KKK recruitment letters handed out in Wilmington communities

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Neighbors are calling it disturbing.

It appears that the Ku Klux Klan is going door-to-door in some communities, passing out recruitment letters.

The letters are from a faction of the KKK called the "Loyal White Knights" and urge those who read them to "help save our race."

Residents at Mill Creek Apartments and other communities off of Kerr Avenue called us after getting the flyers.

One woman told us she saw members of the group wearing robes and handing them out to those in the community.

Riz Ali got one of the letters.

"It was a shock at first," he said. "Then, I started laughing it off because I can't take it seriously. It's too much craziness. You see that and you come from a different race and you're like, wow. This is crazy."

We called the number listed on the letter. The message on the voicemail states, "If you are white and proud, join the crowd." It also goes on to criticize President Barack Obama and plans for immigration reform. We left a message and we're waiting for a call back from the group.

We talked to Chris Barker, the "Imperial Wizard" of the Loyal White Knights. He says he's raising awareness for illegal immigration.

"I try to talk with African Americans all the time about it and they tell me they feel the same way. We are losing our country. This country was built by white Christian men. We have the feeling that they have the exact same rights we do now. They've been here just as long. But these immigrants come in here, taking what's left of American and the African Americans agree with us too. That this is just getting too much."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S., calls the KKK one of the "most infamous and oldest of American hate groups." They estimate there are between 5,000 and 8,000 members of the group. For more information, click here.

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