Everyone mistook a priest for a KKK member

He was spotted at Red Mango

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Rumors of a klansman on campus have proven false after a priest innocently made his way through Bloomington.

Last night around 9:15 PM, social media became a furious storm of confusion regarding a man in white robes roaming along 10th St. and purportedly armed with a whip.

Students thought the white robes indicated Klu Klux Klan affiliation.

In the spirit of Hoosiers helping Hoosiers, students were quick to look out for each other by spreading word of this potential safety risk.

For instance, Eigenmann RA Ethan Gill notified his residents via email of the perceived threat in interest of their protection.

Students widely disseminated messages like the above. There was no safety alert released by the University.

While the KKK has been active in the area in the past, it later became apparent this klansman armed with a whip was actually just a monk of the Dominican order in traditional white robes. The “whip” he was holding may have been his rosary beads.

He was sighted off campus the same evening at the Red Mango on 10th St.

The RA Ethan Gill later posted a clarification to his Facebook at 11:06 PM. He said:

“Behold, your ‘klansmember….’

“This is what happens when there is miscommunication. So what happened tonight goes like this: a person saw white robes and what looked to them like a weapon, got scared (rightfully so), warned people, warned staff, which in turn caused me to warn my residents because I need to look out for my residents, which in turn made it spread.

“Then my residents, terrified, come running to me, saying yeah the report must be true, they saw him and couldn‘t believe there was a klansmember with a whip. And I see this picture. It’s a priest. With a rosary. 

“Now, I get it why a person would be scared. There in fact HAVE been klansmembers on the campus spurting hate speech, but never have they been reported with a weapon. So yeah, if it was in fact a weapon and a threat, it’s a good thing to warn a friend. So when someone warns other people, we need to be cautious. However, what I’ve learned from this is to take anything with a grain of salt. In the future, I’m still sending my residents warnings of threats, crime, hate gatherings, and all that but I will wait for a confirmation. But now that there is no danger I can say: this is a hilarious miscommunication.”

 

UPDATE: Fortunately, the Tab was able to get a hold of Father Jude McPeak, a Dominican monk of St. Paul’s Catholic church. He said “this isn’t the first time” there was some Klan confusion regarding his garb. “I’ve never heard of a brother triggering an email going around,” he said.

 

In the aftermath, the IU social media landscape continued the conversation.

Some were asking the questions on everyone’s mind.

Others were more critical of students for being concerned about the potential threat in the first place.

A Yik Yak character witness chimed in.

And then there was some sass directed at other universities.

Ultimately, there turned out to be no threat and Hoosiers now have something to talk about today.

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