According to multiple reports, an anonymous buyer purchased the items at the Beaver Springs Auction Center in Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
Auctioneer Dawn Miller has received criticism from church leaders and community members for allowing the Ku Klux Klan robe to be put up for bid, WNEP reported. However, according to Miller, the robe is significant for its "historical" value.
— WNEP (@WNEP) January 26, 2019
"The main ticket item would be the Ku Klux Klan robe. We accept consignments at the auction, and we had a gentleman contact us and said he had several items, would we accept them for consignment, and of course, I said yes," Miller told WNEP.
"My reasoning is, it's a historical item. They're [the robes] very valuable, and they're very collectible, and it is strictly historical," she added.
Many residents told the local news station that the robe's sale makes them "angry."
"To me, the message it spreads is hatred, and I wouldn't want anybody to make any profit off of it," Dez Ewig told WNEP. "No offense to anybody at the auction house. I know them, I like them, but it's just something that should not be sold."
"There are supporters of that who still, you know, exist and believe in it and act on it, and so it's not that historical. It's not a historical treasure. It's more of a threatening image to me," Joanne Landis of Troxelville also told WNEP.
