Justin Mitchell

jcmitchell@jackson.gannett.com

He was wearing a pointy hat, white robe and waving a Mississippi flag, and the owners of a bar in Picayune didn't find his costume very funny.

On Saturday a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe showed up to a Halloween costume party at Mutt & BC's Bar & Grill on East Canal Street.

Someone snapped a photo of the man in his costume and posted it to Facebook, and the photo has gone viral. It's been shared more than 215 times since Chance Delaney posted it to Facebook.

Bryan Carroll, co-owner of Mutt & BC's Bar & Grill, said he told the man, who was white, to remove the hood and take off the gown and leave. The man left and Carroll said he is barred from his business.

Carroll said the bar was hosting a costume contest Saturday night and there were several black customers in the bar when the man showed up in the "garbage" costume.

"We do not tolerate or condone racism at any level of our business, customers or staff," Carroll said. "Everyone is welcome and we do have all walks of life and all races that patronize our place."

Carroll said the man was not a regular customer and did not know him personally.

Picayune Mayor Ed Pinero said he was happy the establishment asked the man to leave.

"The city of Picayune does not support any type of racist or derogatory actions, period, whether it’s true to life or a costume party," Pinero said.

"It’s just unacceptable behavior."

Delaney, a Picayune resident, did not take the photo, but it was sent to him and he shared it publicly on Facebook. The person who sent him the photo asked not to be mentioned in this story.

The incident occurred hours after a gunman opened fire inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing 11 people.

Authorities say Robert Bowers, 46, stormed into the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in the affluent Squirrel Hill neighborhood shouting hate for Jews and killing worshipers in a 20-minute attack, USA Today reports.

Mississippi religious leaders decried the attack on Monday.

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