SEDALIA, Mo. — Residents in some Sedalia neighborhoods say that they were shocked after finding fliers promoting the Ku Klux Klan in their yards and on their cars on the holiday marking Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday.
According to a report in the Sedalia Democrat, the fliers – which stated, “We’re bringing back the traditional ways of the Ku Klux Klan to the modern day,” were found mostly in neighborhoods on the city’s east side.
Police say that the fliers were carefully placed to avoid any violations of the law, such as trespassing or littering, so there won’t be any criminal investigation into them.
“This a freedom of speech issue,” Sedalia Police Lt. William Chapman told the Democrat. “Whoever put the fliers out were very careful. They put them on windshields so they didn’t trespass on private property and they also put the fliers in plastic bags, weighted down with rocks so they can’t be charged for littering if the fliers blew away.”
One of the recipients of the fliers, Lisa Flores, says that she was on the city’s MLK Day Parade committee.
“I was completely shocked, upset and scared,” Flores told the Democrat. “I’ve lived in Sedalia all my life and it upsets me that this is starting here.”
Police say that it doesn’t appear that anyone was specifically targeted by whoever left the fliers.
