‘Totally unacceptable here;’ Residents, police react to KKK flyers found in Celina

CELINA — Ku Klux Klan (KKK) flyers going up in part of the Miami Valley have people there disgusted.

News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott showed families who were out at a community park the poster and they said they were shocked and saddened to see it in their town.

The Klansmen were the first thing people in Celina noticed when McDermott showed them the poster Wednesday. From there, they began reading the poster.

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“This is appalling,” Jill Meinerding said.

The poster said, in part, “Help save our race. Everything we cherish is under assault.”

“I’m all for civil liberties and all of that, but I think that’s over the top,” Gene Rupp said.

The point of the poster was to tell people about a gathering that is “fun for the whole family.” It said people can take part in white power chants and cross burning.

“That’s disgusting,” Meinerding said. “That is just totally unacceptable here.”

McDermott reached out to Celina police about the poster. In an email, Chief Tom Wale said the department didn’t believe the event was real.

“Nothing has been arranged with the City of Celina for renting space for this supposed event. It appears that this is someone’s idea of a joke,” he wrote.

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Joke or not, people were still offended and concerned.

“I’d hope that officials would at least check things out and follow up on it and not just assume,” Rupp said.

Celina’s mayor said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is aware of the poster, which stated that the event was scheduled for next Saturday.

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