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Jim Gray
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray responded forcefully and unequivocally Monday morning after he and several other high-profile U.S. officials were tied to the Ku Klux Klan in an explosive but unattributed posting by a hacker.
“This allegation is false, insulting and ridiculous,” Gray said in a statement. “I have never had any relationship of any kind with the KKK. I am opposed to everything it stands for. I have no idea where this information came from, but wherever it came from, it is wrong.”
Gray’s name appeared among nine high-ranking government officials -- four U.S. senators and five mayors -- on a message posted to the document dumping site Pastebin and originally believed to be linked to the activist hacker group Anonymous, which recently promised to release such information. By Monday evening, it was less clear if Anonymous was involved at all in the release of names. The posting with names was linked to a Twitter account with the handle Amped Attacks. Just after 6 p.m. the Twitter account Operation KKK disavowed the release, tweeting it "was in no way involved with today's release that incorrectly outed several politicians."
But for many of the politicians named in the original posting, the damage was already done.
The posting claimed Gray is somehow affiliated with the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The Anti-Defamation League says that group was formed in 2005 by a Michigan Klansman following a split from an Ohio-based group.
An Anonymous posting several weeks ago announced an effort to “out” prominent people it claims are affiliated with various factions of the notorious white supremacist hate group. It claimed to have 1,000 names obtained through infiltrating computer systems. Calling the operation “#opKKK” and “#hoodsoff” the group also is promising a major documents dump Nov. 5 that presumably will provide insight into information it claims to have.
While Gray appeared to be the first official named in the posting to publicly respond to the allegations, he was not the last. By midday, several officials listed in the document had followed Gray’s lead.
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Anne Rogero took to her Facebook account to issue a similarly strong denial, calling the accusation “irresponsible and slanderous.”
“Given my background, my interracial family, my public record and my personal beliefs, this would be hilarious except that it is probably being seen by a lot of people who have no idea who I am,” Rogero wrote. She went on to list diverse and long-running efforts to promote equality and social justice, concluding: “In short, I don’t think the KKK would want anything to do with me.”
Indiana Sen. Dan Coats tweeted: “For those who are asking - I have never had any affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and deplore all forms of racial discrimination.” A fellow Hoosier, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, also denied any KKK links, tweeting: “Our City celebrates and appreciates diversity and acceptance. Racism has no place in our society and my life.”
Norfolk, Virginia, Mayor Paul Fraim tweeted: “This report is a hoax and is absolutely false.”
Amped Attacks provided no sources or other evidence to support the allegations against Gray or the others listed in the document posted Monday. A message on Amped Attack's Twitter account Monday afternoon said that “proof” of the information was being released to several unnamed news outlets. Efforts to contact the person or people behind Amped Attacks and various Anonymous-related entities were not successful.
Anonymous says it is a decentralized group of computer experts and privacy advocates, and ha waged high-profile campaigns against various groups, from major credit card companies to the divisive Westboro Baptist Church. As much as its beliefs or targets, the group arguably is better known for the Guy Fawkes masks worn by members (or those claiming affiliation) at rallies and events. Indeed, the group is promoting a “Million Mask March” for Nov. 5 in cities across the globe.