The American Civil Liberties Union has finally made a decision whether or not to help the Ku Klux Klan adopt a stretch of Georgia highway, and has landed on the side of defending the controversial group. And now the plot has thickened, yet again: Officials in Union County, where the highway runs, say the KKK isn’t a part of that county and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to adopt the road.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the ACLU agreed on Tuesday to represent the KKK in its case. The Georgia Department of Transportation initially rejected a May 21 adopt-a-highway application filed by a key member of the Keystone Knights chapter. In that application, the KKK member listed the group’s address as a post office box in the county.

The application also stated that there would be at least six volunteers to help with road cleanup, although no other names were listed. The applicant then admitted yesterday that he doesn’t live in Union County but that the KKK group has a physical headquarters in the county but would not specify where.

“That’s one of the secrets we do have,” he said, adding that his home county is irrelevant.  “It doesn’t matter where we live, it’s irrelevant to the case.”

But Union County officials beg to differ.

“We don’t know why they picked Union County,” said the Union County Commissioner. “They could have easily chosen the last mile of Fannin County as opposed to the first mile in Union County.” He added that he wasn’t aware of any KKK members being from the county, now or in the past, and that they don’t want the group’s help.

“We have a great county and a good infrastructure,” he said. “We don’t need a controversy from a group who is claiming to want to pick up our trash. We are fully capable of picking up our own trash.”

The executive director for the ACLU of Georgia says she’s unsure if it matters where the applicant lives.

“It has not been a matter of discussion as far as I am concerned,” she said, confirming that the ACLU would be helping the KKK in what it considers a First Amendment case. “Yes, we are representing them, but we are still working on the strategy,” she said.

ACLU to represent KKK group [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

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