Ku Klux Klan Promotional Fliers Distributed To Neighbors In Cinnaminson
CINNAMINSON, N.J. (CBS) -- Neighbors in Cinnaminson woke-up Sunday morning to Ku Klux Klan promotional fliers on their doorsteps.
"It looked like a valentine," said Rita Strough, walking in the misty rain Sunday morning.
But Strough said what she found during her morning walk in Cinnaminson was far from a love note.
"If you see on the back, there's a little picture of a Klansman. I was like, 'Whoa, what is this?' To me, it's just Neanderthal thinking. It's so backwards," she said.
Along Lenola Road near Memorial Park, Strough discovered several Ku Klux Klan promotional fliers, each folded into a Ziploc baggie and weighed down with dry rice.
The New Jersey chapter of NAACP condemned this hate crime as unnecessary hate, conducted by hateful people.
"This message of hate - whether it stems from some lone individual with a printer, or some group of anonymous, hateful people - has absolutely no place in our community, or any community," the NAACP chapter said in a statement. "The Southern Burlington County Chapter of the NAACP condemns it fully, and urges local leaders in the region and throughout the State, from all ethnic, political, and religious backgrounds, to do the same forcefully. Clearly, the fight for civil rights is not over in New Jersey. The Southern Burlington County NAACP has the full support of the New Jersey State Conference NAACP as this struggle continues!"
It's not clear how many neighbors received the handmade baggies, but Eyewitness News found several dropped along driveways on Lenola Road.
"It says, 'Love your own race. Stop homosexuality and race mixing.' What? What the heck is this?" said Rashawn Davis.
Davis and Ray Swinney discovered one of the fliers on their driveway.
"It makes me very uncomfortable because we all deserve to be treated equally," Swinney said.
Eyewitness News tried to get answers by calling the contact number listed on the KKK flier, and it directed us to an automated message.
"The reason we love living here is because it's a melting pot," Strough said. "It's just disheartening because I don't think there's room for this in our society."
Strough said she contacted Cinnaminson Police and is speaking up to combat the hate she said is perpetuated by the Klan.
"I'm not homosexual. I'm not African-American. But this feels like it happened to me, and that's how we need to start acting," she said. "If you're going to love something, love the human race. We're all connected."
"I think the same reaction as everybody else in this community. Disgust," Cinnaminson Police Lieutenant Tim Young told Eyewitness News. "If the Ku Klux Klan wanted to get a permit and assemble, nobody in the country could stop them from doing that. However driving down a residential street and throwing your message out of a car window, I don't believe that's covered under free speech," Young told Eyewitness News.
Neighbors on South Boulevard Avenue in Maple Shade also reported receiving the same fliers. Eyewitness News has also learned police in Moorestown are investigating the discovery of one flier there.
Moorestown Police Chief Lee Lieber told Eyewitness News a woman walking a dog found another flier, fitting the same description as the Cinnaminson fliers. His office also got another call about the fliers.
