The grand jury decision on whether or not Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, will be charged over his fatally shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed, black teenager could come at any moment. Tensions have been high in the area since the shooting, and have only been escalating as the St. Louis suburb awaits the verdict.
After the Ku Klux Klan said it would use “lethal force” against Ferguson protesters, the hacktivist collective Anonymous seized a Twitter account belonging to the Klan, @KuKluxKlanUSA, and knocked a website belonging to “Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan” offline.
You should’ve expected us. #OpKKK pic.twitter.com/QvgK0ANVu5
— Anonymous (@AnonymousGlobo) November 18, 2014
Account Twitter: @KuKluxKlanUSA Under anon control as of 16 NOV 2014 09:11:47. You should’ve expected us. #OpKKK pic.twitter.com/DzF51PBgSb — Hive Communications (@HiveComm) November 16, 2014
ZDNet received an unconfirmed report that Anonymous had also compromised KKK member email accounts as part of the group’s new #OpKKK campaign, and was publishing personal information about KKK members in and around Ferguson with the hashtag #HoodsOff.
In a chat with the Huffington Post, user “Anoniter” said Anonymous’ members are cross-referencing “all instances of membership to ascertain true identity … We use basic information that they provide on their site. We then cross it with other online applications to pinpoint exactly who they are … We ensure that no innocent person would be ousted.”
Watch a video from Anonymous about #OpKKK.