Indiana judge denies KKK request on assembly permit

By The Associated Press

02.02.01

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HAMMOND, Ind. — Gary Mayor Scott King doesn't want the Ku Klux Klan to use his city for publicity, and yesterday he won round one in a battle to keep that from happening.

"There are some birds out there that will do anything to get attention," King said. "It is so hurtful to so many people. It's really contemptible."

U.S. District Judge James T. Moody rejected the Klan's request for a preliminary injunction to declare Gary's new policy on open-air assembly permits unconstitutional. The policy requires a 45-day waiting period between permits.

Moody ruled that the Church of the American Knights, a national branch of the Ku Klux Klan based in Butler, failed to rebut the city's evidence that it is not in a position to evaluate, process and approve permit applications in fewer than 45 days.

Ken Falk, legal director for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union who represented the Klan at yesterday's hearing, said the Klan would determine its next step after next week, when the city is expected to decide whether to grant the group an open-air permit for March 10.

King issued an executive order Jan. 18 that changed the waiting period for a rally permit from seven days to 45 days. The executive order was issued the same day the city rejected a Klan permit for a Jan. 27 rally on a technicality. The Klan had asked to rally at the Lake County Courthouse, which is not under city jurisdiction.

Falk called the 45-day waiting period excessive.

But attorney James Meyer, representing the city, said Gary faces the dilemma of protecting free-speech and assembly rights while ensuring the safety of Klan members and opponents.

"You can't say how visceral [opponents'] reaction will be to the Klan, who not too long ago were lynching their relatives," he said.

Police Chief John Roby said in an affidavit that the city's police force of 200 officers was not big enough to handle such a rally. He said he would have to cancel off days and vacation days for officers and seek outside assistance.

The American Knights, led by Imperial Wizard Jeff Berry, have held high-profile rallies near the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in years past. Two years ago, they held a rally two days before the holiday in Memphis, Tenn., where the civil rights leader was assassinated.

The rally set off a rock-throwing scuffle between police and anti-Klan protesters. Last year, about 50 Klan members rallied on the steps of an Alabama county courthouse two days before the holiday.

Mark Potok, editor of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report, which monitors the KKK, said Berry's group is one of the largest Klan groups and the most aggressive. "His appearances are very much designed to enrage counter-demonstrators," he said.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, blames the news media for helping the Klan get the publicity it craves. "My position is they should be ignored as opposed to giving them exactly what they want, banner headline coverage," he said.

Previous

Klan challenges Indiana city's new parade-permit policy
Federal lawsuit accuses Gary mayor of establishing 45-day waiting period for public rallies to prevent KKK gatherings.  01.31.01

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