The Ku Klux Klan isn’t welcome in Asheboro, North Carolina, the city’s mayor said Monday, notwithstanding its plan to hold a cross-burning there in a matter of weeks.
A KKK offshoot known as the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan announced plans last week to gather in Asheboro, north of Charlotte, for a “whites only” event on May 6, spurring condemnation from the city and a local congressman.
Mayor David Smith doubled down on the city’s stance Monday and told local reporters that Klan members aren’t welcome in Asheboro as far as he’s concerned.
“It’s contrary to what we believe. It’s contrary to what most people in Asheboro believe,” Mr. Smith told the Asheboro Courtier-Tribune Monday. “It’s contrary to the message of the City of Asheboro. Our position is, don’t come here.”
“We would prefer that they not come to Asheboro, they are not welcome in Asheboro,” he told a local Fox News affiliate.
The Loyal White Knights is based out of Pelham and is considered to be “perhaps the most active Klan group in the United States,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. That particular faction boasted upwards of 200 members across 15 states last year, the ADL said in a 2016 report.
On its website last week, the Loyal White Knight said it’ll congregate on May 6 in Asheboro for a rally that will include a “klavern meeting,” speeches, dinner and a “crosslighting at dark.”
“The people of Asheboro have worked too hard to unify our community to let an outside group come in and spread racist views without raising our voices loudly in protest. They may have a right to peacefully assemble, but we also have a right to object at the top of our collective voice,” the mayor said in a statement issued by the city Sunday.
“The rally may be constitutional, but this group’s message and legacy are an affront to our core value that all people are created equal,” U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, North Carolina Republican, said in a statement of his own Monday.
But with less than two months until the scheduled event, Asheboro officials this week said the Klan has yet to begin the bureaucratic process of seeking the city’s permission. Marching on city streets and using a city-managed facility would both require permits, but the Klan has so far failed to request an application for either, the city manager said Sunday.
The Loyal White Knights did not respond to requests for comment, the Courier-Tribune reported.
In December, the Loyal White Knights organized a “victory parade” near Pelham to celebrate President Trump’s White House victory. Their celebration was cut short, however, when a party the night before resulted in criminal charges for two Klansmen and a trip to the hospital for another.
The KKK maintained 130 chapters across the U.S. during 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported last month, including the Loyal White Knights.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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