 | |
| Formation | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | White supremacy White nationalism Neo-Nazism Antisemitism Homophobia[1] Anti-miscegenation Christian Identity[2] |
| Headquarters | Dawson Springs, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Ron Edwards | |
| Affiliations | Ku Klux Klan |
| Website | imperialklansofamerica.com (archived) |
TheImperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKA) is awhite supremacist,white nationalist,neo-Naziparamilitary 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 theKu 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 previousKlans.[6]
In 2011, a recurringhoax concerning the IKA's endorsement ofBarack 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 supportingJohn McCain, despite expressing strong dislike for him, as a means of preventing Obama from taking office.[8]
In the early 1990s, Ron Edwards was the head of a Kentucky-based klavern (local unit) of theKnights 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 ofThomas 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) inDawson 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 annualneo-Pagan andwhite power music festival which helped the IKA connect with youngwhite 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 distributorsPanzerfaust andResistance Records, which had both complained about Edwards' personal conduct and his mistreatment of their bands.[3]
In July 2006, Jordan Gruver, a 16-year-old teenager ofPanamanian Indian (Native American) descent,[9] was beaten to the ground at a county fair inBrandenburg, Kentucky, by two IKA members who thought he wasLatino. 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]
InMeade County, Kentucky and on Gruver's behalf, theSouthern Poverty Law Center filed acivil suit against IKA "Imperial Wizard" Ron Edwards and the IKA for the actions of the IKA members.Morris Dees, together with William F. McMurry ofLouisville, 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 attorneyMorris 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 theKentucky 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 fromHal Turner, a white supremacist talk show host.[17]
In 2010, Edwards and his girlfriend, Christine Gillette were arrested for possession and distribution ofcontrolled substances, includinghydrocodone andmethamphetamine. According to the SPLC, the Supreme White Alliance, awhite 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]
Propaganda stickers which threatenedMuslims andhomosexuals and promoted an "Imperial Klans of America, Brazil" were reportedly left inNiterói in 2015.[20]
The IKA was featured onNational Geographic's "Inside American Terror" in 2008 and it was also featured onThe History Channel'sGangland in 2009.[21]
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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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