Ku Klux Klan promise to use ‘lethal force’ draws Anonymous into Ferguson shooting legal decision fight
WAR is brewing between two of the most secretive groups in the US - the Ku Klux Klan and Anonymous. And it’s round one to the internet hacktivists.
THE Ku Klux Klan is set for a showdown with internet “hacktivism” group Anonymous over the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of an unarmed black teenager.
As police from Boston to Los Angeles brace across the US in anticipation of large demonstrations - when a grand jury decides whether to indict the white police officer who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, St Louis - the Ku Klux Klan has begun to wage its own war of intimidation — promising the use of ‘lethal force’ against protesters.
“The good people of St Louis County of all races, colours and creeds will not tolerate your threats of violence against our police officers, their families and our communities,” a flyer allegedly distributed by the Klan asserts. “We will use lethal force as provided under Missouri law to defend ourselves.”
It’s a threat which has self-declared defenders of the oppressed, Anonymous, up in arms.
In retaliation, the collective of internet “hackers” have promised to take the hoods off Klan members who occupy seats of authority and disrupt their internet and social media presence.
1 2 3 4, Anonymous declares a Cyber War. #Anonymous #OpKKK
— Anonymous Australia (@GroupAnonAU) November 15, 2014The irony of the move is not lost on Anonymous, who are themselves the target of intensive police efforts around the United States to expose those behind the activist rabble so often responsible for embarrassing authority figures.
In true Anonymous style, they’ve even released a video announcing their anti-KKK campaign.
The KKK has themselves taken to the airwaves, with spokesman Frank Ancona talking to MSNBC in support of their cause.
But Anonymous has drawn first blood: Taking control of what they say is the official KKK Twitter account.
16 NOV 2014 09:11:47You should've expected us. #OpKKK continues to be a success. Freedom will prevail. pic.twitter.com/FUrNzBpVOa
— Ku Klux Klan (@KuKluxKlanUSA) November 16, 2014Klan ‘prepared for war’
The KKK says the time for patience is over as Ferguson “terrorists” threaten US citizens.
“It kind of came about from hundreds of calls we’ve been getting from residents in St Louis County concerned with things that they’ve seen on social media,” Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK head Frank Ancona said.
He went on to say: “Random attacks on whites, D.C. sniper-style shootings, police officers being threatened that their wives are gonna be raped, and that they’re all targets.”
Ancona offered no evidence to support his claims.
So again, for clarity the MAIN and REAL National KKK Twitter account @KuKluxKlanUSA HAS been hijacked by Anonymous. The others are jokes.
— Operation Ferguson (@OpFerguson) November 16, 2014But he does claim to have the support of local police.
“A lot of them are very frustrated with how the governor has sided with the criminals in a lot of instances,” Ancona said.
We have taken control of @KuKluxKlanUSA We told you we would attack back. #OpKKK #HoodsOff
— #OpKKK (@OperationKKK) November 16, 2014When pressed about the KKK having had direct contact with Ferguson police, Ancona backed down, saying: “I’m telling you, I have friends who know people in law enforcement,” Ancona replied, backtracking. “Let’s just put it that way.”
America braces
But the bickering between secretive organisations threatens to become a mere sideshow once the St Louis County grand jury, which has been meeting since August. 20, decides whether Officer Darren Wilson is charged with a crime for killing Michael Brown after ordering the 18-year-old and a friend to stop walking in the street on August 9.
The shooting has led to tension between the largely unemployed community and heavily militarised police in a string of unruly protests.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon have issued a variety of statements in the past week, threatening protesters with severe penalties if they once again resort to violence.
“That ugliness was not representative of Missouri and it cannot be repeated,” Nixon said at a news conference.
As for the presence of heavily militarised police and local National Guard units: “The National Guard has been and will continue to be part of our contingency planning,” he said.
Fears of social disturbances have spread far beyond the St Louis suburb.
For some US cities, a decision in the racially charged case will, inevitably, reignite long-simmering debates over local police relations with minority communities.
“It’s definitely on our radar,” said Lt. Michael McCarthy, police spokesman in Boston, where police leaders met privately last week to discuss preparations. “Common sense tells you the timeline is getting close. We’re just trying to prepare in case something does step off, so we are ready to go with it.”
In Los Angeles, rocked by riots in 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, police officials say they’ve been in touch with their counterparts in Missouri, where Gov. Jay Nixon and St. Louis-area law enforcement held a news conference on their own preparations.
“Naturally, we always pay attention,” said Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a police spokesman. “We saw what happened when there were protests over there and how oftentimes protests spill from one part of the country to another.”
In Las Vegas, police joined pastors and other community leaders this week to call for restraint at a rally tentatively planned northwest of the casino strip when a decision comes.
Ferguson plans response
Activists in Ferguson met at the weekend to map out their protest plans. Meeting organisers encouraged group members to provide their names upon arrest as Darren Wilson or Michael Brown to make it more difficult for police to process them.
In the neighbouring town of Berkeley, Missouri, officials this week passed out flyers urging residents to be prepared for unrest just as they would a major storm — with plenty of food, water and medicine in case they’re unable to leave home for several days.
In Boston, a group called “Black Lives Matter,” which also has chapters in other major cities, is organising a rally in front of the police district office in the Roxbury neighbourhood the day after an indictment decision.
In October, the group, as part of a larger coalition, rallied in front of police headquarters protesting the department’s “racially biased stop, frisk, and search practices” and expressing solidarity with protesters in Ferguson.
Organisers at the time pointed to an American Civil Liberties Union report that concluded Boston’s black residents are more likely to be stopped, questioned or searched by police, an assertion the department has strongly disputed, saying it was based on old data.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, police are expecting demonstrations after having dealt with a string of angry protests following a March police shooting of a homeless camper and more than 40 police shootings since 2010.
But big-city police departments stressed they’re well-equipped to handle crowds.
Indeed, many saw large, mostly peaceful demonstrations following the 2013 not-guilty verdict in the slaying in Florida of an unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who was not a police officer but coordinated the local neighbourhood watch.
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