The Imperial Wizard of the Rebel Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Richmond, Va. said their group has launched a regional campaign to boost membership in hopes of increasing turnout for Donald Trump in the general election since the state’s primary has passed.
“Donald Trump would be best for the job,” the wizard told WWBT. “The reason a lot of Klan members like Donald Trump is because a lot of what he believes in, we believe in. We want our country to be safe.”
The man appears in a robe and hood and is not named in the video.
The leader said he would not support Ted Cruz as the Republican nominee for president due to the senator’s Canadian birthplace, despite a number of state courts having ruled that the Texas senator was eligible to run.
“If Donald Trump dropped out tomorrow I would support Kasich before I would Ted Cruz because he is not an American citizen,” added the Imperial Wizard.
Instead, the imperial wizard said he is working to help the GOP front-runner win the nomination in July and go on to win the general election in November. He explained that the two share similar beliefs, but argued that their group was not based on racism and homophobia.
“Does the KKK hate? Is it a hate group?” the reporter asked him.
“No, we are not a hate group. We hate no one,” said the imperial wizard.
The KKK leader added that their group got involved in the election because of politics, not race. He said the Charleston church shooter Dylan Roof, who had waved a Confederate flag before shooting and killing nine people, was a Nazi skinhead and not affiliated with them.
“Neo-Nazis and skinheads are socialist. We are not socialist. We are patriotic American citizens standing up for our God, family and country. We are not white supremacists. We are white separatists. We choose to stay within our own race. We are not the big bad hate group that everybody thinks we are,” the official said.
