KKK Posters In Virginia Deride Martin Luther King Jr.

Virginia Police have received several reports of KKK posters deriding Martin Luther King Jr. ahead of the federal holiday celebrating the civil rights leader, according to Washington, D.C., news station WTOP.

Police in Leesburg, Virginia, said that reports of the posters first surfaced Friday night and continued into Saturday.

“On Martin Luther King Day….. You Are Honoring a Communist Alcoholic Pervert,” the posters read.

“The timing of it we think was pre-emptively planned by this individual or individuals that are doing this, specifically to target this weekend because it’s an upcoming holiday and specifically because it honors the legacy of a great man that once existed,” said Leesburg police spokesman Sam Shenouda to WTOP.

Betsy Carroll a resident of Leesburg who found one of the posters told Washington, D.C., ABC-affiliate WJLA that the discovery was unexpected.

“I’m just very surprised. Shocked. I’ve never seen anything like that around here before. I’m surprised that’s happening in the year 2018,” said Carroll.“To be honest, when I saw that it was from the KKK, I pretty much threw it in the trash. I didn’t read it very closely.”

The police said that the posters appeared to be placed randomly and not targeted. There are a number of different groups associated with the white supremacist ideology of the KKK. In 2016 there were 130 KKK groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

This isn’t the first time Leesburg has been targeted by KKK messaging. Last October, several residents of the D.C. suburb found bags of candy with KKK literature on their doorstep just before Halloween.

“Attention White America! We are nearing the end of the line,” read the message, warning of a “white extinction.”

The messaging disparaged African-Americans, Jews and liberals.

Police said that though the community may detest the posters, there might not be much they can do about them legally unless people feel they are in danger.

“The issue comes in with laws that people are breaking, so if we were to pursue charges, we would be pursuing charges for illegal dumping and/or littering. But again we walk that fine line because if we start bringing people to court for that particular charge, then we potentially can be doing that to other individuals who are distributing things that are not concerning to the public such as restaurant menus, flyers for upcoming events and so on,” Shenouda told WTOP.

Police said they will work to identify any possible threats to the community.