Social media posts circulating in the Howard community Monday, warning of imminent Ku Klux Klan (KKK) attacks in the D.C. metropolitan area, have been disproven by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The warning, which began to circulate amongst students via Instagram and Fizz, claimed that “KKK members out of Maryland are planning on attacking people randomly up until the inauguration.”
The post also claimed that the information was “coming straight from the police department.”
In a statement to The Hilltop Tuesday, MPD’s office of communications denied these claims, saying, “At this time, there is no veracity to these social media posts, and no direct threats have been identified at this time.”
This comes as security measures continue to be implemented on Howard’s campus ahead of Tuesday’s election night, in which the Harris-Walz campaign will host an event on Howard’s campus.
The university has arranged for uniformed and undercover officers at various points on campus, along with controlled access points and surveillance. Vice President for Student Affairs, Cynthia Evers has said they plan to allocate additional resources to residence halls and facilities during this time.
President Ben Vinson III said in a Nov. 1 email that attendees of the election night event must go through various layers of screening conducted by “specialized teams trained for events of this scope and significance.”
Copy edited by Camiryn Stepteau
