Gary, Indiana, Klan Rally Mainly Draws Protesters
Saturday March 10 8:05 PM ET
GARY, Ind. (Reuters) - Some 20 members of the Ku Klux Klan turned out for a rally on Saturday in this predominantly black northwest Indiana city after winning reluctant approval from local officials. The rally, which began at 1 p.m. EST at a football stadium near the Indiana University Northwest campus, drew a crowd of about 90 protesters, who marched and held signs reading ``Stop the KKK'' in opposition to the Klan's racist message.
About 250 state and local police officers, including a SWAT team dressed in riot gear, were on hand to monitor the rally. No violence was reported. Klan leaders in traditional white robes and hoods spoke for about an hour, focusing on the organization's long-standing theme of white racial purity. They also criticized U.S. affirmative action programs and homosexuals.
``This is our country, and we are here to take it back,'' said one of the leaders of the local KKK chapter, the Church of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, based in Butler, Indiana. At one point during the rally, protesters of all races began to chant, ``Asian, Latin, black, white, races of the world unite!'' Later, about 10 people formed a circle and began to pray.
The Klan chapter, which had originally sought to rally on the steps of City Hall in downtown Gary, received approval from Mayor Scott King for the alternative site last month. The 50-year-old Gilroy Stadium is seldom used. In January, the city rejected a Klan application for a rally on a technicality, and it subsequently extended its permit waiting period to 45 days from one week, citing security reasons.
A federal judge rejected a request by the Klan branch for an injunction declaring the longer waiting period unconstitutional.
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