Latest news with #WilliamBader
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
'Quite a few of us out tonight': 'Pop-up Klans' use KKK flyers for attention
In some places in the United States, the Ku Klux Klan is a memory, something relegated to textbooks. But not in Cincinnati. Here, as recently as 2000, a massive white cross was stationed in the middle of Fountain Square through the Christmas season. Occasionally social media posts from residents or police departments and local news reports mention groups leaving white supremacist flyers on cars, in streets, or people's front yards. Rarely do the reports mention anyone being cited in those instances. However, after a neo-Nazi demonstration over Interstate 75 near Lincoln Heights on Feb. 7 attracted national scutiny and left residents on edge, it is no surprise that William Bader caught the attention of local authorities when he drove through the village late last month throwing KKK leaflets out his window, according to police reports. Members of the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch program spotted him around 2 a.m. on Feb. 23 and contacted police. Around a dozen officers and deputies from at least three agencies swarmed the area and stopped Bader. He was cited for littering, which could cost Bader $150 per offense and does not require a court appearance. As of Friday, Bader had not paid the fine. During the traffic stop, which lasted about 45 minutes, Bader told Hamilton County deputies he is an "imperial wizard" with the KKK and said what he was doing was protected by the First Amendment. The interaction was captured on police body cameras. The Maysville, Kentucky, man said he had started his night in Toledo with 4,000 flyers and distributed them to 16 towns along I-75. He had just run out when he was stopped. "It wasn't just me," he said. "There's quite a few of us out tonight." He took credit for every flyer distributed around Greater Cincinnati since 2022, saying they had all come from his group. The goal of distributing flyers is to recruit new members. "This is a largely African American neighborhood," an officer said. "You're not going to recruit anybody here." Bader argued and said Cincinnati is only 28% Black. Census data puts that number at nearly 40%, and about 75% of Lincoln Heights' 3,100 residents are Black. Bader said he doesn't know much about the areas he was driving through. "If it was a totally Black neighborhood, why would I?" he said. "I don't know who lives here. We don't target nothing." Later, the officer is heard telling a colleague he was "not really buying" that Bader came to Lincoln Heights by mistake. Bader told the officer that the KKK used to distribute flyers by hand on street corners. "If I get a G-- d--- ticket for litter, then we're going to come back and stand on the corner in robes," Bader warned. "We're going to go back to just standing on the corner, and you guys are going to come, and ain't nobody gonna touch us." Bader also asked how he could file a complaint against the people who "chased" him from Lincoln Heights into Lockland. Police said he was welcome to file a complaint the next morning. Officials said Bader had also taken the "Peace and Love" flag down from the I-75 overpass. A sheriff's deputy confiscated it after it was found in his car. Before he left, Bader asked the officer to give it back. A deputy replied: "I took property that didn't belong to you." Bader let out a yell and a laugh as he drove away. Lincoln Heights community activist Daronce Daniels said his community knows what to do in the face of racism. He said residents are not confused or surprised that systems in place protect men like Bader. "It's muscle memory for a community like us," he said. "We'll be ground zero of that fight if we need to be." Daniels said his community is more focused on Lincoln Heights' place in the larger community and why it appears that it is still being treated differently than other communities in Hamilton County. There's history there. Founded by Black Americans, Lincoln Heights was initially denied the ability to incorporate by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners in the 1930s, hurting its tax base. Current Commissioner Stephanie Dumas said it was a decision driven by racism that impacts the community to this day. In 2014, the village was forced to disband its police department, and since then, residents have paid for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department to provide protection. This costs each Lincoln Heights resident at least $250 per year. Daniels said the total is nearly a million dollars. "We're not getting a million dollars' worth of service," Daniels said. He said the leaders in Lincoln Heights are working to use the incidents as an opportunity to make the village whole and bring the community together to be more self-reliant. On Friday, the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch held a barbecue and clean-up. "Let's turn our resistance into action," the announcement said. "Let's make history – again." Since the time of the big white crosses on Fountain Square, the KKK has been in decline, according to Carla Hill, senior director of investigative research at the Anti-Defamation League. In a strange twist, the first cross went up on Fountain Square in 1992 after a Jewish group won a federal lawsuit allowing them to install a Menorah display. This opened the door to other displays in the name of First Amendment rights. City officials said their hands were tied. The eerie holiday display continued for years. There were protests, and the cross was sometimes toppled. Over the years, around 30 people would be arrested for toppling or otherwise defacing the cross, according to Enquirer reports at the time. There were no reports of Klansmen getting arrested. The city tried several tactics to block them but never fully succeeded. In 1998, the KKK leader of the group behind the display, Tony Gamble, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the rape and sodomy of two girls, ages 11 and 16. The cross displays continued for a few years until 2001, when the Klan missed the deadline to apply for a permit. If Fountain Square, now under the management of 3CDC, were to allow community organizations to create displays again, it's not clear what tools the city could use to try to stop the KKK from resurrecting the cross. Hill said that hate group activity is a serious issue, but the Klan is no longer a major player. She said the chapters that still exist are small and Bader's group probably isn't bigger than a dozen or so people. "They just aren't what they used to be. The Klan movement has been in decline for decades," Hill said. "The younger Klan leaders who occasionally try to create what we call pop-up Klans lack credibility and their groups typically fail." Other groups have taken up the mantle, espousing slightly different ideologies. When many of these groups convened for the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Hill said the organizers minimized the KKK. "They didn't want the Klan to come to Unite the Right wearing the robes," Hill said. "They just were wearing plain clothes." She said the Klan had to hold its robed rally at a separate time. Hill said white supremacist movements overall saw a spike in 2016 and 2017 but have not seen significant growth in recent years when it comes to the number of events the groups have held. She said there were 187 white supremacist events last year across the country – mostly small things with less than 20 people Hill said what the Klan wants most is attention, and the leaflets are a way of getting that. She said the propaganda makes it seem like the KKK is far bigger and wider-reaching than it actually is. It makes it seem like there are Klan members in your neighborhood when in all likelihood there are not, she said. Hill said it is likely that the KKK targeted Lincoln Heights due to the Feb. 7 neo-Nazi demonstration, and in the past, communities that make the news for incidents like this face continued harassment. She pointed toward Springfield, Ohio, which saw demonstrations in the wake of false claims about immigrants there. Hill said she fears that might happen in Lincoln Heights. "I love that they stood up. It is super cool and brave, but the reality is that it can have a counter result and that's more attention for the group," Hill said. "Once a town or city gets on the extremists' radar, a lot of them will come and do this. But everyone has to make their own call." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: KKK flyers in Lincoln Heights: Man said he targeted 16 towns on 1-75
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Police Say Man Distributed Hate Flyers in Another Black Ohio Town, But What Was found in His Car Will Give You Chills
Black History Month has been rudely interrupted twice now for Black Ohio residents. Weeks after a neo-Nazi demonstration, police say they gave a citation to a man for driving a historically Black neighborhood for a second round of racist trolling. Hamilton County deputies say they were alerted by Lincoln Height's neighborhood patrol about a man randomly throwing flyers from his car in the wee hours of Feb. 23. The neighborhood is a known historically Black town, per The Kansas City Star. Police didn't specify what was on the flyers but described it as 'hate speech' and 'racist propaganda.' The pamphlets appeared to come from the Trinity White Knights chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, per the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. The man traveled from Lincoln Heights to Lockland where he was stopped by officers, per The Cincinnati Enquirer. Residents recorded a video of the officers confronting the man as they pulled a massive flag from his vehicle. The flag had the words 'Peace and Love' drawn on it. You know where residents claim the flag came from? Let's take a few steps back to Feb 7: If you recall, a group of emboldened Black Ohio residents confronted a group of neo-Nazi's demonstrating on a highway overpass. In place of their swastika signage, residents handcrafted the 'peace and love' sign to hang over the bridge following the incident, per KCS's report. The Lincoln Heights neighborhood watch Facebook page slammed Bader for stealing the flag and claiming he had plans to burn it. Also confiscated from the man's car was a white sheet police said resembled that of the KKK uniform. Officers identified the man as 47-year-old William Bader. He was given a measly ticket for littering, officers said. However, the sheriff's office also vowed to provide extra resources to Lincoln Heights for their safety, per The Enquirer. 'The Sheriff's Office does not condone nor agree with hate speech that is proliferated by anyone, including Nazis and the KKK,' Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement Sunday. 'The Sheriff's Office remains committed to working with the residents in the Village of Lincoln Heights to ensure their safety.' For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man ticketed for scattering 'hate flyers' in Lincoln Heights, accused of taking peace flag
Two weeks after a white supremacist demonstration in Lincoln Heights, a Kentucky man is accused of throwing "hate flyers" throughout the neighborhood in the middle of night and was found with a peace banner hung by residents nearby. Hamilton County deputies ticketed 47-year-old William Bader, of Kentucky, for littering Sunday after they say he admitted to throwing "hate flyers" from his car across Lincoln Heights about 2 a.m., according to a sheriff's office news release. Deputies also said Bader was found with a homemade flag Lincoln Heights citizens had made with the words "Peace and Love." The flag had been displayed on the I-75 overpass where the Feb. 7 demonstration took place. Members of Lincoln Heights' new armed neighborhood patrol, the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program, were following Bader after he began randomly throwing the flyers from his car, the news release says. They followed him out of Lincoln Heights and into Lockland. Deputies stopped Bader near Mulberry Street and Locust Street, just inside of neighboring Wyoming. A video posted by a witness Sunday shows a deputy confront Bader with the flag in hand, telling him they have video of the flag previously being on the side of the bridge. 🚨 Community Safety in Action! 🚨Early this morning, just after 2:30 AM, the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program (L.H. SAW) demonstrated exactly why community vigilance matters. Working within the law and in collaboration with local law enforcement, L.H. SAW successfully stopped an individual who attempted to steal and burn a flag of peace, an act meant to incite division and same individual was also cited for littering hate speech propaganda across Lincoln Heights, Lockland, and Wyoming—a clear attempt to spread discord. But thanks to the swift response and community-driven action, the situation was handled legally, peacefully, and village will not be a breeding ground for hate. We stand together for peace, unity, and safety. Thank you to L.H. SAW for their dedication and to all who continue to protect and uplift our Legal Violations (Ohio Revised Code)The suspect's actions may constitute several criminal offenses, including:Theft (ORC 2913.02): Knowingly stealing property, in this case, removing and taking a sign without (ORC 3767.32): Illegally dumping materials, including distributing hate propaganda, on public or private with Traffic Control Devices (ORC 4511.17): Destroying or removing a posted sign from a Motor Vehicle (ORC 4511.82): Disposing of materials from a moving car, as seen with the distribution of hate speech Intimidation (ORC 2927.12): Committing an offense motivated by race, color, religion, or national (ORC 2921.13): Knowingly lying to the police about one's appreciate the diligent efforts of L.H. SAW and local law enforcement in ensuring our community remains safe, protected, and free from acts of hate.#LHSaw #CommunityProtection #UnityOverHate #LincolnHeightsStrong Posted by Malik Daronce Daniels on Sunday, February 23, 2025 "The Sheriff's Office does not condone nor agree with hate speech that is proliferated by anyone, including Nazis and the KKK," Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement Sunday. "The Sheriff's Office remains committed to working with the residents in the Village of Lincoln Heights to ensure their safety." The possibility of future visits from white supremacists targeting the community has been top of mind for many Lincoln Heights residents recently. Fearing retribution after the residents' response earlier this month, some residents have taken their safety into their own hands, forming an armed neighborhood watch. Previous reporting by The Enquirer found the new group has sometimes overstepped its bounds, having stopped people from passing through, approached cars in a fast food drive-thru and even once threatened to shoot a property owner. McGuffey has said she has added extra resources to watch over Lincoln Heights. The community of roughly 3,100 people has contracted with the sheriff's office to patrol the village since it disbanded its police department in 2014 as a cost-cutting measure. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man ticketed for littering 'hate flyers' across Lincoln Heights
