Imperial Klans of America

The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist organization styled after the original Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In 2008, it was reported that the IKA had the nation's second largest KKK membership.

The IKA, headed by Ron Edwards, claims to be the sixth era of the Ku Klux Klan. Members of the 6th era, like members of previous eras, claim constitutional rights as part of the "Unorganized Militia". The IKA claims to stand upon Supreme Court decisions in favor of previous Klans. They are headquartered near Dawson Springs, Kentucky and claim external Imperial Klan offices in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, South Africa, South America, and throughout Europe.

The IKA was featured on National Geographic's "Inside American Terror" in 2008 and The History Channel's Gangland in 2009.

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In July 2006, 3 IKA members beat Jordan Gruver, a 16-year-old of Native American and Panamanian descent at a Kentucky county fair.

In February 2007, IKA members Jarred Hensley and Andrew Watkins were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for beating Gruver. The Southern Poverty Law Center also filed a civil suit on Gruver's behalf in Meade County, Kentucky against IKA "Imperial Wizard" Ron Edwards and the IKA for the actions of the IKA members. Morris Dees, together with William F. McMurry of Louisville, KY, represented Jordan Gruver in the trial against the IKA.

On November 14, 2008, an all-white jury of seven men and seven women awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages to Gruver against Edwards. Edwards appealed the ruling, and the court overturned the decision on January 14, 2011, sending it to a second trial in the original court venue. His appeal was ultimately denied by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

During the case, the SPLC received nearly a dozen threats "promising the most dangerous threat" ever faced. A July 2007 letter allegedly came from Hal Turner, a white supremacist talk show host. In 2007, Terrence was shown on CNN speaking at an event on the IKA Headquarters' grounds. On the second day of the civil trial, a former member of the IKA testified that the Klan had told him to kill Southern Poverty Law Center chief attorney Morris Dees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Klans_of_America