People in a Hudson neighborhood came home to find nearly every driveway on their street with a recruitment message from a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Neighbors discovered recruitment flyers, passed out in clear sandwich bags and weighted down with a small rock.
"That's what this is," said one woman, too afraid to reveal her name for fear the KKK would target her for speaking out. "It's for recruitment."
The flyer displayed the following message:
"White brothers and sisters, there is nothing hateful in showing pride in your race. The liberals have gone to a great deal of effort to make us feel ashamed of our own folk. The KKK wants you!
The blacks say black pride, the Latinos say brown pride, there is nothing wrong with us saying white pride.
White workers unite for race-nation-social justice. For our future and the future of our children. Join the fight now.
Knights of the White Disciples of the Ku Klux Klan. This is not targeted at any one person it is for recruitment only."
"It's a little scary," one neighbor told ABC Action News. "It's a little bit scary."
While the letter claims "there's nothing wrong with showing white pride," the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups, says this is a way the KKK is working to disguise a message of hate of other races while recruiting.
"It's an effort to pull people in by throwing paper in their yard with the hopes that people will pick it up," said Ryan Lenz, senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Map shows there are 63 known hate groups in the state of Florida. There are 8 sectors of the Ku Klux Klan operating in the state, with two based in Hudson.
"They're certainly among a group of extremist organizations that are seeking to capitalize on a political climate where hate doesn't have to scurry for the shadows," Lenz said.
Some neighbors who spoke with ABC Action News off-camera said they were not extremely concerned with the messaging on the flyer. Another said the first amendment allows the KKK to say and distribute what they like.
Other neighbors remain concerned about the KKK recruiting in their neighborhoods.
"I know of their history and the things that they've done to people," a woman told us.
