Authorities in Kentucky have launched an investigation after multiple residents in Mt. Sterling came across Ku Klux Klan flyers that had been left on vehicles in the neighborhood. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Mt. Sterling police in a news release, said, it seemed the flyers were from one of the KKK’s chapters.
Authorities also said the flyers were dropped in the areas of Pines on Main, along with the Holly Hills subdivision. “These flyers were left on the vehicles in the overnight hours and contain the beliefs of a hate group from another city,” police added.
The residents who came across the flyers included Montgomery County Judge-Executive, Chris Haddix. “I think they were disturbed by it,” Haddix said in reference to the reaction of neighbors who saw the flyers. “Any group that’s founded on hate, we obviously denounce that.”
A Mt. Sterling Police Department sergeant, Detective Aaron Noel, said many people disposed of the flyers while others officially notified police about their findings. “We have copies of the flyers, so feel free to throw yours in the trash, where they belong,” police said. “The M.S.P.D. and City of Mt. Sterling do not tolerate any kind of hate or bigotry in our community.”
The flyers in question seemingly highlight a “neighborhood watch” by the Trinity White Knights – a chapter of the KKK. “You can sleep tonight. The Klan is awake!” the flyer states. “Are you having problems in your neighborhood? Report crime and drug dealers.”
Noel said any suspect arrested in connection with the distribution of the flyers could face a trespassing charge if investigators establish the individual entered private property to drop them, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
This isn’t the first time an incident of such nature has occurred in Kentucky, as there have been reported cases in recent times and years. One of the recent incidents occurred in downtown Corbin during a pro-LGBTQ rally. One of the rally organizers, Trent Osborne, said that a man who brandished a firearm also flashed what looked like a “KKK card.”
White supremacist flyers propagating hate were also found in Lexington neighborhoods in November 2020, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. The flyers condemned Antifa and Black Lives Matter, saying that the groups are “destroying our cities and all the time the news makes it seem like they are just peacefully protesting.” Residents in Scott County also came across flyers of such nature in 2020.
