TRENTON, Mich. – The city of Trenton released a statement Thursday in response to being labeled the Michigan headquarters for the Ku Klux Klan.
Here's the full statement from Trenton Director of Police and Fire Service James Nardone:
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"The identification of Trenton, Michigan as KKK Headquarters by the Southern Poverty Law Center is both inaccurate and irresponsible. An individual in an apartment with a copy machine does not accurately represent that title. The Trenton Police Department Detective Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are confident that they have identified and interviewed the person responsible for spewing hatred in our community through KKK fliers. The FBI and Trenton Police Department are continuously monitoring the activities of this individual. The residents of Trenton are sickened by those promoting hatred and have worked with the FBI and our police department in an effort to eradicate this behavior from our community. Hate crimes or related incidents can be directed to the Trenton Police Department or the FBI in Detroit."
A map released by the Souther Poverty Law Center showed where every hate group in America is stationed in every state. According to the map, one of the 28 hate groups inside Michigan is the KKK group in Trenton.
KKK fliers found in Trenton last year
Several fliers promoting the Ku Klux Klan were found on the lawns of homes in Trenton.
Residents say they found the fliers posted on their front lawn or mailboxes, but many say they’re unwanted invitations.
The white, small rectangular fliers had "Loyal White Knights, Ku Klux Klan wants you!” followed by a website for the hate group and a national hotline number.
The residents who found the flies took them directly to the police department.
"As soon as I grabbed it, I went straight to the police department. I don’t mess around with this crap," a homeowner in the area told Local 4.
Young mothers and working families in the neighborhood said this is the exact kind of trouble they do not want in their quiet neighborhood.
"This isn’t necessarily something we want happening in our neighborhood. It creeps me out" another resident told Local 4.
The white supremacist group, who seeks to terrorize African Americans, are notorious for stirring up trouble in communities.
Some of the flyers on the block also targeted people in the gay, Jewish and Catholic communities.
Police say there isn’t much they can do, but residents say they will keep an eye out for the person or group who is leaving these messages at night.
Trenton neighbors find 'hate mail' in lawns
People living in three different neighborhoods in Trenton discovered something very disturbing on their property in September.
"I saw something in my driveway and I picked it up and (I was in) total shock," Kellee Kubany said.
Kubany found racist letters sealed in plastic bags.
"It's 2016," Kubany said. "We don't have this 'you and them' mentality anymore. We're all trying to battle life together."
The letters are laced with the N word. They speak about "Equal rights for whites," violence towards blacks and other derogative comparisons.
"It has a picture of an ape," said Chewana Lee, who also found a letter. "Where do you see we look like apes? That's where the disturbing part is."
Lee is the only African-American on her block.
"It actually pushes me out, where I just want to get away from it, because I have two small kids," Lee said.