Ever had to miss your own party? It's not a great feeling—just ask Chris Barker, Imperial Wizard of the North Carolina branch of the Ku Klux Klan. He helped arrange a rally reportedly to cheer Donald Trump's election victory where, according to the illustrious Daily Mail, dozens of KKK members drove through the state giving Nazi salutes and yelling "white power." But Barker, 37, wasn't there to see it, as he was holed up in a jail cell after his arrest in connection with a stabbing at a planning meeting for the event.
According to the victim, 47-year-old Richard Dillon, Barker urged on another KKK member, William Hagen (pictured above), as he attacked Dillon. Hagen allegedly slashed Dillon's face with a knife during a meeting at Barker's home. Barker also allegedly kicked Dillon as he fell to the ground. The victim was then dumped in the lobby of the local sheriff's office early Saturday morning. After a police raid of Barker's home, Hagen was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill; Barker was charged with felony aiding and abetting of the same.
However, the show must go on.
According to the Mail, the rally went ahead but "was marked by chaos and confusion" in the absence of the Imperial Wizard. A KKK spokesman known as the Exalted Cyclops (sticking with the Dungeons and Dragons theme) told a local TV station the rally would take place in and around the town of Pelham. But Barker's wife, Amanda, emerged from her home to explain the event would take place in Roxboro later in the day—and that it would take place in a convoy of vehicles because it was too cold to march.
"We actually kind of have the same views," she told the Mail of Donald Trump, explaining the event was to celebrate his victory. "A lot of white Americans felt the same way about the wall, immigration, terrorism. Donald Trump is going to do some very good things and turn this country around."
Around 3 p.m., things did kick off in Roxboro. Around 30 vehicles flying Confederate Flags and the KKK white cross rolled in and men in black shirts leaned out to yell, "White power!" at Christmas shoppers. But the problems didn't end there.
"We were laughing at them because there weren't very many trucks," said a local sheriff's deputy. "Some looked like they was in those little rental cars you can get for $19."
Mrs. Barker, known as the Grand Kommander, explained an awards ceremony and a cross burning was planned for that evening "if the wind died down." It's unclear if that went through, but Barker and Hagen are most certainly due in Caswell County District Court on Wednesday.
