In a press release last week, hacktivist collective Anonymous revealed that it will launch #OpKKK, a cyber operation that aims to unmask members of the infamous Ku Klux Klan. The goal is simple: unmask these hooded figures, especially those in power.

“Ku Klux Klan, We never stopped watching you. We know who you are. We know the dangerous extent to which you will go to cover your asses. Originally, we did not attack you for your beliefs as we fight for freedom of speech. We attacked you due to your threats to use lethal force in the Ferguson protests. We took this grudge between us rather seriously. You continue to threaten anons and others. We never said we would only strike once,” Anonymous warned in its release.

On Sunday, Anonymous released a video stating that on November 4, it will be launching a Twitter storm to raise awareness regarding #OpKKK and on November 5, Guy Fawkes’ Night, it would be releasing a list which contains more than 1,000 members of KKK.

The day did not end there, as lists of members allegedly belonging to the said group started to appear on PasteBin. The list contains names, phone numbers and emails of the alleged KKK members, some of which are U.S. senators and mayors. The leak was tweeted by Amped Attacks (@sgtbilko420) who claims that he “got the information from several KKK websites when I [hacked] them and was able to dump their database. I went through many emails that was signed up with these sites and a few of the emails that sparked my interest was the ones of the politicians in question there would be no reason for them to be signed up on any KKK website unless they supported it or was involved in it.”

Amped Attacks stated that he was not linked to Anonymous.

Some politicians were quick to deny any involvement in the group.

@Amoswtlcindy Amos, completely false. I have never had any affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and deplore all forms of discrimination

— Senator Dan Coats (@SenDanCoats) November 2, 2015

And even Thomas Robb, the national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, disputes that the list made public was not legitimate and identity of its members remain a safely guarded secret. Robb stated that the computers containing the list of its members are not connected to the Internet, indicating that it is safe from hackers, unless said hackers would physically access the computers in his house and in their main office. @Op_KKK, the official Twitter account of Anonymous for its operations against KKK, has already released their own statements regarding the leak:  

This account has NOT YET released any information. We believe in due diligence and will NOT recklessly involve innocent individuals #OpKKK — Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) November 2, 2015

The anons at the helm of this initiative vouch ONLY for the dox list that will be released from this Twitter account on November 5 2015.

— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) November 2, 2015

We respect the work of our fellow freedom fighters. However, we are unable to confirm, deny or take credit for any work that we did not do.

— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) November 2, 2015

Anonymous’ war against the group started last year when the Missouri chapter of KKK threatened to implement “lethal force” against those who participated in Ferguson unrest, a series of protests conducted after Michael Brown, a teen of color, was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson, that have allegedly threatened police officers and their family.

Anonymous answered the KKK’s threats by launching #OpKKK and #OpHoodOff, which revealed the identities of Klan members in the St Louis area. The KKK was not threatened by the act and even mocked Anonymous, to which the hacking collective answered by taking control of their Twitter account.

Photo by timsnell