WINCHESTER (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center, a national organization that tracks so-called hate groups, says a branch of the Ku Klux Klan in New Hampshire has ceased operating.
There’s never been any indication, however, that the branch, listed in Winchester, ever engaged in activities commonly associated with the white supremacist group.
In fact, simply having one person — or even a post office box — affiliated with a hate group is enough to have a town listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map.”
Last month, the law center released its annual map, listing 888 groups nationwide it says “have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people.”
Selectmen in Winchester say they hadn’t heard of the group before the hate map was published. Police Chief Gary Phillips said he hasn’t had any contact with the organization.
Mark Potok of the law center says there was an active group early last year, but not anymore.