A member of the Ku Klux Klan salutes during an American Nazi Party rally at Valley Forge National Park September 25, 2004, in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (Getty )
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A number of Twitter accounts allegedly belonging to the Ku Klux Klan have been hacked by the Australian branch of activist group Anonymous.
The accounts, including @YourKKKcentral and @KuKluxKlanUSA, were seized after Anonymous declared “cyber warfare” on the racist group.
Members of the KKK have been threatening to use “lethal force” against demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, who are protesting about the fatal August shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson.
A grand jury, sitting in the county seat of Clayton is currently deliberating whether to bring criminal charges against Wilson.
Flyers handed out by the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which is the Missouri branch of the sect, told “the terrorists masquerading as ‘peaceful protesters’” that they had “awakened a sleeping giant”.
In pictures: Scott Olson's striking Ferguson images for Getty
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In a video released on YouTube on Friday, Anonymous responded to the KKK’s actions with the launch of its “Operation KKK”.
It said: “We are not attacking you because of what you believe in as we fight for freedom of speech…
“We are attacking you because of what you did to our brothers and sisters at the Ferguson protest on 12 November.”
It added: “The aim of our operation is nothing more than cyber warfare. Anything you upload will be taken down, anything you use to promote the KKK will be shut down.”
Tweeting from @KuKluxKlanUSA last night, the hacktivist group said:
According to an unconfirmed statement sent to ZDNet, Anonymous also claims to have seized the website belonging to Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as personal accounts. It is also reportedly conducting a phone harassment campaign.
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