Ku Klux Klan Berets

Not only "real Nazis" showed a liking for berets (see yesterday's post on the Condor Legion); also some present day followers, like the KKK adopted the beret as their headgear of choice, when not hiding their faces under a pillow cover. Sad, but still, they have a place at The Beret Project.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), or just the Klan, is the name of three distinct movements in the United States. The first played a violent role against African Americans in the South during the Reconstruction Era of the 1860s, and was disbanded by 1869. The second was a very large, controversial, nationwide organization in the 1920s. The current manifestation consists of numerous small unconnected groups that use the KKK name. They have all emphasized secrecy and distinctive costumes. All have called for purification of American society, and all are considered right-wing.

The current manifestation is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is estimated to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members as of 2012.

Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. (1940), commonly known as Glenn Miller, is a former leader of the defunct North Carolina-based White Patriot Party (formerly known as the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan). Convicted of criminal charges related to weapons, and the violation of an injunction against paramilitary activity, he has been a perennial candidate for public office. He is an advocate of white nationalism, white separatism, neo-paganism and a proponent of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

On April 13, 2014, Miller was arrested following the Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting in Overland Park, Kansas. Johnson County prosecutors initially charged him with one count of capital murder and one count of first-degree murder. On October 17, the separate charge for first-degree murder was dismissed and all three deaths were included in a single capital murder count. Miller also is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting at three other people. On December 18, he was found competent to stand trial, and prosecutors announced they are seeking the death penalty against him. He is also facing a potential federal hate-crimes prosecution.