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State civil rights commission will host meeting in Carlisle after KKK fliers found

By: - February 22, 2019 10:00 am

The commission in charge of investigating civil rights violations in Pennsylvania will host at least one meeting in Carlisle after police found fliers seemingly distributed by the Ku Klux Klan.

Carlisle Police said in a Feb. 2 tweet they “were made aware of malicious /unsolicited flyers being passed out.” A photo of the flier, shared by Councilman Sean Crampsie, features the hate group’s name and calls for “racial purity.”

Carlisle Chief Taro D. Landis told the Capital-Star, as of Feb. 21, “There is no new information about the [fliers].”

The Pa. Human Relations Commission meeting will take place Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. at the YMCA Carlisle. Hope Station, a community empowerment nonprofit, is also co-hosting.

Hope Station Executive Director Safronia Perry said via email the “meeting will be a call to action for the residents.”

“We want people to come prepared to discuss next steps on how this community can work together to fight hate,” she said.

In summer 2018, similar fliers were found on several occasions in York County. Police said one person admitted to distributing the fliers, but no charges were brought.

In response to the incident, the Human Relations Commission held several “No Hate in Our State” town hall meetings in the county.

The KKK is just one of 36 hate groups the Southern Poverty Law Center tracked in Pennsylvania last year.

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Sarah Anne Hughes
Sarah Anne Hughes

Associate Editor Sarah Anne Hughes covers the governor and Pennsylvania's agencies. Before joining the Capital-Star, she was the state capitol reporter for Billy Penn and The Incline, and a 2018 corps member for Report for America. She was previously managing editor of Washington City Paper, editor-in-chief of DCist, and a national blogger for The Washington Post.

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