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Imperial Klans of America

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Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Formation1996
PurposeWhite supremacy
White nationalism
Neo-Nazism
Antisemitism
Homophobia[1]
Anti-miscegenation
Christian Identity[2]
HeadquartersDawson Springs, Kentucky, U.S.
Ron Edwards
AffiliationsKu Klux Klan
Websiteimperialklansofamerica.com (archived)

The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKA) is a white supremacist, white nationalist, neo-Nazi paramilitary organization. Until the late 2000s, it was the second largest Klan group in the United States,[2] and at one point in the early 2000s, it was the largest.[3] In 2008, the IKA was reported to have at least 23 chapters in 17 states, most of which were small.[4]

Since then, the IKA has been weakened by a $2.5 million judgment which was imposed on its leader, Ron Edwards, and several of its members, in 2008, for the beating of a 16-year-old teenager of Native American descent, followed by Edwards' conviction and a 4-year prison sentence on drug and gun charges in 2011.[3] Although the IKA remains active in 2020,[2][5] it had dwindled to only 2 chapters by 2012.[3]

The IKA is headquartered at a compound in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, which serves as a venue for the hate-rock gathering Nordic Fest.[2] The group describes itself as the sixth era of the Ku Klux Klan, and as such, it argues that it has constitutional rights as part of the "Unorganized Militia" and it also argues that it stands upon Supreme Court decisions in favor of previous Klans.[6]

In 2011, a recurring hoax concerning the IKA's endorsement of Barack Obama was once again exposed as a farce based on a parody website's humorous reporting.[7] In fact, in 2008, Ron Edwards was quoted as supporting John McCain, despite expressing strong dislike for him, as a means of preventing Obama from taking office.[8]

History

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Early history

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In the early 1990s, Ron Edwards was the head of a Kentucky-based klavern (local unit) of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. In July 1994, he joined the short-lived Federation of Klans after it broke away from the Knights of the KKK, which, under the leadership of Thomas Robb, had been seeking to improve the Klan's image by portraying it as a gentler organization. Led by former Robb follower Ed Novak, the splinter group died out in 1995. The following year, Edwards founded his own organization, the Imperial Klans of America (IKA) in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. In April 1998 Edwards' home was raided by federal agents as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to bomb a federal building, but the charges were eventually dropped.[3]

From 2000 onward, Edwards used his Dawson Springs compound to host a local Nordic Fest, an annual neo-Pagan and white power music festival which helped the IKA connect with young white nationalists. At one point in the early 2000s, the IKA became the largest active Ku Klux Klan group in the United States. In 2001, more than 300 people attended the event, but only 60 of them came in 2003 due to conflicts with the racist music distributors Panzerfaust and Resistance Records, which had both complained about Edwards' personal conduct and his mistreatment of their bands.[3]

Attack on Jordan Gruver

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In July 2006, Jordan Gruver, a 16-year-old teenager of Panamanian Indian (Native American) descent,[9] was beaten to the ground at a county fair in Brandenburg, Kentucky, by two IKA members who thought he was Latino. Gruver's left forearm and jaw were both broken in the attack, and in 2008, he testified that he was suffering from permanent nerve damage and psychological trauma.[10][3] In February 2007, IKA members Jarred R. Hensley and Andrew R. Watkins were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison as punishment for their involvement in the incident.[2][11]

In Meade County, Kentucky and on Gruver's behalf, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a civil suit against IKA "Imperial Wizard" Ron Edwards and the IKA for the actions of the IKA members. Morris Dees, together with William F. McMurry of Louisville, Kentucky, represented Jordan Gruver in the trial against the IKA.[12] On the second day of the civil trial, a former member of the IKA testified that the Klan had told him to kill Southern Poverty Law Center chief attorney Morris Dees.[13]

On November 14, 2008, a jury of seven men and seven women ruled against Edwards and awarded Gruver $1.5 million in compensatory damages and it also awarded Gruver $1 million in punitive damages.[14] Following the decision, Edwards resigned as leader of the IKA.[3] He appealed against the ruling, and the court overturned the decision on January 14, 2011, sending it to a second trial in the original court venue.[15] His appeal was ultimately denied by the Kentucky Supreme Court in March 2012.[16]

According to Dees, the SPLC's founder and Gruver's counsel during the case, the SPLC received nearly a dozen threats during the case.[17] A July 2007 letter allegedly came from Hal Turner, a white supremacist talk show host.[17]

Drug arrests

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In 2010, Edwards and his girlfriend, Christine Gillette were arrested for possession and distribution of controlled substances, including hydrocodone and methamphetamine. According to the SPLC, the Supreme White Alliance, a white power skinhead group that had been assisting the IKA with annual hate rock gatherings, decided to break ties with the IKA after Edwards' arrest.[18][19] In March 2011, Edwards pleaded guilty to federal drug and gun charges and was sentenced to four years in prison.[9]

Later events

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Propaganda stickers which threatened Muslims and homosexuals and promoted an "Imperial Klans of America, Brazil" were reportedly left in Niterói in 2015.[20]

Media depictions

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The IKA was featured on National Geographic's "Inside American Terror" in 2008 and it was also featured on The History Channel's Gangland in 2009.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Klan Political Agenda". imperialklansofamerica.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-10-09. Outlaw homo-sexuality and inter-racial marriages.Until 20 or so years ago, nearly all states had 'sodomy' and miscegenation laws and statutes that were strictly enforced. Since that time they have been repealed or are ignored, the results are obvious with the plague of AIDS now ravaging our land. Both of these abominations against God and nature must be stopped if America is ever to return to the great Christian nation it once was.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Imperial Klans of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Ron Edwards". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  4. ^ "No. 2 Klan group on trial in Ky. teen's beating". NBC News. November 11, 2008. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  5. ^ IKA. "Home". IKA. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. ^ "Imperial Klans of America International Headquarters". Imperial Klans of America. 2008. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  7. ^ "FACT CHECK: Barack Obama Endorsed by the KKK". Snopes. 23 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Why White Supremacists Support Barack Obama". 11 June 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Klan Boss Ron Edwards Sentenced to Four Years on Drug Charges". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. ^ "Jury awards $2.5 million to teen beaten by Klan members - CNN.com". CNN. November 17, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  11. ^ "Reputed Klan leader denies role in Meade Co. beating". Louisville Courier-Journal. August 15, 2007. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  12. ^ McMurry, William. "Klan ordered to pay $2.5 million in civil trial". Courtroomlaw.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  13. ^ Barrouquere, Brett (November 13, 2008). "Former member: Ky. Klan plotted to kill attorney". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "Jury awards $2.5M to teen beaten by Klan members". CNN. November 14, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  15. ^ Caperton, Clayton, and Buckingham, Judges. "Court of Appeals of Kentucky: Edwards v. Hensley". findlaw.com. Retrieved December 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Kentucky Supreme Court Upholds SPLC's Crushing Legal Victory Against Notorious Klan Leader". Southern Poverty Law Center. March 16, 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  17. ^ a b Klass, Kym (August 17, 2007). "Southern Poverty Law Center beefs up security". Montgomery Advertiser. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  18. ^ Racist Skinheads Renounce Busted IKA Leader published by splcenter.org
  19. ^ Klan leader Ron Edwards arrested by the FBI in drug bust Archived 2011-02-12 at the Wayback Machine published by adl.org
  20. ^ Cariello, Gabriel (21 September 2015). "Cartazes de grupo inspirado na Ku Klux Klan ameaçam homossexuais e muçulmanos em Niterói". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  21. ^ "KKK: Inside American Terror". National Geographic. 2008. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
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