The Ku Klux Klan pulls guns on LGBTQ+ demonstrators in Kentucky

In the small town of Corbin, Kentucky two Sundays ago, shouts of “Gay rights! Human rights!” at a small protest against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being pursued at the state level were met with a different, and hateful, kind of demonstration.

“I wanna rip your f**king face off and shove it up your f**king ass.”

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That was the warning from Ku Klux Klan member Clayton D. Segebart, 43, to one of a small group of demonstrators in the town square that day.

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Segebart had already flashed a KKK membership card to the man, handed to him by his companion, 44-year-old Kenneth W. Hutton. Now he pulled a gun from his hip.

“He pulled out a fucking gun on me! Call the cops.”

The frightening exchange was caught on video by one of the demonstrators moments before police arrived and intervened.

@riotheartmedia

TW: Slurs, Firearms, supremacy At Sanders Park in Corbin, KY, members and activists of the LGBTQ+ community rallied together on June 3rd to support one another. What should have been an uplifting event turned unsettling when faced with animosity and hate. LGBTQ+ activist Trent Osborne said he and his friends were having a peaceful protest in direct action against hateful legislation plaguing Kentucky and the rest of the United States. “The goal originally was to get a lot of people to come together and show that there’s a community in Corbin that will protect you,” Osborne said. “I think is necessary, especially because it doesn’t feel like there are enough resources for people that are queer or LGBTQ.” Not too long into the celebration, Osborne’s friend, James Hensley, was approached by two men, and an altercation ensued. According to Osborne, two men approached — one on a motorcycle and the other in a car. “They flipped us off and proceeded to pull over and approach us as if planned,” he said. “They began spouting slurs and hateful slander. The F-slur was said on multiple occasions when the two men approached, they each had their hands on their guns which were hidden in their pockets.” Osborne immediately noticed and confronted them, “asking why on earth they’d need to have weapons as none of us were armed nor threatening them,” he said. In the video that has gone semi-viral on social media, James can be seen bucking up with one of the men. One man appears to admit to carrying and shows a Ku Klux Klan membership card and spews threats in James’ direction. Full article linked in bio. Courtesy @queerkentucky #America #Amerikkka #USA

♬ original sound – Riotheart

Trent Osborne, one of the protest’s organizers, told Queer KY that the men had driven by the small group of demonstrators on a motorcycle and by car and flipped them off, yelling obscenities. Then they pulled over and approached the group, making clear with hands on their pockets that they were armed.

Osbourne called the men out for threatening the unarmed group with weapons. The men continued to spew hateful language.

“They even proudly proclaimed to be homophobic and racist. At one point the man who later pulled his weapon in the altercation looked at me and said, ‘I’ll burn you and that sign.’”

“After I smacked his hand away, I’ll be honest, I was ready to fight. Then I noticed his hand on his gun.”

The video captures police arriving out of frame, shouting toward the Klan members. Segebart responds in their direction, yelling, “Come take care of these fa***ts, then!”

The cops’ account of the incident and the Klansmen’s identities were obtained by Raw Story through an open records request to the town’s police department.

“Male has gun out,” a police log entry at 2:21 p.m. reads.

“Ruger 9mm,” a subsequent entry states, identifying one of the men’s guns. “Smith and Wesson” reads another a minute later.

“Both males that were there with weapons are 98,” the 2:46 p.m. entry reads, meaning the subjects had been cleared from the scene.

According to Osbourne, police emptied the guns of their bullets, returned them to the men, and told them to leave.

Also cleared from the scene: the demonstrators, who were told by cops their protest couldn’t proceed without a permit.

According to news reports, flyers attributed to the Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan have shown up in Corbin and neighboring towns following the June 3 confrontation.

“Parents take control of our schools,” the KKK flyers read. “Remove all filth from school libraries. Two gender policies. End the presence of men in the girlsroom.”

The screed ends with a recruitment pitch: “Parents take your stand. Join the Klan.”

“They wanted to come there and bait us into fighting them,” Osbourne said, “so they could get away with murder.”  

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