As Ferguson, Mo., Waits on Word from Grand Jury, So Does the Klan

If you ask the Ku Klux Klan, a gut wrenching racially charged American tragedy should never go to waste.

Since the beginning, in early August, at least two factions of the hooded Klansmen have repeatedly tried to exploit and inject themselves into the middle of the sad saga of the death of Michael Brown, the black, unarmed teenager who was shot and killed in Ferguson, Mo., by police officer Darren Wilson.

Since then, the Klan has raised money for Wilson, who is white, joined rallies for him with other supporters and vowed to come to the Ferguson area to protect “white businesses” with guns.

And most recently, as Ferguson and the rest of the country anxiously await the decision by a grand jury on whether Wilson will be charged in the case – a decision expected to be announced any day now – the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan last week threatened to use “lethal force” against protesters in the St. Louis suburb.

“We will not sit by and allow you to harm our families, communities, property nor disrupt our daily lives,” the group declared in a flyer.

For months now, protesters – black and white – have filled the streets of Ferguson, demanding Wilson be arrested and charged with the 18-year-old’s slaying. While most of the protests have been nonviolent, some have included looting, clashes with heavily armed police and dozens of arrests.

That fact didn’t stop the Klan from issuing its threats, veiled in the talk of self-defense.

“You have been warned by the Ku Klux Klan,” the flyer stated. “There will be consequences of your actions against the peaceful, law abiding citizens of Missouri.”

But it is the Missouri-based Klan group that has had to face the consequences of its actions. Shortly after the Klan threat, the hacker collective Anonymous launched a campaign to target the group, publicly identifying its members through social media, as well as taking over its Twitter account.

“Due to your actions we started Operation KKK,” Anonymous said in a video. “The aim of our operation is nothing more than Cyber Warfare. Anything you upload will be taken down, anything you use to promote KKK will be shut down.”

The Missouri KKK group was not the first band of Klansmen trying to throw gasoline on the tensions in Ferguson.

Just days after Brown was killed, the South Carolina-based New Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan announced its Missouri chapter was raising money for the then still unnamed officer, who the Klan group hailed as a hero for shooting Brown at least six times in the middle of the street in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.

“We are setting up a reward/fund for the police officer who shot this thug,” the Klan said in an email. “He is a hero! We need more white cops who are anti-Zog and willing to put Jewish controlled black thugs in their place."

A few days later, as black and white protesters filled the streets of Ferguson, demanding the officer’s arrest, the Empire Knights issued another chilling message. They said they were coming to the Ferguson area from three different states to guard “white businesses,” but it is unclear if any of ever showed up.

So far, it appears the two groups are filled with not much more than keyboard Klansmen, who throw verbal Molotov cocktails and then hide behind their sheets.

That is, before Anonymous got ahold of their Twitter account and ripped off their hoods.