Missouri GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Exposed As ‘Honorary’ KKK Member

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So, I’ve written about this before—a few times, actually—but once again, it’s time to talk about the demonstrable fact that while the Ku Klux Klan might have been started by Democrats, today’s Klan members identify politically with the GOP, and vice versa.

Meet Darrell Leon McClanahan III

Recently it was brought to the GOP’s attention that Darrell Leon McClanahan III had made it onto the unofficial candidate filing list for governor posted to the Secretary of State’s website, and he may even appear on the official ballot, which would allow voters to cast a vote for him during the GOP primary in August, according to Riverfront Times. The problem? He’s a white supremacist and an “honorary” KKK member.

From the Times:

Those revelations came to light last night when former Missouri Representative Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) tweeted out a screenshot showing the unofficial candidate filing list for governor posted to the Secretary of State’s website. On it, Darrell Leon McClanahan III’s name sits atop more well-known GOP contenders like Mike Kehoe and Jay Ashcroft.

The candidates’ names are listed in ballot order, and because McClanahan drew a low number his name appears first.

A 2022 article on the Anti-Defamation League’s website shows McClanahan next to a man in white robes as both men give what appear to be Nazi salutes in front of a burning cross some time around 2019.

The ADL article claims that the organization’s Center on Extremism has been tracking McClanahan for years, as he has affiliated with various white supremacist and Christian identity groups.

Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs. https://t.co/AZTGrAl7X0 pic.twitter.com/z7ilIo5k4d

— Shamed Dogan (@ShamedDoganMO) February 29, 2024

“Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs,” Dogan, who is Black, tweeted.

Now, here’s a reminder that racist white nationalists aren’t very bright.

The Times reached out to McKlan—sorry—McClanahan and asked if he was the man pictured in the photo, to which he replied, “It’s an invisible empire. Yes, it’s me.” But he denied being in the KKK saying, “No I am not and I have never been,” and he reportedly sent the Times an image of the historic photo of Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley playfully squaring off against each other. It’s as if McClanahan was saying, “Elvis had a Black friend, so I couldn’t possibly be racist,” which would be an interesting spin on that particular deflection.

McClanahan then called on Dogan to stop spreading “further misinformation,” and he directed the Times to a lawsuit he filed in federal court last September against the ADL and its head, Jonathan Greenblatt, who he accused of defamation. The problem is that the filing for that lawsuit shows he essentially admitted to being a KKK member.

More from the Times:

In an unusual legal strategy for a man alleging he’d been defamed by assertions he is aligned with antisemites and white supremacists, McClanahan says in his own court filings that he is a “Pro-White man, horseman, politician, political prisoner-activist who is dedicated to traditional Christian values.” He also says that he has had “honorary memberships” in the Knight’s Party Ku Klux Klan and the League of the South.

He also writes he “did attend in 2019 a private religious Christian Identity Cross lighting ceremony falsely described as a cross burning.”

Guys, stop laughing, McKlan is serious. (He also has a very unfortunate name given the circumstances.)

Seriously, not only did McClanahan try to convince the court that he’s not a real KKK member because he didn’t get his Klan card stamped enough times to make it official, but he’s really out here calling a KKK cross burning a “Christian Identity Cross lighting ceremony.” McClanahan appears to be taking the Republican urge to rewrite history to a whole new level. It’s time we stop calling what happened to thousands of Black people during America’s reconstruction era lynchings when they were actually Noose Tying and Black Body Lengthening ceremonies. Suffice it to say, McClanahan’s lawsuit was dismissed because he’s obviously a self-described white supremacist and at least a part-time Klan member, which makes it odd that he’s still citing his non-case as a receipt showing that Dogan is spreading misinformation. (Again, they are not intelligent people.)

Anyway, now the Missouri GOP is scrambling to get McClanahan removed from the governor’s race.

“The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for Governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform,” the party posted to X Thursday, according to NBC News. “We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate.”

McClanahan reportedly responded on X, “The GOP knew exactly who I am. … What a bunch of Anti-White hypocrites.” To be fair, he has a point.

Even if Missouri Republicans didn’t know about McClanahan’s history, there is really no denying that the GOP is the party Klan members, neo-Nazis and other assorted white supremacists gravitate to. After all, former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke complained that Donald Trump stole his ideas, why he ran for office multiple times as a Republican. It’s why former Republican U.S. senator Kelly Loefler was caught taking a selfie with a Klan member who showed up to her campaign rallies. It’s why an appointee of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had to resign after a KKK photo of him surfaced, and why DeSantis can’t stop neo-Nazis from marching on his behalf. It’s why white conservatives adhere to the same “Great Replacement Theory” white supremacist Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron cited before gunning down 10 Black people in cold blood.

In fact, NBC noted that McClanahan’s campaign website describes him as “the conservative voice for governor of Missouri” and lists one of his campaign promises as opposing “the woke agenda.”

Sorry, but an “honorary” Klan member sounding exactly like your average GOP member is no coincidence.

SEE ALSO:

Kelly Loeffler Of KKK Selfie Fame Whitesplains Fani Willis, Nathan Wade Relationship In Trump-Loving Op-Ed

Congressional Black Caucus Checks Vivek Ramaswamy Over ‘KKK’ Comment To Ayanna Pressley

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