The names of the individuals to be released were obtained when members of Anonymous seized access to a KKK Twitter account, according to those involved in the operation.
OpKKK began last year following the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
In November of last year, the local Missouri Klan chapter began threatening violence towards protesters both online and in printed flyers, and thus, the unhooding operation began.
Almost immediately, a KKK Twitter account was taken over and affiliated websites began suffering massive DDOS attacks. A sizable portion of the group’s members were doxxed, meaning their information and photos were published online.
In a press release posted by those involved with OpKKK, the group stated:
“After closely observing so many of you for so very long, we feel confident that applying transparency to your organizational cells is the right, just, appropriate and only course of action. You are abhorrent. Criminal. You are more than extremists. You are more than a hate group. You operate much more like terrorists and you should be recognized as such. You are terrorists that hide your identities beneath sheets and infiltrate society on every level. The privacy of the Ku Klux Klan no longer exists in cyberspace.”
To prove they mean business, they tweeted out the identity of one member, along with her email address.
— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) October 25, 2015
The Anonymous press release, posted to pastebin on Tuesday, ended with a snarky question for those donning the white hoods, “Ku Klux Klan — why did you stop expecting us?”
— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) October 28, 2015