A man was fined $1,000 by a Pearson County judge for littering after leaving flyers for the KKK on people’s windshields. Justin Adams was arrested in April after Roxboro, North Carolina police received calls complaining about the flyers. When some of the flyers fell to the ground, he was charged with littering.
“We do not support the message of the KKK. We have historically demonstrated that and will continue to take appropriate actions. I commend the citizen for calling 911,” wrote Roxboro Police Chief David Hess in an email. “See Something Say Something is what allowed this arrest. I commend officers for taking appropriate actions We support people exercising their constitutional rights. Littering is not a protected right and I commend our officers for taking appropriate action.”
But as CBS17 reports, Adams claims that his right to spread the message of the group is being suppressed.
“It’s freedom of speech. I have the right to speak and say what I want. And, putting out these fliers is our way of reaching out to communities to let them know the Klan is there. If they want to join, they can join,” The admitted KKK member stated.
KKK member fined for littering after passing fliers. He asks: What about free speech? https://t.co/4kULgXiqLP pic.twitter.com/ETm3BsrKV1
— Bruce Henderson (@bhender) August 10, 2018
On Thursday, Adams was brought before Chief District Judge Mark Galloway. Previous incidents of vandalism and violence by KKK members thought to have traveled to North Carolina from other states were mentioned by Galloway. He acknowledged that Adams did not have involvement in those cases. But the choice to pass out the flyers did rest with Adams, as Galloway told Adams’ attorney doing court proceedings.
Adams, a resident of Pennsylvania, has stated he does not agree with the judge’s decision. He claims that Galloway was looking at his case from a biased view point and focused on making an example of him. Galloway has declined to comment on the accusations.
During the hearing on Thursday, however, he did have a statement to make. “The phrase I always heard was, we don’t need any – and you want to know what I’m getting ready to say? – out-of-town agitators.”
Out of town agitators has been a problem faced by Roxboro in recent years. The area has become a meeting ground for KKK members residing in other states. In one incident cited by CBS17 , a group of KKK members drove through the town in December 2016 and were heard by witnesses yelling racial slurs.
