By Seth Brandle | Contributor
Anonymous, the infamous "hacktivist" group known for hacking the websites of governments and organizations it dislikes, has released a list of 400 names of alleged current Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members.
The hackers have been actively working against the white supremacist hate group since Nov. 2014. KKK members had claimed they would use deadly force against protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, who were protesting the death of an unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown. Brown was shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. Anonymous announced a plan to attack in response to these threats, dubbing the mission "Operation KKK."
Hundreds of names of alleged KKK members were released early this week, on a day that some Anonymous members called "Hoods Off 2015." Included in the lists were five city mayors, including mayor of Fort Wayne Tom Henry, and four U.S. Senators, including retiring Indiana senator Dan Coats.
However, Anonymous quickly distanced itself from these lists, saying that no one in its network was responsible for the leak, and that a real list of KKK member names would be released soon. Meanwhile, the elected officials implicated in the leak strongly denied any involvement with the KKK and argued that this was "baseless internet garbage of the worst kind."
Operation KKK released a shorter list of 400 names of alleged members of the hate group on Thursday evening, with many of the 1,000 previously leaked names not returning to this more official list, including Senator Coats. The list of names has yet to be substantiated, but it is likely that it will be more accurate than previous lists because Anonymous has promised to thoroughly research each person to determine his or her level of involvement with the KKK.
