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Labor Day weekend commute to be a busy one

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UPDATE: Arrest made after search of home that forced school to close in Hazleton

<p>U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has called on the nation&#8217;s top prosecutor to aid in the response to a KKK affiliate whose fliers recently turned up in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8220;It is important that fringe groups like the East Coast Knights know they are being watched,&#8221; Casey wrote in a letter dated Thursday.</p><p>He said &#8220;ordinary Pennsylvanians subjected to unwanted attention by such groups feel the protective presence of law enforcement.&#8221;</p><p>Casey, in his letter, says city residents were &#8220;frightened&#8221; to find the fliers bearing a Ku Klux Klan symbol on their properties, and asks U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to &#8220;mobilize Department of Justice resources to take proactive steps&#8221; in ensuring safety while the &#8220;fringe group&#8221; is active in the city.</p><p>The letter does make note, however, that the group distributing the fliers is entitled to the freedoms of speech and assembly is afforded under the Constitution.</p><p>&#8220;Our laws and Constitution generally protect people&#8217;s right to assemble and speak as they please, even if that speech contains ideas repugnant to the American values of civility and equality,&#8221; Casey, D-Scranton, said.</p><p>&#8220;Yet, as tragedies like the recent shooting in South Carolina illustrate, intolerance can lead to violence.&#8221;</p><p>But Tom Larson, imperial wizard of the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire, called Casey&#8217;s actions &#8220;just plain silly.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We do not hate. We don&#8217;t want to hurt anybody. We are not going to hurt anybody,&#8221; said Larson, 64, a retired construction worker living in Delaware.</p><p>He confirmed the group has been circulating the fliers to attract members. Rather than create divisions, the group wants to unite all races of the country against foreign aggression to prevent terroristic attacks like those that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, Larson said.</p><p>The South Carolina shooting was not connected to the East Coast Knights in any way, he added.</p><p>Larson labeled the suspect Dylann Roof &#8220;a sick kid.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We felt just as much sympathy for those nine people that were killed as the black community,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He criticized Casey for linking the East Coast Knights to the past practices of the KKK.</p><p>&#8220;For this senator to go crying to Washington, what does he want to do, police the town? They&#8217;re just wasting taxpayers&#8217; money,&#8221; Larson said.</p><p>&#8220;Show me where we&#8217;re preaching hate and hurting people and I&#8217;ll disband my Klan,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Casey&#8217;s letter comes just one day after community leaders announced a walk planned for Sept. 15 which they hope will counter the recent KKK recruitment effort.</p><p>The walk is set to begin at 5:45 p.m. on Public Square and proceed to the Luzerne County Courthouse, where speakers will address the historical role marchers in Selma played in the passage of the Voting Rights Act 50 years ago.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Casey </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Casey_Bob_2013_toned1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Casey </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By James O&#8217;Malley</p><p>jomalley@www.timesleader.com</p><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach James O&#8217;Malley at 570-991-6390 or on Twitter @TL_omalley.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sen. Casey calls on U.S. AG to take ‘proactive steps’ over KKK in W-B