Selma 'Bloody Sunday' Anniversary: Ku Klux Klan Fliers Distributed To Homes In Alabama

The Ku Klux Klan distributed about 4,000 fliers to homes in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, in the days leading up to the 50th anniversary of the day known as "Bloody Sunday." The fliers contained messages opposing civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as anti-immigration information and other crime- and race-related claims.

Klan members have driven by homes and thrown bags with a flier and a rock in them onto doorsteps in the past two weeks, Robert Jones, a KKK leader, told AL.com Sunday. He said fliers were distributed at random to homes, and the rock was supposed to serve as a paperweight.

Thousands gathered in Selma Sunday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the day when police cracked down on a peaceful march by civil-rights demonstrators attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965.

"Everybody has a right to gather in this country," said Jones, a grand dragon of the Loyal White Knights, about the commemoration, adding his group was not upset about the event. He said he was frustrated, however, by the support that existed for King, and said that the fliers were distributed to attract new members and increase the group's name recognition. "The Klan is still out there and we are watching," he told AL.com.

Some residents reportedly called police after receiving the fliers, which bore slogans like "Save our land, Join the Klan" and provided a phone number and website for the local chapter. Text on one flier, a picture of which was posted to Twitter, offered statistics related to race and crime, as well as a conspiracy theory about the mainstream media.