KKK admits defeat in propaganda war with Texas

A Ku Klux Klan group has dropped its plans to join an "adopt-a-highway" anti-litter campaign in north Texas, conceding defeat in a propaganda battle with the state government.

Officials said Thursday the Klansmen this week withdrew their application to join the program and that the state government would no longer pursue a lawsuit aimed at declaring the white supremacist group ineligible.In exchange for offering to clean up two separate two-mile stretches of highway north of Fort Worth, "The United Knights of the Ku Klux Klan" had wanted highway signs put up thanking the group for good citizenship.

But the state government refused and instead filed a federal lawsuit that sought to have the white supremacist group declared unfit to join the program because it is not a civic organization.

Imperial Wizard Joe Earl Allcock, who is a full-time rodeo clown, said his Klan group could not afford the legal fees needed to battle the state in court.

Ron Dusek, a spokesman for Texas' attorney general, said the state could not allow the Klan to win roadside publicity.

"The KKK is basically a criminal, racist and violent organization," Dusek said.