Special to the Ledger

HAMDEN – In the wake of small-scale leafleting in Milford and Orange last week by United Klans of America (UKA), the Anti-Defamation League’s Connecticut office (ADL) issued a reassuring message to residents.

The UKA, which distributed some 50 fliers on July 8, is a new group, based in Alabama and led by a longtime minor Klan figure. The fliers, left on the lawns of private residences, read, “You can sleep well tonight knowing the UKA is awake.”

According to Gary Jones, regional director of ADL, the white supremacist UKA is unrelated to the United Klans of America group that disbanded in the 1980s and was known for many acts of violence, including a number of murders.

“While it is never pleasant to have Klan or other hate group activity present in any neighborhood, this ‘new’ UKA does not have a history of violence and we have no reason to believe that residents of Milford should feel physically threatened or intimidated by their presence,” says Jones.

Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy and other officials gathered on July 9 at Milford City Hall to denounce the fliers.

Jones says that it is important to address such occurrences, no matter how minor.

“When you don’t respond, it gives folks a comfort level where they believe that maybe it’s not so bad to do these kinds of things,” he says. “It’s definitely appropriate, in our view, for community leaders, clergy, and police to make it clear that this kind of hate is not welcome. UKA is not a big group with a history of violence, but this happened and people spoke out against it like they should.”