Imperial Wizard/President Frank Ancona, of the Traditionalist American Knights Ku Klux Klan based in Park Hills, MO, said his group was asked to come to Arnold.
See previous article: KKK Lawsuit Persuades Arnold to Allow Flyers on Vehicles
"Sometimes we get requests from residents and members in the area because of drug or crime problems," he said. "I believe the Arnold request was made because of a crime against a child in that town. The Klan has a severe issue with crimes against children."
Ancona said the group, based in Park Hills, MO, recently conducted a drive in Desoto, Mo, because someone had requested its presence because of another reported crime against a child. He added that the group also gets frequent calls regarding drug problems in communities.
"We want the local people to know we're keeping an eye out for these crimes," he said. "We hate these drugs and what they are doing to our children. We do not hate other races, but we look out for our family."
Ancona said the group had planned on conducting a drive in Arnold this past weekend, but members decided to reschedule the visit because of the city's ordinance banning the placement of flyers on vehicles.
On Thursday, the Arnold City Council agreed to allow the KKK to place flyers on vehicles in spite of the city's law banning the practice. The American Civil Liberties Union—on behalf of the KKK—served the city an injunction requesting that it rescind the ordinance to allow KKK members to place literature on vehicles without penalty.
Rather than challenging the action, which could have resulted in a lawsuit, the council agreed the city would not enforce its law against KKK members until the measure can be amended.
Stay tuned to Patch for further details.
Interesting letter.
Council may not have put their foot down in stating we would stand against the KKK distributing flyers, but to say council "agreed to allow" is a huge misrepresentation of our intention. This is a complex issue with many unintended consequences attached and needs to be researched and examined before any decision is made. The rights of many people will be affected by upholding/changing this ordinance, which includes not just the 1st Amendment, but the rights of property owners, and as far as I'm concerned, whether the government should even be involved in creating a law such as the "Handbill Ordinance" restricting freedoms. One of the stated reasons for the original "Handbill Ordinance" was littering. I believe there is already an ordinance concerning littering and has it's own penalties for violating that ordinance. So therefore, if that is the City's only basis, other than protecting people once again, I believe the "Handbill Ordinance" should be abolished and we should allow individuals to govern their own private property.