MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (LEX 18) — People in Mount Sterling woke up Sunday morning to KKK recruitment flyers dropped on their front lawns and driveways.
LEX 18 spotted eight flyers along Holly Hills Drive Sunday afternoon. “The KKK wants you,” many of the flyers read.
Neighbors told LEX 18 there were even more flyers there at the start of the day before people started removing them. Viewers said similar flyers were spread along a nearby street, as well as on at least two streets in Paris, Kentucky.
“It scared us,” said Roger Conatser, who lives in Mount Sterling. He immediately threw away the flyer, along with one in front of his neighbor, after spotting it Sunday morning. “I didn't want to look at it.”
The flyers offer contact information for what is presumably a Ku Klux Klan chapter, as well as sharing strong political statements. Other flyers tell people about what it calls the KKK’s neighborhood watch.
“You can sleep sound tonight, the Klan is awake,” it read.
Lexington NAACP President Whit Whitaker said groups that are inherently racist prey on the fears and concerns of people, making the issue even worse. He learned about the flyers early on Sunday.
“I'm really tired of this,” Whitaker said. “I think members of the KKK are cowards.”
Whitaker said he was worried about a specific line on one of the flyers which suggests people report “crime and drug dealers,” to the KKK. He fears the implication is that the Klan will take what should be a police matter into their own hands.
Mount Sterling police originally told LEX 18 Sunday afternoon it was not investigating the flyers, calling it unfounded. Police did say it received a report about the flyers but it appeared they had all been removed by someone and that there was no evidence.
LEX 18 found flyers in one of the two subdivisions that viewers told us the flyers were found in.
On Monday, after LEX 18 shared flyers were still in the area, the police department announced they are investigating what happened. Several reports about the flyers had been made, they wrote on Facebook.
Police say the flyers contain the beliefs of a hate group not based in Mount Sterling.
Police want the public's help to find those who left the flyers.
"We have copies of the flyers, so feel free to throw yours in the trash, where they belong," the post said. "The M.S.P.D. and City of Mt. Sterling does not tolerate any kind of hate or bigotry in our community."
Police say thr flyers were left on vehicles. None of the neighbors LEX 18 spoke with said they found flyers on their cars - and our crew did not see any flyers on cars.
Whitaker took issue with how only one person called police about the flyers, which was the original statement from police.
“That is a problem because this movement will continue to grow and fester like a cancer,” Whitaker said. “There's not enough people in those neighborhoods standing up.”
He said it’s important to take the issue seriously.
