A small town newspaper in Alabama published an editorial last week that called for the return of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to block tax increases in the state.

The editorial was published on Thursday and Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper in Linden, Ala., confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser on Monday that he wrote the column.

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“Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again,” the first line of the editorial reads. “Democrats in the Republican Party and Democrats are plotting to raise taxes in Alabama.”

Sutton writes that Democrats "do not understand how to eliminate expenses when money is needed in other areas."



"This socialist-communist ideology sounds good to the ignorant, the uneducated, and the simple-minded people," he added.

When asked about it by the Montgomery Advertiser, Sutton repeated his writings, saying, “if we could get the Klan to go up there and clean out D.C., we'd all been better off.”

"We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them," Sutton said.

He defended himself by saying he was “not calling for the lynchings of Americans.”

“These are socialist-communists we're talking about,” Sutton said.

He went on to compare the KKK to civil rights group the NAACP, saying the violence of the white supremacist hate group was justified.

"A violent organization? Well, they didn't kill but a few people," Sutton said. "The Klan wasn't violent until they needed to be."

In the editorial, Sutton says the Klan should go to D.C. and "raid the gated communities up there."



"They call them compounds now. Truly, they are the ruling class," Sutton writes.

Sutton has worked at the paper since 1964 and reportedly welcomed feedback in the form of letters or phone calls regarding his editorial.

The Alabama Press Association (APA) told the Montgomery Advertiser that while it does not condone the editorial, it does not have the authority to stop Sutton.

"We do not agree with the opinion," said Felicia Mason, APA executive director. "However, APA is not a policing agency. We simply have no authority over what our member newspapers publish."

--This report was updated on Feb. 19 at 5:43 a.m.