The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKA) is a
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
,
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
,
neo-Nazi paramilitary organization. Until the late 2000s, it was the second largest Klan group in the United States,
and the largest at one point in the early 2000s.
In 2008, the IKA was reported to have at least 23 chapters in 17 states, most of which were small.
Since then, the IKA has been weakened by a $2.5 million judgment in 2008 against its leader, Ron Edwards, and several of its members for the beating of a 16-year-old teenager of Native American descent, followed by Edwards' conviction to a 4-year sentence on drug and gun charges in 2011.
Although the IKA remains active in 2020,
it had dwindled to only 2 chapters by 2012.
The IKA is headquartered at a compound in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, which serves as a venue for the hate-rock gathering Nordic Fest.
The group describes itself as the sixth era of the
Ku Klux Klan, and as such argues that it has constitutional rights as part of the "Unorganized Militia" and that it stands upon Supreme Court decisions in favor of previous Klans.
In 2011, a recurring
hoax concerning the IKA endorsing
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
was once again exposed as a farce based on a parody website's humorous reporting. In fact, in 2008, Ron Edwards was quoted as supporting
John McCain, despite expressing strong dislike for him, as a means of preventing Obama from taking office.
History
Early history
In the early 1990s, Ron Edwards was the head of a Kentucky-based klavern (local unit) of the
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catho ...
. 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 of
Thomas 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) in
Dawson Springs, Kentucky
Dawson Springs is a home rule-class city in Hopkins and Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,452.
History
Originally known as Tradewater Bend, the city was incorporated in ...
. 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.
From 2000 onward, Edwards used his Dawson Springs compound to host a local Nordic Fest, an annual
neo-Pagan music festival which helped the IKA connect with young
white nationalists
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
. 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 distributors
Panzerfaust
The ''Panzerfaust'' (, "armour fist" or "tank fist", plural: ''Panzerfäuste'') was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light an ...
and
Resistance Records
Resistance Records was a Canadian record label owned by Resistance LLC which was closely connected to the organization National Alliance. It produced and sold music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website. Adver ...
, which had complained about Edwards' personal conduct and mistreatment of their bands.
Attack on Jordan Gruver
In July 2006, Jordan Gruver, a 16-year-old teenager of
Panamanian Indian (
Native American) descent,
was beaten to the ground at a county fair in
Brandenburg, Kentucky
Brandenburg is a home rule-class city on the Ohio River in Meade County, Kentucky, in the United States. The city is southwest of Louisville. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,643 at the 2010 census.
History
Brandenburg w ...
, by two IKA members who thought he was
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
. Gruver's left forearm and jaw were broken in the attack, and in 2008, he testified that he was suffering from permanent nerve damage and psychological trauma.
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.
The
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
filed a
civil suit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...
on Gruver's behalf in
Meade County, Kentucky against IKA "
Imperial Wizard" Ron Edwards and the IKA for the actions of the IKA members.
Morris Dees
Morris Seligman Dees Jr. (born December 16, 1936) is an American attorney known as the co-founder and former chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Montgomery, Alabama. He ran a direct marketing firm before fou ...
, together with William F. McMurry of
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, Kentucky, represented Jordan Gruver in the trial against the IKA.
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 attorney
Morris Dees
Morris Seligman Dees Jr. (born December 16, 1936) is an American attorney known as the co-founder and former chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Montgomery, Alabama. He ran a direct marketing firm before fou ...
.
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 $1 million in punitive damages. Following the decision, Edwards resigned as leader of the IKA.
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.
His appeal was ultimately denied by the
Kentucky Supreme Court
The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...
in March 2012.
According to Dees, the SPLC's founder and Gruver's counsel during the case, the SPLC received nearly a dozen threats during the case.
A July 2007 letter allegedly came from
Hal Turner
Harold Charles "Hal" Turner (born March 15, 1962) is an American far-right political commentator and convicted felon from North Bergen, New Jersey.
Turner's viewpoints typically encompass Holocaust denial, conspiracy theories, white supremacy, ...
, a white supremacist talk show host.
Drug arrests
In 2010, Edwards and his girlfriend, Christine Gillette were arrested for possession and distribution of
controlled substance
A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single ...
s, including
hydrocodone
Hydrocodone, also known as dihydrocodeinone, is an opioid used to treat pain and as a cough suppressant. It is taken by mouth. Typically it is dispensed as the combination acetaminophen/hydrocodone or ibuprofen/hydrocodone for pain severe eno ...
and
methamphetamine. According to the SPLC, the Supreme White Alliance, a
white power skinhead
White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...
group that had been assisting the IKA with annual hate rock gatherings, decided to break ties with the IKA after Edwards' arrest. In March 2011, Edwards pleaded guilty to federal drug and gun charges and was convicted to a 4-year prison sentence.
Later events
Propaganda stickers which threatened
Muslims and
homosexuals
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
and promoted an "Imperial Klans of America, Brazil" were reportedly left in
Niterói in 2015.
Media depictions
The IKA was featured on
National Geographic's "Inside American Terror" in 2008 and it was also featured on
The History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's ''
Gangland'' in 2009.
References
External links
SPLC Trial Update: Imperial Klans of Americafrom the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
{{Authority control
Ku Klux Klan organizations
Organizations established in 1996
White American culture in Kentucky