News Values
Timliness: I chose this story because it was the most recent story that was published.
Patience, Diplomacy Key to Charging Ex-Officer
Patience, diplomacy key to charging ex-officer
With charges filed against ex-cop and friend, clock starts on securing indictment
By PhilipJankowski and Tony Plohetski pjankowski@statesman.com tplohetski@statesman.com
BASTROP — Kimberly Dean sat silently, sometime making notes, beside a gaggle of law enforcement officers who gathered Thursday as Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz spoke about the complex case of her daughter Samantha’s slaying.
It was with patience, Goertz said, that investigators untangled the web of technical evidence linking former Austin police officer VonTrey Clark and his friend, Kevin Leo Watson, to the death of Samantha Dean.
Nearly seven months after Samantha Dean, a victim’s services coordinator at the Kyle Police Department who was found shot in the head on a chilly February morning outside of Bastrop, Goertz announced capital murder charges against Clark and Watson, his suspected accomplice. At this milestone in the investigation, authorities said both Clark and Watson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Dean, 29, who investigators say was seven months’ pregnant with Clark’s child when she was killed.
Whether prosecutors seek the death penalty will be up to Goertz.
“I think that this makes it very clear that no one is above prosecution if they commit a crime, whether they are an APD officer or whatever their background is,” Goertz said.
Clark and Watson will make their first appearances in court at an arraignment, which is still pending.
A third man named in court documents as a participant in Dean’s killing, Freddie Lee Smith, 29, hasn’t been charged, Goertz said.
Clark, 32, was in the Bastrop County Jail without bail after federal authorities returned him to the United States on Wednesday and handed him over to Bastrop County authorities. Watson, 31, was in the Harris County Jail with bail set at $1 million, officials said.
The district court Thursday afternoon unsealed arrest warrants for Clark and Watson. The documents provided few new details in the case because a large amount of evidence against the two had already been released in previous search warrants.
They showed the meticulous cellphone tracking required to trace Clark and Watson to the killing
— and a threatening text that led police to the man who would name the two suspects responsible for her death.
That man, Aaron Lamont Williams, told authorities that Clark offered $5,000 for someone to kill Dean and that Clark wanted her dead to avoid paying child support. He said that Clark drove Dean to the site where she was found dead, and that Watson and Smith had killed her.
Goertz noted the complexity of the case and thanked the Dean family for their patience as investigators unwound the evidence. “I think everyone is relieved to be at this point,” he said.
“Taking our time and working the evidence was very important in this case,” Goertz said.
At all times, Goertz said, he worked to keep the Dean family informed about the lengthy investigation: “They’re wonderful people.”
Clark’s attorney, Bristol Myers, said the judicial process would shed light on what so far has been a one-sided conversation.
“Making accusations in affidavits and press conferences is much easier than proving accusations in a courtroom,” Myers said in a statement Thursday. “Let’s see what happens when investigators finally have to face cross-examination, procedural missteps are exposed, and evidence favorable to officer Clark is brought to light. Officer Clark did not kill Ms. Dean, and he is not legally responsible for her death.”
FBI special agent Dan Snow touted his agency’s ability to bring Clark back to Texas from 10,000 miles away.
“This sends a message that if you are a violent criminal in the U.S., the FBI has the reach around the world to get you,” Snow said. “We will use the resources and the relationships we develop to do just that, and we will bring you back for the sake of justice.”
The United States has no extradition treaty with Indonesia, Snow said, so the FBI relied upon diplomatic and legal attachés’ relationships with Indonesian police.
Federal authorities canceled Clark’s passport, and Indonesian police decided to expel him. With no way for Clark to leave the country, he was forced to remain in custody in Bali until FBI agents could retrieve him.
At the same time, federal authorities needed Bastrop County officials to file a charge against Clark in order to charge him with a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. That charge will likely be dismissed now that Clark is in the hands of Bastrop County authorities, a federal law enforcement source said.
Court documents indicated that prosecutors had all the evidence mentioned in the arrest affidavit since at least June 11, including Williams’ statements that indicated Clark had offered money for Dean’s death.
Looking ahead, prosecutors no longer have the virtue of patience. Filing charges against Clark and Watson started a 90-day clock for Goertz to seek their indictment.
“The state is always ready,” he said.
Contact Philip Jankowski at 512-445-3702.
Contact Tony Plohetski at 512-445-3605.
The airplane carrying VonTrey Clark arrives from Indonesia at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport just before midnight Wednesday. JAYJANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Samantha Dean was found shot in the head on a February morning outside of Bastrop.
Former Austin police officer VonTrey Clark is escorted into the Bastrop County Jail on Thursday after being extradited from Indonesia. RODOLFO GONZALEZ / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
*Found at the Austin Austin Statesman*
Proximity: I chose this story because they are talking about the drought in different parts of Texas and we live in Texas so it makes sense.
"As summer wanes, the dryness mounts" is the headline
Despite the scattered rain this week in the Austin metro area as summer vacations came to an end, Central Texas finds itself on the verge of renewed drought conditions. Some noteworthy numbers to consider:
42% How much of Texas the U.S. Drought Monitor described as at least“abnormally dry”or in drought Thursday.
1.32% How much of the state that was upgraded to“extreme drought” this week.The affected area was centered around Leon and a few other East Texas counties. Last week, no part ofTexas was in extreme drought.
11.02 MILLION Population affected by drought this week, according to the Drought Monitor.
5% How much rainfall was above normal inTexas during the1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños,the strongest ever recorded, according to state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. The current one is expected to rival those two.
0.61 Inches of rain that fell Tuesday at Barton Creek and Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway), the most rain recorded in Austin by the Lower Colorado River Authority’s rain gauges this week.
668 Number of feet above mean sea level, or the current elevation for Lake Travis.The lake is about 5.4 feet above its historical average elevation for September.
75% How full lakes Travis and Buchanan are.The two storage lakes provide water for Central Texas homes and businesses.
i used Austin American Statesman
Prominence: I chose this story because even though the coach had a stroke he still came back the next sea on to coach again and i think thats pretty cool but scary.
The headline is "Stokes Don't Headline Coach"
HIGH SCHOOLS VOLLEYBALL
Strokes don’t sideline coach
After health scare, Bennett back for his 27th year with Chaps.
By Rick Cantu rcantu@statesman.com
Fresh off his 26th season as Westlake’s volleyball coach, Al Bennett had given no thought to retirement before he suffered a debilitating stroke on March 28.
Overnight, though, his chances of coaching again appeared doubtful as he took the first steps toward recovery at an area hospital. His speech was slurred. Walking was a struggle. He couldn’t even touch his nose with his index finger.
“I had to ask for goggles because I kept poking my eye,” Bennett joked this week.
Just five months after his wife, Cathy, rushed him to an emergency room in the wee hours of the morning, though, Bennett considers himself to be fortunate. He no longer needs a cane to walk, and he has regained most of his strength. Although he tires easily, he has returned to the Chaparrals for a 27th season. “This keeps me young,” Bennett, 60, said Tuesday after Westlake earned a four-set victory over District 14-6A rival Bowie. “I’m lucky to be coaching a great group of kids. Throughout this journey, I’ve learned as much from them as they have learned from me.”
Bennett said his senior class “took ownership” of the team while he was hospitalized. He told his four captains — outside hitter Kathryn Sharplin, middle blocker Taylor Flaherty, outside hitter Carly Turner and libero Claire Hahn — to be prepared to take charge if his health didn’t improve.
“Coach Bennett wants to coach us so badly, he keeps pushing himself,” said Hahn, a University of Texas recruit who has helped the Chaparrals to a 24-6 record this season. “It concerns us a little, but we know how much he cares for us.”
Bennett said he gave himself a May deadline to determine whether he would return for another season. His idea was to give Eanes school district officials enough time to find a suitable replacement if he decided his health prevented him from coming back.
“At that point, the doctors told me I’d probably be feeling a lot better when the season started (in August),” he said.
One of the most respected high school volleyball coaches in Texas, Bennett has led to West-lake to four state championships and eight state finals. The Chaparrals have won 23 district championships in 26 years, and more than 70 of his players have signed with a college program. In 2014, he was named co-national coach of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association after Westlake finished 42-5 and reached the Class 6A regional semifinals.
Bennett’s health scare spawned a few changes at Westlake. He has delegated more responsibility to assistant coaches Lynne Bryant, Tanna Fiske, Jane Karnes, Abby Howden and Lizzi Bruns. Instead of three daily practices this summer, he cut back to two. He takes occasional afternoon naps now.
He gave up his role as Westlake’s athletic coordinator for girls sports, a post now held by softball coach Haley Gaddis.
“It’s been a difficult adjustment,” said Bennett, who continues to teach a history course at the high school. “I’d spent my whole life going 100 miles an hour, and all of a sudden I couldn’t do that.”
Some things, though, remain the same.
“Coach Bennett wakes up thinking about ways to improve his team and goes to sleep thinking about what he can be doing better,” said How-den, a 2009 Westlake graduate who played on state runner-up squads in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Bennett said he suffered two strokes — a minor one on March 24 followed by a more damaging one on March 28.
“During my first stroke, I thought I had vertigo,” he recalled. “I felt lousy, slurred my words, had trouble walking. The bad part is that I kept driving.”
Four days later, Bennett awoke at 2 a.m. and knew something was terribly wrong. He tried to get out of bed to get a glass of water but couldn’t move.
“I tried talking, but everything came out gobbledygook,” he said, describing himself as “stupid” for not responding to warning signs regarding his health. He suffers from high blood pressure, he said, but thought he could control it with exercise.
“After spending four weeks in the hospital, your only worry is whether your right arm and right leg will ever work again,” Bennett said.
Bennett takes a daily cocktail of prescribed medications, including blood thinners, to help prevent another stroke. He said he still feels a “tingle” after the strokes — “something I’ll probably have the rest of my life” — but expects to be back to full strength by March.
“He’s given so much to us, I feel we owe it to him to give everything we have,” said Turner, who will play at Georgia Southern next season.
Bennett said he’s unsure when he’ll retire and that he’s having too much fun with this team to let go now. His roster includes seven seniors, plus sophomore middle blocker Holly Campbell, who’s already being recruited by Texas, Florida, USC and Washington.
“I’ll say this — I’m not going to be Joe Paterno, that’s for sure,” Bennett said. “I’ve always felt like I’d know when it’s time (to retire). I don’t want people to ever say, ‘Oh, he should have retired last year.’
“As long as the fire is still in my belly — and my wife and I can manage my health — I want to coach.”
Contact Rick Cantu at 512-445-3953.
Twitter: @Rickyprep
COACH SPEAK
A handful of former and current Westlake volleyball players share their thoughts about longtime Chaparrals coach Al Bennett:
› Claire Hahn, Class of 2016 As far as superstitions, he wore a plaid checkered shirt to every home game last year.This year, he wears a Hawaiian shirt on game days. At school, though, he’s usually just wearing a Westlake t-shirt and sweatpants.
› Abby Howden, Class of 2009 Coach Bennett never passed up opportunities to help us bond as a team or to get to know us. He is still doing it today with his team. He takes them out to team dinners, rides roller coasters with them and gets to know each of his athletes during long bus rides. He has nicknames for everyone, and they are always so random but always seem to stick.
› Lindsay Bixby Legate, Class of 2009 At every volleyball banquet, he would talk about the season and he’d end up talking for almost two hours.We’d always joke about how long he’d talk, but that was a testament to how much coach Bennett cares about his players.
› Carly Turner, Class of 2016 He’s here every Saturday, uploading our stats, records and film for HUDL. He watches hours of film, giving us detailed scouting reports on every team we play.There is so much that he does that no one sees.
› Grace Weghorst, Class of 2013 One thing I’ll remember about coach Bennett is that he was so articulate most of the time, but a few times each week, he would explain a drill that made absolutely no sense to us.We’d spend five minutes trying to figure out what he meant. Luckily after being in the program a few years, the upperclassmen learned how to speak“Bennett language” and clearly translated what he tried to say.
I found this story at Austin Americans Statesman
Impact: This impacts people because the flood ruined a lot of peoples homes and churches and everything they had.
the headline is ' Grande's call center rebuilding after floods"
CENTRAL TEXAS FLOODING
Grande’s call center rebuilding after floods
Memorial Day setback hasn’t drowned Grande Communications’ zeal.
By Gary Dinges gdinges@statesman.com
One minute, workers in the Grande Communications call center were busy assisting customers with cable TV, Internet and phone service.
The next, they were racing to find higher ground.
The floodwaters that swamped Hays County on Memorial Day weekend hit the San Marcos-based company especially hard, leaving about 3 feet of water inside Grande’s offices.
Still, most customers never lost their services due to built-in redundancies, said Matt Rohre, senior vice president of operations and general manager.
Three months later, repairs to those offices are still being made. Many employees are either working from home or from a temporary call center in another San Marcos location.
Those still based inside the flood-damaged buildings find themselves dodging construction workers and sometimes shouting over the noise of power tools.
Grande is still working with its insurance carriers and doesn’t have an estimate yet on how much the repairs will cost, Rohre said.
It’s been a trying time, to say the least, Rohre said. But, he said, the growing company is proud of how its workforce has risen to the challenge.
“It was a little rough at first,” Rohre said. “The damage was pretty extensive at all three of our facilities in San Marcos. So far, though, I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
Construction is expected to wrap up near the end of the year, Rohre said.
“It’s been a slow go, but that’s OK,” he said. “This isn’t something you want to practice and get good at.”
At the same time it deals with its own repairs, Grande has also been working to assist about a dozen employees whose homes suffered damage.
“A lot of our employees live in close proximity to our office, so they flooded, too,” Rohre said. “It’s been really hard for them. That’s why we set up an employee relief fund to help.”
The flood’s aftermath hasn’t kept Grande from moving ahead with a number of major projects that were already in the works when the floods struck.
The company was set to close on its acquisition of Centrovision, a small Central Texas cable provider, the day after the flooding. That was delayed a week, but the sale still went through, Rohre said.
The deal gave Grande about 4,400 new customers in several cities in Bell and McLennan counties, including Little River-Academy, Moody, Morgan’s Point Resort, Pendleton, Rogers, Salado, Temple and Troy.
By early 2016, Centrovision’s customers will be tied into Grande’s Waco-area cable network, Rohre said. That will allow the company to start offering significantly upgraded services to Centrovision subscribers.
Grande is also pushing forward with rolling out its 1-gigabit Internet service in Austin.
“Every week, we’re adding additional capacity,” Rohre said.
Several West Austin neighborhoods already have the service. East Austin is a focus area right now, he said, and by year’s end about a quarter of Grande’s customers citywide should be able to get super-fast Internet.
“We’ve got a lot going on,” Rohre said. “We can’t let the flood slow us down.”
Contact Gary Dinges at 512-912-5987. Twitter: @gdinges
i found this at austin american statesmen.
Conflict: This is a big problem because the lady is fighting against judges and now she's going to jail. the headline is "Kentucky clerk jailed; deputies to issue marriage licenses"
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Ky. clerk jailed; deputies to issue marriage licenses
ByAdam Bean Associated Press
ASHLAND, KY. — A defiant county clerk went to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but five of her deputies agreed to end the church-state standoff in Rowan County, Ky.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he had no choice but to jail Kim Davis for contempt after she insisted that her “conscience will not allow” her to follow federal court rulings on gay marriage.
“God’s moral law conflicts with my job duties,” Davis told the judge before she was taken away. “You can’t be separated from something that’s in your heart and in your soul.” The judge later tried to keep Davis out of jail, saying she could go free if her staff agreed to comply with the law and she agreed not to interfere.
But Davis rejected the offer. With that, the hearing ended, and gay and lesbian couples vowed to appear at the Rowan County clerk’s office yet again Friday to see if the deputy clerks keep their promises.
“We’re going to the courthouse tomorrow to get our marriage license and we’re very excited about that,” said April Miller, who has been engaged to Karen Roberts for 11 years.
As word of Davis’ jailing spread outside the federal courthouse, hundreds of people chanted and shouted, “Love won! Love won!”
But Davis’ lawyer, Roger Gannam, compared her willingness to accept imprisonment to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sacrifices to advance civil rights, and said “everyone should lament and mourn the fact that her freedom has been taken away for what she believes.”
Laura Landenwich, an attorney for the plaintiffs, rejected the comparison.
“Ms. Davis is in an unfortunate situation of her own creation. She is not a martyr. No one created a martyr today,” Landenwich said. “She is not above the law.”
Speaking earlier from the bench, Bunning said it would set up a “slippery slope” to allow an individual’s ideas to supersede the courts’ authority.
“Her good-faith belief is simply not a viable defense,” Bunning said. “I myself have genuinely held religious beliefs ... but I took an oath.”
“Mrs. Davis took an oath,” he added. “Oaths mean things.”
Davis is represented by the Liberty Counsel, which advocates in court for religious freedom. Before she was led away, Davis said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide conflicts with the vows she made when she became a born-again Christian.
Miller and Roberts have been denied a marriage license four times by Davis or her deputies since the June ruling. Miller testified that one of the deputy clerks told her to apply in another county.
“That’s kind of like saying we don’t want gays or lesbians here. We don’t think you are valuable,” she said.
Rather than be fined, jailed or lose their jobs, five of the clerks told the judge they would issue the licenses. Her son, Nathan Davis, refused, but the judge said that wouldn’t matter and he wouldn’t be punished, as long as the others complied.
“I don’t really want to, but I will comply with the law,” said one of the deputies, Melissa Thompson. “I’m a preacher’s daughter and this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
Davis, an Apostolic Christian whose critics mock her for being a three-time divorcee, stopped issuing marriage licenses for all couples after the Supreme Court ruling in June. Many supporters and even some Republican presidential candidates have rallied behind her.
“People are calling the office all the time asking to send money,” Davis testified.
She said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky law to allow her to keep her job while following her conscience. But unless the governor convenes a costly special session, lawmakers won’t meet until January. “Hopefully our Legislature will get something taken care of,” she told the judge.
Until then, Bunning said, he has no alternative but to keep her behind bars.
“The legislative and executive branches do have the ability to make changes,” Bunning said. “It’s not this court’s job to make changes. I don’t write law.”
Davis served as her mother’s deputy in the clerk’s office for 27 years before she was elected as a Democrat to succeed her in November. As an elected official, she can be removed only if the Legislature impeaches her, which is unlikely in a deeply conservative state.
Former Republican President George W. Bush nominated Bunning for a lifetime position as a federal judge in 2001 when he was just 35 years old.
But Bunning has been anything but a sure thing for conservative causes, ruling against a partial-birth abortion ban and in favor of a gay-straight high school club.
I found this at austin american statesman's
Ethics: I chose this story for ethics because a lot of people watched the game on staurday and saw how badly they did so coach Charlie Strong is trying to decide which quarter back will be starting.
The headline for this story is " Heard would be best for UT"
Heard would be best for UT
Time has passed for Swoopes as Watson’s starting quarterback.
Cedric Golden
It wasn’t a bombshell, but it needed to be said. The quarterback competition is back on at Texas.
A still-steamed Charlie Strong said he will decide later this week if he will stay with Tyrone Swoopes as the starter or turn the offense over to Jerrod Heard.
Well, that’s a start of a good thing. The next step should be to name Heard the starter, even if quarterbacks coach and play-caller Shawn Watson insists on keeping Swoopes in there.
Anyone who has read this space over the past year knows my thoughts on Swoopes. I just don’t view him as a difference-maker or someone capable of taking this program to the lofty heights of days past. Heard has an upside that must be sped up, given the massacre that occurred in South Bend, Ind.
Here’s the problem with Watson: He’s stuck in the past. He helped turn Teddy Bridgewater into a first-round draft pick and is using that success in hopes of doing the same with Swoopes.
Swoopes isn’t Bridgewater. Watson knows as much but also understands that Swoopes represents his coaching comfort level. He’s completely comfortable coaching a drop-back passing type over someone like Heard, whose biggest plays will come because of his feet, not his arm. I believe Watson would much rather coach Swoopes in a West Coast attack than Heard in a spread attack similar to what Vince Young ran in his day. It’s not Watson’s cup of tea, but it’s the cup of tea that would make this a better offense.
Strong didn’t exactly give Watson a glowing endorsement — “I know Shawn’s the offensive coordinator,” he said
— which should be taken to mean he’s getting an on-the-job evaluation. And if Strong decides to make a move during the season and remove Watson, the best thing would be to name Heard the starter and let Jay Norvell, who has coached in spread offenses for years, call the plays.
Heard might not be polished, but he has the type of athleticism this offense needs. Plus, he brings something that Swoopes won’t be able to give this fan base: HOPE.
If Strong decides to pull the trigger on Heard, Watson’s days could be numbered.
They might be numbered even if he doesn’t.
Did you catch what Jordan Spieth tweeted in the midst of the Notre Dame beatdown?
“Texas’ offense looking about as useful as my last four rounds.”
Golf’s newest superstar didn’t mince words, which is a refreshing change from the PC garbage you hear from some alumni.
Another tweet that caught my eye came from Ryan Palmer, who played cornerback here and was a freshman on the 2005 national championship team:
“I remember when we went 10-3 in back to back seasons. People thought it was the end of the world... lol don’t take winning for granted. It’s hard.”
Palmer was blessed that he came along at the height of Mack Brown’s success. The teams he played for went 45-7, and 4-0 in bowl games. It’s OK to say those were the good old days. It does seem long ago.
Texas’ 2015 NFL draft crop wasn’t huge, but fruit sprouted from an unexpected source. Tight end Geoff Swaim made the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, making him the surprise of this camp.
The Boys love his ability as a blocker, which should come as no surprise since he caught just 13 passes in two college seasons.
Not to worry. Dallas has Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar to handle that.
Of the 10 Longhorns from last season who were in NFL camps, Swaim was one of four to make a 53-man roster. The others are defensive tackle Malcom Brown (New England), cornerback Quandre Diggs (Detroit) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (Philadelphia).
Seven former Bevos were signed to NFL practice squads: running back Malcolm Brown (St. Louis), cornerback Carrington Byndom (Carolina), safety Adrian Phillips (San Diego), wide receiver Jaxon Shipley (Arizona), offensive lineman Michael Huey (San Diego), defensive end Cedric Reed (Buffalo) and quarterback Garrett Gilbert (Oakland).
And for those of you pooh-poohing the idea of being on a practice squad, be advised that these guys are pulling in a minimum of $112,200 for 17 weeks of work.
Not a bad part-time gig.
Contact Cedric Golden at
912-5944.
Twitter: @cedgolden
I found this story at austin american statesman Novelty: I chose this story for novelty because this normally doesn't happen and it is just weird for this to happen.
The headline is "KKK leaves fliers on porches"
SOUTH AUSTIN
KKK leaves fliers on porches
Recruiting drive stuns, angers many who received pamphlets.
By Claire Osborn cosborn@statesman.com
AUSTIN — When Amanda Davis walked out the front door of her South Austin house Sunday morning, she saw a pamphlet in a plastic bag on her doorstep. “I picked it up and I squealed like there was a snake,” she said.
The front page of the pamphlet said, “A Introduction to the Platform and Principles of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.”
“I said to my husband, ‘Oh, my God, we just got a flier from the Ku Klux Klan on our front porch,’ ” said Davis, who lives near the intersection of Manchaca Road and Chappell Lane, south of Slaughter Lane. “I was so angry. I was just on my way to a job at a church and here’s this thing that’s the most antithetical to faith and what it means to be a Christian,” Davis said Monday.
Around the corner, one of her neighbors stepped out of her house Monday morning and said she hadn’t received a KKK pamphlet.
Then she gasped as she looked down and spotted one where it had just blown off her front porch.
“This is bizarre that’s it’s here,” she said, picking it up. “This is insane. This is not cool.”
The Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist and anti-immigration group that has existed in the United States off and on since the end of the Civil War, has a history of cross burnings, lynchings and other terrorism against African-Americans.
“I don’t know if they are trying to recruit or trying to intimidate,” said Davis, who is white. She said her subdivision is racially diverse, with Hispanic and African-American neighbors.
Robert Jones, a Klan spokesman and one of the group’s leaders in North Carolina, responded to the American-Statesman’s call Monday to the group’s “hotline,” the phone number printed on the pamphlet. He said a KKK recruitment effort is underway because of all the “racial tension” in America.
“They are trying to take down our Confederate flag and trying to erase whites out of history, and a lot of whites are starting to get fed up,” he said. “Look at that killing about two weeks ago when an African-American killed two white reporters. When you mix the races, you are distorting God’s creation.”
Jones said the Klan’s unit in Austin wanted to pass out recruitment pamphlets over the weekend. He said he didn’t know yet whether the group has received any responses or how many pamphlets were distributed.
“We tell our members to make sure you do no less than 500,” he said.
He said the KKK has been getting a lot of calls from people interested in joining ever since July, when the group rallied in Columbia, S.C., to protest the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state’s Capitol.
Davis said Monday that she called Austin police when she received the pamphlet and filled out a form on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website that tracks hate groups.
“You can’t get away with this,” she said. “I want people to know this is happening.” She said she was shocked she had gotten a pamphlet in Austin . “Austin is known as being more progressive, more open, more inclusive and more diverse,” she said.
Sue Deck, another neighbor, said she didn’t receive a pamphlet, but she said she couldn’t believe that KKK materials were left on doorsteps.
“It is scary,” Deck said. “We’ve come so far as people — why can’t we all just get along?”
Statesman reporters Asher Price and Tim Eaton contributed to this report.
I found this story at the austin american statesman.
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