Thread: Louisiana - Eight arrested in Klan-related killing

Eight arrested in Klan-related killing, police say

(CNN) -- Eight people were arrested Tuesday, one on a charge of murder, in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman at a remote Louisiana campsite during what police say was an initiation ceremony for the Ku Klux Klan.

Chuck Foster is charged with second-degree murder in the woman's death.




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The woman, whose identity has not been confirmed, was recruited over the Internet to join the Klan by the suspects, said Capt. George Bonnett of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.

The woman traveled from Oklahoma to Louisiana for the ceremony and was taken to a campsite near Sun, Louisiana, about 60 miles north of New Orleans.

On Sunday, the woman asked to be taken from the camp to a nearby town.

An argument ensued, and the woman was fatally shot by the group's leader, Bonnett said.

Some of the suspects then tried to conceal the killing by burning the woman's personal items, he said.

Police received a tip about the killing and found the woman's body hidden under loose brush alongside a road, Bonnett said.

The suspects, most of whom were still in the woods near the campsite several miles from where the body was found, were taken into custody without incident, he said.

The group's leader, identified as Chuck Foster, 44, was charged with second-degree murder.

The others were charged with lesser crimes related to trying to conceal the killing, Bonnett said.

Authorities found weapons, several flags and six Klan uniforms in the area, he said.

Bonnett said he has not seen any Klan activity in the area in three years he has worked there.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were seven active Klan organizations in Louisiana in 2007, the last time the civil rights law firm tracked hate groups.

None of these organizations was in the Sun area.

Eight arrested in Klan-related killing, police say - CNN.com

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