Frank Ancona
Frank Ancona was the founder and imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights, a branch of the Ku Klux Klan based in Park Hills, Missouri, from 2009 until his death in 2017.[1][2]
This branch is among the KKK's largest, with approximately 10,000 members as of August 2014.[3] At the time of his death, he had been a member of the KKK for over 30 years.[1] In 2013, he was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary KKK: Beneath the Hood.[4][5]
In April 2014, he told CNN that he desired the KKK to focus on educating people about their views in order to spread them without violence.[6] In November 2014, following the shooting of Michael Brown, Ancona and the Traditionalist American Knights began circulating flyers threatening to use lethal force in self-defense from violent rioters in Ferguson, Missouri. The hacktivist group Anonymous subsequently targeted Ancona's Facebook page and attempted to expose KKK members in and around Ferguson. They launched a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, taking the KKK website down for approximately a day. Ancona responded by saying of Anonymous, "Sounds to me like a bunch of kids in their mom's basement whacking off."[7]
Death
Ancona was found dead in the Big River in Missouri on February 11, 2017.[8] Two days later, his wife and stepson were charged with multiple charges, including first-degree murder, by law enforcement officials in Washington County, Missouri.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stack, Liam (February 13, 2017). "Leader of a Ku Klux Klan Group Is Found Dead in Missouri". The New York Times.
- ↑ Stack, Liam (February 2, 2017). "Even as Hate Moves Online, K.K.K. Fliers Show Up on Maine Lawns in Dead of Night". The New York Times.
- ↑ Mosendz, Polly (August 18, 2014). "KKK Disowns KKK Fundraiser for Darren Wilson". The Atlantic.
- ↑ Munson, Kyle (April 9, 2013). "KKK fliers to recruit Iowans draw ire". Des Moines Register.
- ↑ Gruber, Asia (March 20, 2013). "'KKK: Beneath the Hood': Interviews with Today's Members". PopMatters.
- ↑ Fantz, Ashley (April 20, 2014). "Can this KKK leader rebrand?". CNN.
- ↑ Boroff, David (November 17, 2014). "Anonymous launches second attack on Ku Klux Klan, tweets unicorn pic from hate group's account following KKK's threat against Ferguson". New York Daily News.
- ↑ Bronaugh, Renee. "Leader of Missouri KKK group found shot to death near the Big River". Park Hills Daily Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ↑ Zadrozny, Brandy (February 13, 2017). "Wife of KKK Leader Frank Ancona—Who Married Him in Full Klan Costume—Arrested for His Murder". The Daily Beast.
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