'The Faces of Hate' premieres at the Historic Howell Theater

Yahoo

07-02-2025

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A new documentary is diving into a difficult part of Livingston County's history—its connections to the Ku Klux Klan—with a personal twist.
The film is called 'Faces of Hate,' and it premiered Thursday night at the Historic Howell Theater, now streaming on Amazon Prime and Roku. Howell—and Livingston County as a whole—have historic ties to the KKK.
'Despite what people might be saying in terms of the media or the government, there really is a problem here in terms of racism and, you know, white supremacy in general,' said Daniel Wheeler-Pfau, a volunteer at the event. 'And that is something that hopefully this film will help individuals see.'
The film follows the story of Jason Barker, a former extremist convicted in 2001 for assault and ethnic intimidation against a black man in Brighton, MI. Danish journalist Steffen Hou was writing a book about hate in America when he came across Barkler and decided to make him the subject of a film.
The documentary was filmed over the course of nearly a decade—including Barker's time behind bars—and details his journey from hate to redemption as he uncovers how his extremist views stemmed from a troubled childhood.
Hou hopes the film provides a new perspective to those with a narrow outlook on diversity.
'By the end of the film, you can actually see a physical change in him and for the better, obviously,' says Adam Moyer, the film's producer. 'But you will see something at the beginning that is frankly, you know, frankly, a little bit scary. And by the end, there's this incredible loving human being that looks happy and healthy.'
The premiere included armed guards at the front of the theatre in case of backlash against the film—and it turns out that those armed guards may have been important.
Video obtained by 6 News shows several masked individuals holding Nazi flags gathered outside of the theater engaging in a confrontation with other people present. There have been no reports of violence known to 6 News at the time.
This is the third time in the past 6 months have demonstrated in Livingston County.
6 News will update you when we learn more.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.