In the ignoble history of Ku Klux Klan, the infamous white supremacist organisation known for its bizarre rituals and venomous ideology, Bill Wilkinson occupies a key place. He was the Imperial Wizard of the most prominent breakaway group of this movement.
From 1975 to 1981, Wilkinson led the Invisible Empire of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Now an old man at the age of 77, he is back in the news. At a time when USA is going through a massive social upheaval in the wake of George Floyd's killing, the unrepentant white supremacist has jumped into the conversation.
He has, not surprisingly, justified the assault that led to the death of Floyd and has decried the entire 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
Hailing from Denham in the southern state of Louisiana, Wilkinson, talking to Dailymail.com about the agitation that has gripped America, was full of hatred for the protestors of BLM. "They don't have a pot to p**s in or a window to throw it out of, they're nothing. There won't be a race war, they've just got nothing better to do," he said.
Going ahead, Wilkinson even justified the police action that led to the death of Floyd as well as the one in which Rayshard Brooks, another black man, was killed.
"In both cases the policeman was exactly right... The fella in Atlanta (Brooks) was passed out drunk in his car, intoxicated and holding up the line in a Wendy's, well he (his death) was totally justified. He pulled the cop's Taser," the septuagenarian was quoted as saying by the website.
On the even more shocking Floyd incident which triggered the protests and which was caught on camera, Wilkinson's view was that the police action was "right."
Wilkinson's past
During the height of his power, Wilkinson was considered the most powerful proponent of white supremacist ideology in his country. Now a hotelier, he set up a breakaway Klan group which was considered the worst of the lot and most violent.
His actions as the leader of the Invisible Empire of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan included arming his men, organizing marches to foment racial tensions and training a 'Klan Guard' to be like a militant force that can engage in violent combat operations against their enemies, which means African-Americans.
In one of his group's events in 1979, he made an infamous statement where he said: "We want a free enterprise, where the best man wins. And we know who that is – the white man."
Eventually though, he had to leave USA. In 2015, Daily Mail, tracked him down in, of all places, the Caribbean nation of Belize – a country mainly consisting of non-whites. Despite his relocation, his views had not changed and he is now back in his home state of Louisiana.
