Friday, January 21, 2000
Klan plans rally on square Saturday
City expecting small turnout
BY ROBERT ANGLEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After losing a chance to raise a cross on Fountain Square for Christmas, the Ku Klux Klan plans to hold a rally there Saturday.
A permit for a 30-50-person demonstration filed by Klan Imperial Wizard Jeffery Berry of Butler, Ind., was approved by the city last week.
“We expect no more than 10 to 15 people to show up,” said Assistant Safety Director Rodney Prince. “It is my great hope that no one will bother to show up.”
Even so, the police will have a strong presence on the square, sectioning off the demonstration area with barricades and keeping Klan members separated from any protesters who might oppose them.
Klan members first inquired about a demonstration in December, when they were not allowed to put a cross in the square because two churches and Downtown Cincinnati Inc., intentionally snatched up the last permits.
“It's too little too late to counterbalance what we did,” said the Rev. Thomas Eisentrout of the Immanuel United Church of Christ in South Fairmount.
During the holiday, the Rev. Mr. Eisentrout and Rev. Jerry Hill of the Clifton United Methodist Church erected a display of tolerance and unity to replace the Klan cross.
Now the church leaders say the best thing to do is ignore the Klan.
“The idea was to pre-empt (the Klan) from being on Fountain Square during Christmas time.” the Rev. Mr. Hill said.
Mr. Berry was sued Tuesday in federal court by a Louisville reporter and camerawoman who traveled to Mr. Berry's home in November for an interview about a planned Klan demonstration in Indiana.
After the interview, Mr. Berry decided he did not want to be part of the story and demanded the interview tapes. According to the complaint, Mr. Berry and supporters confined the reporter and camerawoman in the room until the tapes were handed over.
Mr. Berry did not return calls to his house Thursday.
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