KKK Member In San Francisco; California Tops Hate Group States In 2015
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The discovery that a San Francisco resident was one of the Ku Klux Klan members arrested following a violent brawl in Anaheim last week, shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering California had the top number of hate groups last year.
San Francisco resident Charles Edward Donner, 51, is the suspected member of the white supremacist group, the KKK, that was arrested at the February 27th Anaheim rally. Donner was one of six suspected KKK members confronted by roughly 30 counter protesters, Anaheim police said.
A video of the melee, which contains graphic and violent footage, can be viewed here.
Last month, the national civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center, reported that not only did the number of hate groups across the country grow by nearly 14 percent over the last year, to 892 groups, California remains a hotbed for hate groups, with 68 of those groups.
The center also found the total number of anti-Muslim hate groups nationwide are up 42 percent from 2014.
Southern Poverty Law Center's interactive map of America's hate groups can be viewed here.
The violent clash in Anaheim on the afternoon of February 27th, occurred at a rally organized by the KKK. Although police were present and aware of the planned rally and the planned counter rally, five people suffered injuries during the melee.
The KKK and other extremist groups have grown in both California and across the nation, according to Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
The vandalizing of two mosques in the San Bernardino area following the shooting massacre in December, led the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police to open a hate crimes investigation there.
Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center said, "While the number of extremist groups grew in 2015 after several years of declines, the real story was the deadly violence committed by extremists in city after city."
The Southern Poverty Law Center's listing of extremist hate groups has previously been criticized for having anti-Christian and anti-conservative bias.
Northern California has not been immune to an increase in hate groups and acts of hate.
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Donner was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, booked into jail on $25,000 bail and released the next day, Anaheim police said.
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Four other KKK members were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon while seven of the counter protesters were arrested on suspicion of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury.
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Police said the four arrested, including Donner, were released after police conducted an investigation into the incident.
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Anaheim police Chief Raul Quezada said in a statement following the rally and brawl that violence would not be condoned, but that "Even if the vast majority of our community disagrees with a particular group who visits our city we cannot stop them from lawfully gathering to express their opinions."
By Hannah Albarazi - Follow her on Twitter: @hannahalbarazi.
