by James Rada, Jr.
Thurmont Forced to Allow KKK to March Through Town
On May 27, 1988, the Maryland Invisible Empire of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) applied for a parade permit in Thurmont to be held in August. The KKK said the parade was to support the “Just Say No to Drugs” campaign and the AARP. However, it was also being held to recruit new members with the slogan “Save Our Land, Join the Klan.” The parade would be made up of no more than one hundred members, one float, and a few vehicles.
The Thurmont Commissioners denied the permit.
The Maryland State Police had already approved the Klan’s special event permit. It had also been submitted to the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA). SHA would not recommend it without the approval of Thurmont’s police chief, who would only approve it with the support of the commissioners.
Although commissioner approval was not required in the town ordinance, a process had developed that the town evaluated any parade applicants in Thurmont and approved or denied applications. In the case of the Klan’s parade, the commissioners rejected the permit because according to a KKK lawsuit against the town:
- “They did not want to set a precedent where many other groups could request to hold parades in Thurmont”;
- “The parade would require the use of all of the Town’s police officers and would require time and a half to be paid to these officers”;
- “Concern for the safety and welfare of citizens as well as of the KKK members”; and
- “Another group, Moore’s Business Forms, would be holding a large event on the same day.”
The Klan tried again in August for a September parade. This time, the commissioners reserved judgment and scheduled a public hearing.
“Sometime between June 8, 1988, and August 24, 1988, the NAACP informed counsel for the Town of Thurmont that they considered that case law of this Court prohibited the Town of Thurmont from granting permission for the KKK’s proposed parade, unless black and/or nongentile persons were allowed to march in that parade. The NAACP informed Town counsel that they would sue the Town if it granted permission without imposing a nondiscrimination condition,” the Klan’s U. S. District Court lawsuit notes.
During the public hearing, the American Civil Liberties Union appeared on behalf of the Klan. The commissioners asked questions of Grand Dragon Roger Kelly, trying to figure out what conditions they could impose on the Klan. The ACLU counseled Kelly not to answer many of the questions and asked for a permit free of conditions.
Not surprisingly, many of the public commenting spoke out against having the Klan march through town.
The commissioners took only ten minutes to decide to deny the permit again. This time, the reasons given, according to the lawsuit, were:
- “We don’t know who we are giving this permit to. Granted Mr. Roger Kelly has signed it. We have asked various questions as to who the Klan is, and we have not gotten answers. Who is responsible for damages that may be incurred by the town, for anyone along the parade route?”;
- “The town facilities and resources are being provided to an organization that appears to be discriminatory to races other than the white race, and also appears to be antisemitic and discriminate against other religions.”; and
- “You have indicated you will not provide insurance coverage or any hold harmless agreement or reimbursement of expenses in assisting you with a parade in this town apparently meaning claiming no responsibility.”
The court case looked at whether the town procedure for considering parade applications was constitutional, whether the town could impose financial conditions on the KKK for granting the permit, and whether Thurmont could make nondiscrimination a condition of granting the permit.
The court found that the town treated the granting of permits for other parades in town differently. They were not subject to public hearings, questions about their intent, or financial conditions. Also, the court found that the commissioners were free to impose any conditions that they chose.
The court found that “Although no official permit is issued, the permission system of the Town operates as a prior restraint on free speech. If a group paraded without permission, the Town deems that it would have cause to arrest them.”
The town needed to have policy guidelines that it followed for each applicant.
The court found that some of the financial conditions that the town had tried to impose on the Klan were not actually needed. It was also found that the town’s insurance actually covered parade activity.
It was admitted in court that the Klan’s activities in Thurmont and Frederick County in the past had been peaceful. The town had even held a “walk-through” in Thurmont on September 3, when the members strolled through town in their robes without incident. The town position was that some of the spectators could be violent, but this was found to be a Constitutionally impermissible consideration.
Although the town could ask the Klan to have insurance, it would have to be something in a written policy and asked of all parade applicants. However, the request to ask for reimbursement for police protection and clean-up was found to be unconstitutional to impose on parties who are exercising their freedom of expression.
As for requiring the parade to be non-discriminatory, the court struggled with this issue. “It is clear that the Town must open its sidewalks to persons of all races and religions as
spectators at the parade. The question here, however, is whether the Town may open up the parade itself to
participants of all races and religions, where the KKK has requested a parade for only “card-carrying members” of the KKK, which consists only of white Christians,” the court found.
The court found that the streets of Thurmont were a public forum and that granting the permit did not amount to government support of discrimination. “If the Town’s procedure gives the appearance of approval or disapproval of groups, it is the Town’s own fault for having in place an unconstitutionally vague permission procedure whereby applicants must plead their individual cases at town meetings, after which the Commissioners announce their votes and reasons therefore,” the court found.
In issuing their decision, the judges made a point of writing that they felt “repugnance” at the Klan’s beliefs, but “if these civil rights are to remain vital for all, they must protect not only those society deems acceptable, but also those whose ideas it quite justifiably rejects and despises,” the court found.
Following the decision, the town issued a statement that read, in part, “It deeply pains us that this court’s order compels the town to support this activity by providing public streets, police protection, clean-up and other assistance at taxpayer’s expense.”
The Klan finally held its parade on January 16, and it became a protest of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, according to the
Frederick Post. “The event went off without any major problems, although a few shouting matches erupted between klansmen and bystanders,” the newspaper reported.
