After a video showing a group of people dressed in Ku Klux Klan-style robes while shouting racial slurs sparked widespread outrage in El Paso, the city’s local leaders and law enforcement officials are speaking out to condemn the incident.
The footage, which recently circulated on social media, shows more than six people walking through a residential area at night in white robes and pointed hoods resembling those associated with the white supremacist organization.
At one point, a person behind the camera encourages the group to shout something together. Several respond by yelling a racial slur, while another voice can be heard making a racist remark about Black people.
Unverified social media posts have speculated that the individuals may have been teenagers attending a Halloween gathering, although authorities have not publicly confirmed their identities or the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The El Paso Police Department acknowledged the video in a Monday statement, saying investigators were reviewing it to determine whether any laws were broken.
“Symbols and language associated with the Ku Klux Klan represent a history of terror, violence, and racial hatred. They have no place in our community,” police said. “Treating that history as a costume or a joke is unacceptable and contrary to the values of respect and safety that define El Paso.”
Authorities said potential violations could include disorderly conduct or other applicable offenses, and emphasized that freedom of expression does not protect conduct that threatens public safety. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar also condemned the incident, calling the behavior “deeply disturbing and unacceptable.”
“The KKK represents a shameful history of white supremacy, racial terror, and violence against Black Americans and other communities of color,” Escobar wrote in a Sunday Facebook post. “No El Pasoan is too young to understand that racism has no place in our community.
El Paso City Rep. Josh Acevedo, whose District 2 includes portions of central El Paso, also joined community leaders in denouncing the incident.
“El Paso is a welcoming community to all races, religions, genders, and people and we must say no to hate,” Acevedo wrote in a Monday Facebook post. “These ignorant acts must be confronted now and this begins in our homes, in our schools, in local government, and in state and national governments. Hate and ignorance have no place in El Paso.”
Carl B. Dwyer Jr., president of the El Paso NAACP, addressed the controversy Monday outside the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse. He said the racist imagery should not be dismissed as a harmless prank.
“It hurts,” Dwyer said in his Monday statement. “We have people that think it’s okay to don white sheets, white robes, and white hats that are emblematic of the most racist time and period of this country. It is not a joke, and it is not funny,” he added. “What’s next? When are we going to speak out? When the nooses come out? When the ropes come out? When the lynchings start? Enough is enough!”
Police encouraged anyone with information about the incident to contact the department as investigators continue reviewing it.