According to reports, a Wisconsin man, later identified as Charles Michael Booth, 50, was seen wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hat, while walking his dog on the side of the road (June 12). During their walk, Booth began waiving at drivers passing by, all while drinking a beer. This unusual behavior prompted several calls to police.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that an image of Booth began circulating on Facebook the following day. The picture showed a male, presuming to be Booth, with his back towards the camera, as he stood on the side of the road with a black dog in a KKK-inspired look.
Due to concerns about Booth’s safety, extra patrol was requested by an employee at Conover’s Energy Mart gas station.
When police arrived and made contact with Booth, they determined that he wasn’t doing anything illegal; therefore, he won’t face any charges for wearing KKK apparel.
“It’s a country road,” Sheriff Joseph Fath told WJFW. “It’s not in anybody’s particular neighborhood. It should not have bothered anybody. I realize that that may be offensive to some people, but it’s not a crime.”
Fath added:
“I don’t anticipate any follow-up on it.”
One of Booth’s neighbors who wished to not be named stated that she froze when she saw Booth on the side of the road in his KKK outfit.
“We knew what we were looking at, but we didn’t know why. We were so in shock.”
While officers deemed Booth’s actions as “offensive,” but legal, the president of the Dane County NAACP chapter believed he intended to create fear amongst others.
“[Booth] intended to project what I believe to be white supremacist behaviors by wearing this garb,” Gregory Jones told the Journal Sentinel. “It is intended to create fear among people — even people who are not of color. [Vilas County residents] should be mindful and be willing to stand up and say this is not acceptable in our country at all.”
Reports show that Booth has a history of small traffic violations and was found guilty of criminal damage to property in 2013.
Since the incident on Friday, Booth has yet to respond to reports request for comment.
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