disappointing to say the least to see this ignorant message of hate littered in our town by a member (or members) of a known hate group, masked in a Christmas message,” Cook said.
The flier, which is a black and white photocopy, says Merry Christmas from the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire, a branch of the Ku Klux Klan. The flier goes on to say, “Please keep Christ in Christmas this year and be proud of your race and religion. Stand strong together as other races do. We need you to help us bring back good ways and morals to ensure a safe and secure future for our children and grandchildren. Join the klan today and preserve the white Christian ways.”
Cook added, “our community and department does not condone or support any such activity or the spreading of hate.”
He hopes those who “spread their message of hate would open their mind and heart and seek to bring unity instead of spreading messages of ignorance and division; especially during this holiday season.”
It’s not clear how many fliers were actually disseminated, but officers did collect about 20 to 30 in various driveways. Cook said in some neighborhoods, only four or five driveways were littered with the fliers. The fliers were strewn about yards along U.S. 52, as well as some homes on North Main, Church, Oak and Walnut streets and other areas. The fliers didn’t appear to go beyond Granite Quarry.
Cook said he’s spoken with other area law enforcement and none whom he spoke with have seen similar fliers in their areas, but he believes similar incidents have occurred recently in other parts of the Southeast.
Anyone with information about who may have distributed the fliers is asked to contact the Granite Quarry-Faith Joint Police Authority at 704-279-2952.
