KKK flier says Jews control the money in America
NEW YORK – The Anti-Defamation league said last week it is “troubled” by the fliers that the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan has been circulating since the end of last month in communities in upstate New York, Long Island and the Hamptons.
“Wake up white America! Jews control the money in America. Period. End of Story,” one of the fliers stated. “Zionist Jews own and run the Federal Reserve Bank.”
“Join us to stop Zionist control over your government,” the text continued.
The leaflets, found on utility poles and cars in towns including Syracuse, Liverpool and Westhampton, also bashed African Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement, while promoting “white pride” and attacking transgender individuals, calling them an “abomination.”
“These freaks are jeopardizing the safety of bathrooms all across the nation for our women and children. This needs to stop,” the fliers said.
By distributing the fliers, the KKK also tried to recruit more members. “We are the invisible empire, have been for 150 years,” it wrote. “We are in every state, you will not be alone anymore.”
However, according to the ADL, while the fliers serve as “a stark reminder that they still actively seek to disseminate their vile messages,” KKK groups are generally in decline across the country.
“While it may be quite concerning to come across such a flier in one’s own neighborhood, the reality is that few longstanding groups still exist,” ADL New York regional director Evan R. Bernstein said in a statement.
According to ADL’s Center on Extremism, there are currently 30 active Klan groups in the US and approximately 3,000 Klan members nationwide.
In a report released in May, the organization also found that the Klan today is a collection of mostly small, disjointed groups with no predominant leadership or stability, “despite efforts by Ku Klux Klan groups to gain publicity by exploiting the presidential election and distributing hate literature.”
The report also said that “distributing racist fliers has evolved into a key Klan tactic, as it requires few members to accomplish.”
The recent incidents in New York State are not the first of their kind. In 2015, ADL counted 86 separate occurrences in which Klan fliers were left on doorsteps or driveways in neighborhoods around the country, an increase from 73 similar incidents in 2014.