Fliers urging people to join the Ku Klux Klan have been distributed in parts of Boothbay Harbor.

The flier has “Transgender” stamped at the top in bold letters followed by “Is an Abomination according to the King James Bible.”

It quotes Deuteronomy 22:5 and warns: “Act now, before it’s too late. They are jeopardizing the safety of bathrooms across the nation for our women and children. This needs to stop.”

The flier urges readers to join the KKK. It says the nation has no future unless the KKK unites and organizes white Christian patriots. It isn’t clear whether the fliers were printed and distributed by representatives of the Ku Klux Klan.

Several calls to the Klan’s 24-hour Klanline in Parks Hills, Missouri, were dropped and an email sent to the address listed on the Klan’s website went unanswered Wednesday evening. A recording at the Klan’s toll-free daytime number refers the caller back to the website. It ends by saying, “Thank you, and have a great white day.”

One of the fliers that were distributed in Boothbay Harbor.

The fliers appeared just days after one person was killed and 19 were injured in Charlottesville, Virginia, when white supremacists clashed with opposition protesters.

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The Maine Democratic Party responded to the fliers in a statement Wednesday.

“Simply put, this is despicable. Hatred and bigotry have no place here in Maine,” Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett said in a statement. “But unfortunately, actions like these are the direct result of leaders like (President) Donald Trump, (Gov.) Paul LePage and (Republican gubernatorial candidate) Mary Mayhew, who only embolden white supremacists by refusing to stand up and condemn their hateful actions and rhetoric.”

“We hope Donald Trump, Paul LePage and Mary Mayhew will join us in denouncing these shameful acts,” Bartlett said.

An email sent to Peter Steele, the governor’s spokesman, seeking a response was not answered. No message could be left on Steele’s cellphone because his voicemail box was full.

One of the bagged fliers found by residents in Boothbay Harbor.

The KKK had a strong presence in Maine in the 1920s, when as many as 40,000 people had joined the organization, and it was a driving force in electing Republican Gov. Ralph Brewster on a tide of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic sentiment.

Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett said the Boothbay Harbor Police Department is handling the investigation and that a resident of Southport, which is adjacent to Boothbay Harbor, filed a complaint with the county on Wednesday morning after finding a similar flier.

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“Other than its concerning nature, we don’t have much else to go on. At first, we thought it was an isolated incident, but that did not turn out to be the case,” Brackett said.

Brackett said the Maine Attorney General’s Office would only get involved if the incident escalated to a hate crime.

The Rev. Sarah Foulger, a pastor at the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church, told WCSH-TV that fliers have been found on Middle Road, Lakeside Drive and along Route 27.

In January, some Freeport and Augusta residents found Ku Klux Klan fliers outside their homes.

Those bagged fliers were tossed at the end of driveways and near the mailboxes of about two dozen homes on South Freeport Road. They urged people to call an 800 number identified as the “24 Hour Klanline.”

“You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake!” the flier said. “Are there troubles in your neighborhood? Contact the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan today!”

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com


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