Anonymous Rises Against The Ku Klux Klan In Ferguson, MO

The Activist Group, Anonymous, took over white supremacist group, Ku Klux Klan’s Twitter account on November 16, 2014. Anonymous responded to KKK taunts in row over Ferguson where African Americans protest over the non-arrest of a white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black teenager on a neighborhood street, seven times – in the head, shoulder, chest and arm.

The KKK had posted the following memo terrorizing protesters and warning them with an almost fatal reaction should protests erupt and continue in Ferguson after an announcement that officer Daren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown, was not going to be indicted.

The cyber-warfare started last weekend after the white supremacist group issued this warning to any potential protesters waiting for a grand jury decision on possible charges against Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, who shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown in August for absolutely no reason.

Anonymous responded to the Twitter taunts from the Ku Klux Klan with a promise that “This is just the beginning.” However, the international hacktivist group continues to control the Ku Klux Klan’s online presence.

Many have celebrated the online group’s actions?

Using the hashtags #OpKKK and #HoodsOff, Anonymous “unhooded” Klan members online, and provided links to social media accounts which contained their photos, addresses, phone numbers, ages, workplaces, and photos of their children.

Anonymous insisted that this was an operation with huge implications:

Just remember; This operation is NOT for fun. The reason of this operation is to bring freedom, respect, stop racism and violence. #OpKKK (@OperationKKK) November 17, 2014.

The KKK responded with retweets and mocked Anonymous’s challenges:

Our Kommunity is not at all scared of the threats from anonymous. Just try us. You’ll regret it. #WhitePrideWorldWide.

Many more Twitter users appeared supportive of Anonymous. One Twitter response wrote:

I daresay that @KuKluxKlanUSA will remember, remember, remember the 16th of November. Bravo, Anonymous, Bravo. #oppKKK #hoodsoff,” wrote some twitter accounts.

After back-and-forth taunting, in which the KKK wrote “We are continuing to read Anonymous threats with much amusement” and “I thought you Anons were all about free speech. Cowards!”, Anonymous gained access to the KKK website and took over its Twitter account.

The most recent tweet from the hacked @KuKluxKlanUSA account was on Monday evening, showing a unicorn and rainbow in front of a sunset scene.

Responding to criticism about violating free speech, Anonymous released this statement:

We are not attacking you because of what you believe in, as we fight for freedom of speech. We are attacking you because of your threats to use lethal attacks against us at the Ferguson protest. The Ku Klux Klan is a terrorist group. The blood of thousands of human beings are on the hands of the Klansmen.

Although every American has a right to free speech, The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate groups, argues that the right does not include permission to organise hate crimes.

But while they have also exposed members of hate groups, they take a different approach than that of Anonymous.

They question the essence of posting pictures of Klansmen kids, or where they live. But a significant number of BlackTwitter users insist that any small person who has radical right views and is hiding behind anonymity to do something really violent should be exposed – that is not free speech, “if you plan to hurt people, it will not be acceptable!”

For its part, Anonymous has grown more confident and is not giving up on exposing as many Klansmen as they can.

“Let the cyberwar begin,” it announced in a video. “We are legion. We do not forget. We do not forgive. Ku Klux Klan, you should have expected us.”