Affiliations Ku Klux Klan | ||
Purpose White supremacy
White nationalism Headquarters Pelham, North Carolina, U.S. Leader "Imperial Wizard"
Chris Barker | ||
The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a Christian white supremacist and antisemitic organization styled after the original Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Formed around 2012, it aims to "restore America to a White, Christian nation founded on God's word".
The organization presents itself as part of a "new KKK". Rejecting the label of a hate group, it describes itself as a "non-violent pro-white civil rights movement." Unlike the Protestant second Ku Klux Klan (1915–1944), the group unites white-supremacist Christians of different denominations. It is however somewhat stricter than other contemporary KKK chapters in accepting only "native-born white American Citizen[s …] of Christian Faith" who "believe in White Supremacy and 100% Americanism."
Activism
In a 2014 recruiting campaign, the group left flyers on cars and in mailboxes in predominantly white neighborhoods of Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Georgia.
In July 2015, members of the Loyal White Knights, who are currently considered the largest KKK chapter, and members of the Trinity White Knights protested the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina. Their rally in front of the State House was joined by members of other KKK chapters, the Neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, and Christian fundamentalists. According to press reports, protesters waved Nazi flags, stepped on Israeli flags, and chanted slurs before clashing with black counter-protesters.
Chris Barker, the group's "Imperial Wizard" was noted as the organizer of a "White lives matter” demonstration on March 2, 2016 in Anaheim, California, when KKK members were attacked by counter-protesters. His comrade Will Quigg, the "California Grand Dragon West Coast King Kleagle" of the Loyal White Knights and as such in charge of the area from Texas to the Pacific, was attacked. Brian Levin, a professor and director of the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, intervened, saving Quigg from further harm. He proceeded to engage in playing down the Holocaust and blamed Jews for what he called "white cultural genocide". Quigg supported Donald Trump early in the primaries of the United States presidential election, 2016. However, in March 2016, Quigg changed his endorsement to Hillary Clinton, claiming that she has a "hidden agenda", although questions have been raised by Snopes over the sincerity of his endorsement.