Dozens and dozens of Ku Klux Klan fliers have been left in neighborhood lawns and driveways throughout Greene County over the past few weeks.
Greene County, Pennsylvania, Regional Police Captain William DeForte said the department has received calls from several residents about the fliers.
Morris Township resident Kris Kreuzer is among those who received a flyer.
Kreuzer said her husband, Chuck, went out to pick up the newspaper Saturday morning and discovered someone had left one of the fliers on their mailbox overnight.
“The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I was so upset,” said Kreuzer. “It’s really scary when something like that lands on your driveway. It’s an invasion.”
DeForte said distribution of the fliers in parts of Greene County “has been prolific” in recent weeks.
“Several members of the community have come forward to notify us about the fliers. Residents are concerned because this isn’t something the residents believe in,” said DeForte. “This type of activity is Draconian and unacceptable. The people in my community are good people, and this is not what the people of Greene County represent.”
DeForte said the department is investigating the flyer distribution, and plans to contact the Greene County district attorney’s office to collaborate.
Additionally, the department will notify the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2019, the SPLC tracked 36 active hate groups in Pennsylvania, including white nationalists, making it the eighth most active state in the country.
DeForte considers the fliers “on the edge of the protections of the First Amendment when speech would cause civil unrest.”
The fliers were placed in plastic bags and weighed down with birdseed.
The flyer contained white supremacist propaganda messages and included contact information for the KKK in Pelham, N.C., including a mailing address, telephone number, hotline number, and a website address.
Dr. Andrew Goudy, president of the Washington Branch of the NAACP, said, “The NAACP will not tolerate any organization that openly spews hatred toward minority groups in this area. We urge all decent people in Washington and Greene counties to reject the hatred coming from the KKK.”
DeForte advised residents who receive a flyer to contact the Greene County Regional Police Department at 724-428-3009 or the Greene County district attorney’s office at 724-852-5272 or 724-852-5273.
