INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Anonymous: KKK Members To Be Revealed Promises Online ‘Hacktivist’ Group

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 01:35 PST, Oct 30, 2015

Anonymous isn’t through with the Ku Klux Klan. The hacktivist group previously took on the KKK in the aftermath of the Ferguson protests. Now, to “commemorate” its one-year anniversary since launching “OpKKK,” reports are circulating that Anonymous intends a second round of exposures.

According to the Guardian, Anonymous hopes to expose “about 1,000 members” of the KKK, made possible after recently hacking a Twitter account linked to the hate group.

In case you missed it, Anonymous first targeted the Klan in November 2014. The move came after a local Missouri chapter of the KKK began to circulate fliers threatening violence against those protesting the shooting of Ferguson teen Michael Brown. Among those persons protesting were Anonymous members. So when Klan members made their threats, Anonymous took the matter very personally to say the least.

Anonymous hacked into a major KKK Twitter account, which the Guardian notes the group continues to control. They were also able to gain the identity of Ku Klux Klan members, some of whom were exposed during the hacktivist group’s cyber attacks. Sites that were sympathetic to or belonged to suspected KKK members were hit with distributed denial of services or DDoS attacks.

While the previous attacks sent some KKK members scampering, Anonymous has made it clear that they’re not through the hate group. Anonymous issued a press release on Tuesday, which states their upcoming goals.

“Ku Klux Klan, We never stopped watching you. We know who you are. We know the dangerous extent to which you will go to cover your asses. Originally, we did not attack you for your beliefs as we fight for freedom of speech. We attacked you due to your threats to use lethal force in the Ferguson protests. We took this grudge between us rather seriously. You continue to threaten anons and others. We never said we would only strike once.”

[…]

“After closely observing so many of you for so very long, we feel confident that applying transparency to your organizational cells is the right, just, appropriate and only course of action. You are abhorrent. Criminal. You are more than extremists. You are more than a hate group. You operate much more like terrorists, and you should be recognized as such. You are terrorists that hide your identities beneath sheets and infiltrate society on every level. The privacy of the Ku Klux Klan no longer exists in cyberspace.”

The KKK has apparently been reeling from the exposure. The New York Daily News reports that anonymous KKK members complained that the previous round of exposures cost the organization “some good members” who fled the hate group out of fear of their identities being made public.

“What’s sad about it is we lost some good members on account of their idle threats.”

There’s nothing idle about threatening to expose members and supporters of a hate group that’s over 200-years-old. What’s amazing is that the KKK, despite its connection to various hate crimes, especially during the Jim Crow/Civil Rights era, continues to exist in the United States and is legally allowed to protest and hold parades. Despite their association with domestic terrorism, the KKK is entitled to hide behind the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment specifically.

While the KKK may be able to hide behind a convenient legal loophole, it cannot hide on the internet. The last time Klan members mocked Anonymous’s threat, the group responded by taking over their Twitter account and “unmasking” members. This is the type of “cyber warfare” that the KKK has likely never encountered before. As a result, it’s doubtful that members of the hate group have any means of protecting its members from another round of exposure.

Anonymous returned its attention to the KKK after learning the organization will protest on the South Lawn of the White House in support of the Redskins name. It’s doubtful the Washington Redskins team, which has endured increased scrutiny over its offensive name, appreciated the endorsement of the hate group. In any case, this behavior — that is timed fairly close to the anniversary of OpKKK — seems as good an excuse as any by Anonymous to get in some additional trolling of the KKK.

[Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images]

Share this article: Anonymous: KKK Members To Be Revealed Promises Online ‘Hacktivist’ Group
More from Inquisitr