ALABAMA: KKK Members Crash Pride Event [VIDEO]

AL.com reports:

Several members of white nationalist groups dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes and other regalia staged a protest at a Sunday event in Florence described by organizers as Northwest Alabama’s first-ever LGBTQ pride parade.

The relatively rare sight of people wearing KKK robes in public left many of the hundreds of LGBTQ folks and allies who attended the march feeling “shocked and then embarrassed,” according to Benjamin Newbern, executive director of the Equality Shoals advocacy group.

“It was just crazy. This was a huge day for the LGBTQ community with the fact that nothing like this had happened before with members of the LGBTQ community marching in the streets here,” Newbern said. “Hate has always been here but it reared its ugly head yesterday to show that it’s still around.”

The LGBT event drew about 200 participants and leaders say they are dismayed by the reaction of the local police, who posted this message on their official Facebook page: “Two sides, opposing views. Peaceful rally. Our duty and honor to provide security and ensure the safety of both groups.”