KKK-supportive notes dropped in Erie County driveways

A baggie of bird seed left at some homes in Erie County Friday contained a note that directed recipients to the website for the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

The note begins in all caps and reads: “A prediction: Democrat Party victories in November will assure complete destruction of 1st and 2nd Amendment rights.”

It ends with the words, “Pray for white Americans in 2020.”

The letter directs people to a website and radio show of the hate group.

The Anti-Defamation League anti-hate organization says Loyal White Knights members follow a version of “traditional Klan ideology infused with neo-Nazi beliefs.

“LWK are best known for their distribution of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, homophobic and Islamophobic propaganda,” according to the ADL.

Gary Horvath, 58, who lives in the 10000 block of Route 98 in Franklin Township, was so disgusted that he refused to even touch the bag after reading the note inside.

“This is political hate mail,” Horvath, who has a “Joe Biden for President” sign in his yard. “This is bad. This is personal to me. It’s disturbing. I turned it over with my foot. I’m not touching that stinkin’ thing. It’s disgusting.”

Joelyn Bush, 34, found the bag at her home on Route 5 in Lake City. Bush said she saw them “everywhere along Route 5 between Fairview and Lake City.” She estimated seeing at least 20.

“It was definitely dropped out of the window on Route 5,” Bush said. “This is real. The message was appalling and hate has no place on my property or in the Erie region.”

Mike Furdiga, president of Springboro Borough Council in Crawford County,spotted four of the baggies on his nightly walk.

“I have lived in Springboro 70 years and never witnessed the divisiveness of a political campaign like this one,” he said. “It is shocking and difficult to understand.”

The Klan-related literature arrived two days after a handful of residents on Erie’s west side and in Fairview received two-page typed letters containing racist, homophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic language targeting Biden, Democrats, Black people and the the Black Lives Matter movement. The letters appeared to be directed at people with Biden yard signs in their front yards.

But the Klan-related literature dropped at homes around Erie County Friday didn’t appear to be targeted to homes of one political persuasion or another. Neither Bush nor her neighbors in Lake City have political signs in their yards, she said.

Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wertz blamed the “hateful ideology” of the Trump administration for both incidents and he called on "Republicans to admit that their support of this president is a show of support for groups that spread hateful messages targeting Democrats and supporters of Vice President Biden."

The Erie Times-News left a message seeking comment with the communications director of the Pennsylvania Trump Victory campaign.

Like the letters sent Wednesday, the Klan-related literature received by some county residents Friday did not include references to Trump or the Republican Party.

Contact Matthew Rink at mrink@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNrink.