Day by day it seems the racists of America are growing in confidence. Disturbing reports of KKK members infiltrating a Halloween parade in the town of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, have been circulating online with some residents taking to TikTok to spread the news.
TikToker, “shagisabadword,” is a local to the area. In a video that currently has almost 9 million views she tells viewers she’s going to her local township “to ask them how the f— and why the f— did the KKK walk through our local Halloween parade.”
@shagisabadword like I am genuinely baffled. And Cbs is trying to lie in this news article saying that children were not provided these cards, but I know parents who said in their buckets the KKK cards were inside of them.
♬ Opera – Puccini – Hollywood Strings Orchestrathese cards were passed to children. And Facebook is trying to make it seem like this is not bad of a situation because they were not targeting children. THE KKK should not be walking in a Halloween parade at all
The fact that the literal KKK apparently feel comfortable enough to show up to a public event is incredibly concerning but sadly not all that surprising for the U.S. anymore. The rise of right-wing ideologies thanks to the likes of MAGA have only emboldened the more extremist groups. They now feel like they can publicly express their opinions like it’s the 1920s again.
Members of the group reportedly moved through the Halloween parade and handed out business cards. Parents found the cards amongst the sweets in their children’s candy bags.
The cards were for the “Women of the Ku Klux Klan” (WKKK). They featured the phrases “Invisible Empire,” “Family-Country-Liberty,” and “A revival of the American spirit,” according to an article from pennlive.com. They also featured an email address and a phone number.
How did the Mechanicsburg council respond?
Naturally there was a huge public outcry as people questioned how these people had managed to infiltrate the event. A joint statement released by the borough’s council members and the town mayor addressed the business cards after a meeting on Tuesday.
“The reported distribution of hate-based literature at our community’s Halloween Parade has left us deeply saddened and disturbed. Although our Police Department reported no illegal activity during the event, this act directly contradicts our shared values in the Borough of Mechanicsburg.”
When asked by a resident if they had a plan to stop such incidents from occurring in the future the answer wasn’t what many wanted to hear. A solicitor for the borough claimed that the material on the business cards is protected by the first amendment. This means there is little that can be done by way of reprimanding those responsible for handing them out.
Another resident spoke of how the knowledge that such a group is active within their community made them feel “uneasy.” They asked if the FBI had been contacted. A member of the council responded telling them that federal agencies “have been alerted.” They also claimed that the council will ”continue to track this behavior.”
For now it seems the individuals responsible for handing out the cards won’t be apprehended which is worrying to think about.
