City leaders condemn KKK Halloween costume, rider addresses backlash as activist offers face-to-face dialogue

HUNTINGTON, Ind. (WPTA/Gray News) - City, county, and state leaders are condemning a Halloween incident in Huntington, Indiana, after photographs and videos circulated online showing a couple riding through city streets in Ku Klux Klan costumes.

The incident took place Saturday as families and children were trick-or-treating in residential neighborhoods.

The images sparked intense community backlash across social media over the weekend, leading to formal statements from the mayor, county commissioners, and a state lawmaker.

While the female rider has defended the display to 21Alive News and alleged that her family is facing threats, a Northeast Indiana community leader is offering a next step: an open invitation to sit down face-to-face.

City, county, and state leaders release statements

Huntington Mayor Richard Strick was among the first officials to respond to the incident, releasing the following statement:

The Huntington County Commissioners also released a joint statement on Sunday publicly condemning the behavior:

In an interview with 21Alive News, Commissioner President Rob Miller emphasized that the community cannot view the incident 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.”

State Senator Nick McKinley, who represents Senate District 17 encompassing Huntington, Grant, and Wabash counties, also issued a statement:

Rider responds, alleges harassment

The woman pictured on horseback declined an on-camera interview but communicated directly with 21Alive News in a series of Facebook messages on Monday.

She had previously posted a statement to a local community Facebook group describing the ride as “1 ghost off the kkk, 2 ghost horses and 1 regular old ghost,” apologizing to anyone whose children took photos with them and may have been offended.

When asked by 21Alive News 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. “And yes I do fully understand that some people were offended it just doesn’t give them the right to attack people when we didn’t attack anybody.”

She added: “We are not Klan members, and we are not racists. We did nothing to physically harm anyone.”

The woman told 21Alive News that the costumes were worn for roughly 30 minutes, saying the situation was “blown out of proportion as if we were trying to ‘send a message’ which we were not.” She also said the backlash has escalated into targeted threats against her family and animals.

“I think the news needs to say something about the doxing, threats, defamation of character, and harassment that is happening,” she wrote. “Including the fact the lots of people are threatening families and children. There are death threats and threats to steal horses.”

Activist extends invitation for open dialogue

As online outrage continues, Roderick Parker, founder of Big Hearts Community Projects, said the community must find a way to turn the anger into an opportunity for education and progress.

Parker, whose daughter grew up and attended school in Huntington, said the display was shocking and hurtful.

“It represents racism. It represents hatred of humanity,” Parker told 21Alive News. “Seeing something like that definitely causes immediate concern. It sparks a sense of fear. It sparks a sense of outrage. And then there’s the anger and the frustration for what it represents.”

Parker stressed that reacting solely with hostility will not solve the underlying issues.

“Having a feeling or the emotion of anger is one thing, but if you move and react and respond with anger, you know, the only thing that you find is more anger,” Parker said. “And so just trying to find a way to kind of lift the anger off of this situation... offer some education, offer a new thought process, and create unity.”

Parker said he wants to sit down face-to-face with the woman and her boyfriend alongside other local leaders.

“I would love for you guys to come sit down at a table with myself and a couple of the leaders in the community, so that we can have an open discussion, so that we can try to do some educating, so that we could try to bridge some gaps,” Parker said. “We can understand why certain people have certain views, be it negative or positive views, and work to try to create some change there.”

When 21Alive News asked the woman on Monday if she and her boyfriend would be open to meeting with Parker, she expressed willingness to consider it.

“It would have to be something me and him discuss but a possibility,” she said.