A group of people in pointed white Ku Klux Klan robes at what appeared to be a Halloween gathering in El Paso has set off a wave of condemnation across Texas, with U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar calling the images "deeply disturbing and unacceptable" and the local NAACP scheduling a news conference for Monday to address the incident.
Video clips and photos circulating on social media show about six people in white hooded robes — apparently teenagers — in a backyard and walking together down a dark neighborhood street on the city's East Side, according to the FitFam El Paso social media page. The reports also say the group was allegedly shouting racial slurs.
"Treating that history as a costume is not a joke"
Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso in Congress, issued her statement on Facebook on Sunday, October 25.
"The reports of teenagers wearing Ku Klux Klan regalia and allegedly shouting racial slurs in our community are deeply disturbing and unacceptable," Veronica Escobar wrote. "The KKK represents a shameful history of white supremacy, racial terror, and violence against Black Americans and other communities of color. Treating that history as a costume is not a joke."
"El Paso is a community built on diversity, resilience, and respect for our neighbors," she added. "No one should have to fear being targeted or harassed because of who they are or what they look like and no El Pasoan is too young to understand that racism has no place in our community."
The El Paso branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday, October 26, to formally address the incident.
A hate group with a history in El Paso itself
The Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist hate group that dates back to 1865 and has been described as the oldest terrorist group in the United States for its history of racist violence.
The Klan is not a distant memory in El Paso. More than 100 years ago, the organization openly fielded candidates for mayor and other city elected offices — and lost in the election of 1923, according to El Paso Times archives.
The identities of the people in the videos have not been publicly confirmed, and no arrests or charges have been reported in connection with the gathering. The NAACP's news conference on Monday is expected to be the first formal public response beyond the statements already issued.
Fuentes: El Paso Times.