Yesterday, we told you about how the state of Georgia was trying to decide whether to accept an “adopt-a-highway” application from a local Ku Klux Klan group or risk facing a lengthy legal battle by denying it. Now It looks like the state’s Dept. of Transportation has opted for the latter.

Citing an anonymous state official, CNN reports that the Georgia DOT won’t be accepting the KKK’s application to adopt a one-mile stretch of road near the North Carolina border.

The Klan chapter, which filed its application in late May, has already said it would pursue legal action if the state denied its request to clean up the roadway in exchange for official recognition. The group previously stated its intention to ask the American Civil Liberties Union to get involved on its behalf.

The ACLU was involved in a similar legal battle between the Klan and Missouri. In that case, a judge ruled in favor of the Klan’s application, saying that the state could not deny an application simply because it disagrees with a group’s beliefs. The U.S. Supreme Court opted to not review that case.

Even though the Klan was successful in its legal efforts, it apparently was not as successful in actually cleaning up the stretch of I-55 it had adopted, allowing the state to cancel the group’s participation in the program.

“I don’t see why we can’t (adopt the stretch of highway),” a rep for the Klan chapter in Georgia tells CNN. “Would it be any different if it was the Black Panthers or something? Someone always has some kind of race card.”

Georgia official: KKK won’t be allowed to ‘adopt’ highway [CNN]

Thanks to Harper for the tip!

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