KKK speaks out about protesters, views

Many people have claimed that the Ku Klux Klan provoked the violence and rioting that occurred at the rally on June 22, and that they should not have been there. The KKK members, on the other hand, say that they were only exercising their First Amendment rights.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, the National Imperial Wizard Jeff Berry of Butler, Ind., claimed that the protesters at the rally behaved improperly and were out of line. "Animal behavior - that's what it was," he said.

"We're a peaceful organization. We just wanted to express our First Amendment rights," he said.

Fifteen "knights" from the Klan spoke from atop the Municipal Building roof to a crowd of several hundred protesters. Their message, however, could barely be heard through the noise of the chanting crowd.

"We want to make people see what the government is doing to us with affirmative action and gun control," Berry said. "They're trying to take away our rights."

Almost 300 local police officers were employed at the rally to keep the crowd under control .

The rally got violent, however, when protesters against the KKK began throwing rocks and sticks as the Klan members were leaving. One of the Klan members, Berry's wife, suffered a minor injury when she was hit in the head with a rock.

Although many of the protesters have blamed the police response to the crowd for the violent situation, Berry said he believes they were not responsible.

Of Keshia Thomas, the Ypsilanti resident who shielded a man wearing a shirt bearing the Confederate flag from attacking protesters, Berry said, "God bless her. She did the right thing."

Berry expressed anger over the public attitude toward the KKK. "People call us a hate group but we didn't show no hate at the rally," he said.

Berry defined Klan thoughts about people of color and of Jewish descent: "We're against them. We're against interracial marriages. We go by the Bible and it says to marry in your own tribe."

Berry also said that the Klan would return to Ann Arbor some time next year to hold another rally. "I think the people in Ann Arbor need to keep the gangs and riffraff away from our next rally," Berry said.

The Klan is planning to stage rallies this Saturday in Midland and Saginaw.

JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Keshia Thomas falls to the ground on June 22 as police officers take away another anti-KKK protestor.

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