Indiana City Leaders Condemn KKK Halloween Costumes as Rider Defends Display and Activist Offers Dialogue

HUNTINGTON, Ind. - City, county and state leaders are condemning a Halloween incident in Huntington, Indiana, after photographs and videos spread online showing a couple riding through city streets on horseback in Ku Klux Klan costumes.

The ride took place Saturday as families and children were trick-or-treating in residential neighborhoods. The images drew intense backlash on social media over the weekend, prompting formal statements from the mayor, the county commissioners and a state lawmaker.

Huntington Mayor Richard Strick was among the first officials to respond, releasing a statement on the incident. The Huntington County Commissioners followed with a joint statement Sunday publicly condemning the behavior. State Senator Nick McKinley, whose Senate District 17 covers Huntington, Grant and Wabash counties, also issued a statement.

In an interview with 21Alive News, Commissioner President Rob Miller said the community cannot treat the display as harmless. "I think it's something that we can't disregard as just a Halloween prank," Miller said. "I don't know how anybody could come up with this and not know that this was such a dark chapter in this nation's history, and to reenact, in costume fashion, this type of racism and violence that plagued this nation for years. I think it is unconscionable that somebody would think that that was OK."

The woman pictured on horseback declined an on-camera interview but communicated with 21Alive News through a series of Facebook messages on Monday. She had previously posted in a local community Facebook group describing the ride as "1 ghost off the kkk, 2 ghost horses and 1 regular old ghost," and apologized to anyone whose children took photos with them and may have been offended.

Asked about community members who felt her explanation minimized the history and offense of the Klan, the woman defended the costumes. "I think there's not much wrong with it being a costume on Halloween. Lots of Halloween costumes are controversial," she said, adding that she understands some people were offended but that it does not give them the right to attack people. "We are not Klan members, and we are not racists. We did nothing to physically harm anyone."

The woman said the costumes were worn for roughly 30 minutes and that the situation was "blown out of proportion as if we were trying to 'send a message' which we were not." She also alleged the backlash has grown into targeted threats against her family and animals, citing doxing, defamation of character, harassment, death threats and threats to steal horses, and said the news should report on that conduct.

As online outrage continues, Roderick Parker, founder of Big Hearts Community Projects, said the community should turn its anger into an opportunity for education and progress. Parker, whose daughter grew up and attended school in Huntington, called the display shocking and hurtful. "It represents racism. It represents hatred of humanity," he told 21Alive News, saying the sight sparks fear, outrage and frustration over what it stands for.

Parker cautioned that responding with hostility alone will not resolve the underlying issues, saying that reacting with anger only produces more anger. Instead, he said he wants to lift the anger off the situation, offer education and a new thought process, and create unity.

Parker said he would like the woman and her boyfriend to sit down with him and other local leaders for an open discussion aimed at bridging gaps and understanding why people hold certain views. Asked Monday whether she and her boyfriend would be open to such a meeting, the woman expressed willingness to consider it, saying, "It would have to be something me and him discuss but a possibility."