KKK spreads self-deportation message across Chattanooga

Chattanooga Police responded Monday night to the Highland Park neighborhood in downtown Chattanooga on the report of KKK flyers littering the roads. By Tuesday morning, news of the flyers spread quickly across the close-knit neighborhood. One community member stated that he had witnessed the flyers being distributed by anonymous individuals driving in a white truck with tinted windows during the night. While one flyer reads, “Leave now, self-deport, avoid detention,” another gives information about an upcoming Klan meeting in Kentucky and a phone number for any further questions.

Both the Chattanooga Police Department and the mayor issued statements, with Police Chief John Chambers stating, “I want to personally assure you that your police department is working tirelessly… to identify and hold accountable the individuals who, under the cover of nightfall, sought to spread fear, hatred, and division in our community. Let me be unequivocally clear: acts like distributing Klan propaganda or engaging in any behavior meant to intimidate or divide us have no place in Chattanooga. We are a community built on strength, unity, and mutual respect.”

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly stated, “I want to make something absolutely clear: hate has no place in Chattanooga. Ours is a strong and connected community, and we will oppose any person or group that attempts to divide us. The KKK knows that, which is why they acted cowardly and anonymously while committing this act of hate. Chattanoogans are better than this, and the residents I talk to on a daily basis are welcoming, kind, generous people, always looking for a way to help their neighbors. We may not always agree on everything, but we always love and support each other. We must not let a small group of cowards lead us to believe anything different.”
This is not an isolated incident.

Over recent days, areas of Cleveland, Athens, Sweetwater, and other towns in East Tennessee have also reported seeing the flyers. The Imperial Grand Wizard of the Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, William Bader, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that he and his group have distributed over 2,000 fliers with similar messages in an attempt to increase recruitment numbers.But recruitment numbers are not the only thing on Bader’s mind. He says, “White America is waking up. That’s what it is. And history does repeat itself. I believe that we will have a white homeland. That is our goal. And that is our passion.”

With the administration’s new policy on immigration reforms, more groups like Bader’s are taking advantage of the current political climate and are appealing to those who align with Trump’s hardline views on immigrants. The dehumanization of immigrants and false sentiments being spread across the nation mirror past views on African Americans, and the KKK has jumped at this opportunity to divide the country further.

The Chattanooga Police say they continue to investigate, and anyone with information should contact them at 423-698-2525.