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Klan demonstrates at Civil War battlefield site

Reporters interview Grand Wizard of the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Gordon Young, center, at a KKK rally on Saturday at the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Other fringe racists were also in attendance such as Kevin Swift, left, of the National Socialist Movement of America. PHOTO: AP

Members of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups rallied at the Antietam National Battlefield, the first time a group has been given permission to demonstrate at the site of the bloodiest day of the Civil War.

About 30 people, some attired in the Klan's white robes and others wearing the military-style clothing and swastika armbands of the National Socialist Movement of America, stood next to a farmhouse on the battlefield on Saturday. Some delivered speeches attacking immigrants, blacks and other minority groups.

About 200 officers from the National Park Service, US Park Police, Maryland State Police and the Washington County Sheriff's office were present to make sure the demonstration remained peaceful and to act as a buffer between the Klan and counter-demonstrators, who were kept about 60m away.

Gordon Young, Imperial Wizard of the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said he tried to organize rallies at two other locations but was turned down before he settled on Antietam, which he said carries powerful symbolism.

"As the Klan, we are the ghosts of our Confederate brothers and sisters who died here," Young said.

The Confederate army, which fought for southern states, and the Union army, representing the north, fought from 1861 to 1865. The war was sparked by the north's drive to abolish slavery and the south's desire to secede from the US.

At Antietam, Union and Confederate forces clashed on Sept. 17, 1862, leaving more than 23,000 dead, wounded or missing.

Saturday's demonstration was believed to be the first at the park, which was established as a national park in 1890, said superintendent John Howard.

About 90 permits are issued each year, but most are for more mundane events like weddings and road races, he said.

The Klan permit is the first to be granted on the grounds of free speech, according to Howard. The group, known for burning crosses, was prohibited from lighting any fires.

The counter-demonstration drew about as many people as the Klan rally. The 37th Texas Cavalry re-enactors, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, were granted a permit to stage the protest. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also filed for a permit but withdrew it, Howard said.
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