The Missouri chapter of a faction of the Ku Klux Klan is allegedly raising money as a reward for the white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in Ferguson a week ago.

On its website, the South Carolina-based New Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has published a series of racist posts describing Brown as “a black punk” and “not a good kid”, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Watch (SCPLCHW) blog has reported.

The group has also advertised a fundraiser asking for donations of $10 (£6) and above, with all proceeds going to “the cop who did his job against the negro criminal”.

SPLC, an Alabama-based civil rights organisation, said they received an email from the group about the reward being raised, which read: “We are setting up a reward/fund for the police officer who shot this thug.

"He is a hero! We need more white cops who are anti-ZOG and willing to put Jewish controlled black thugs in their place. Most cops are cowards and do nothing while 90 per cent of interracial crime is black (and non-white) on white.”

The KKK also sparked outrage in South Carolina last month when residents in Seneca, Oconee County, awoke to find bags of sweets on their driveways on a Sunday morning, along with leaflets urging them to “Save our land, join the Klan”.

Protests have continued in Ferguson throughout this week after officer Darren Wilson shot Brown on a street outside a housing complex in the St Louis suburb.

In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Ferguson, Missouri Protesters ride on top of a car as they gather on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Ferguson, Missouri A protester holds the banner as he joins the protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Ferguson, Missouri Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered state police to patrol a St Louis suburb, sidelining local police who had clashed with protesters after an unarmed black teenager was killed by an officer In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Ferguson, Missouri People demonstrate in front of a burned down Quik Trip gas station on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests New York Thousands of people peacefully gathered in Manhattan's Times Square and Union Square, invoking the rallying cries "hands up, don't shoot" and "I can't breathe," alluding to the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests New York People protest in front of police officers in New York's Times Square In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests New York Protesters march in New York City's Union Square. Vigils are being held across the country for people organizers say died at the hands of police brutality In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Portland, Oregon People take turns speaking in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon during a vigil for Michael Brown In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Los Angeles, California A protester holds a sign that reads 'Black Lives Matter' as she joins hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in Leimert Park in South Central Los Angeles, California In pictures: Michael Brown shooting nationwide protests Omaha, Nebraska With his hands raised above his head, University of Nebraska criminal justice senior Aron Sanders, of Omaha, Nebraska, kneels in front of the Nebraska State Capitol building, as he and more than 30 others students gathered for a vigil

Tensions arose again on Friday night after a police statement was released showing the 18-year-old had been suspected of robbing a store before his death.

However, hours after Brown was named as a suspect in the "strong-arm" robbery of cigars from a store was released, police said that Officer Wilson, 28, had no idea he was a robbery suspect.