The state of Georgia asks judge to dismiss the KKK claim to join Adopt-A-Highway

Oct 23, 2012 08:20 GMT  ·  By
The Ku Klux Klan were denied entrance in litter program by Georgia officials
   The Ku Klux Klan were denied entrance in litter program by Georgia officials

The state of Georgia is asking for dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Ku Klux Klan, in which the group fights rejection by Georgia highway cleanup program organizers.

According to the Huffington Post, the KKK claim their right to free speech has been violated by the state of Georgia. The group was trying to join Georgia's "Adopt-A-Highway" program, by cleaning up Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains.

State officials barred the KKK entrance in the program. More so, the judge on the KKK suit is being asked to invalidate the lawsuit. The state's response was filed in Fulton County Superior Court.

Georgia is acting on the fact that state agencies and officials are protected from prosecution under sovereign immunity regulations.

The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials has fought KKK involvement in the program since they first announced their interest, in June.

“If the state would allow them to plant their name on one of its public highways in the home of Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter, we would have to fight it with all of the resources at our disposal. [...] If we lose, we would ask the state to abolish the program. It's not worth it,” State Representative Tyrone Brooks and president of the association stated.

The organization declared itself against a KKK sign being seen on the highway, in the state of Martin Luther King and Jimmy Carter.

“I'd like to sit down with [the KKK] and say, 'Your organization tried to kill me,'” Brooks said.

The International Keystone Knights of the KKK is the branch that had applied for the program. Volunteers claim that their only interest is in cleaning the area, and that they are not interested in publicity.

“I live in the mountains and I want to keep them beautiful. [...] I don't know why anybody's offended,” KKK secretary April Chambers said.