EDITOR'S NOTE: The Morehead Minute unequivocally condemns racism, antisemitism, white supremacy, religious hatred and discrimination. The decision to report this story should not be interpreted as support for, endorsement of, or promotion of the Ku Klux Klan or any organization associated with it.
We are reporting this information because an alleged gathering has been advertised for Daniel Boone National Forest, which encompasses portions of the region served by The Morehead Minute. We believe residents have a legitimate public-interest and public-safety reason to be aware of the situation.
The Morehead Minute will not publish the organization's flyer, recruitment information, mailing address, contact information or instructions for attending the alleged gathering.
An alleged Ku Klux Klan gathering advertised for Saturday, August 8, somewhere within Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest remains shrouded in uncertainty, with no publicly identified location and questions remaining about whether the event will actually take place.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported August 1 that flyers promoting the gathering had surfaced in several Midwestern communities. The flyers claimed that a faction of the Ku Klux Klan planned to hold an event somewhere within Daniel Boone National Forest on August 8.
The Morehead Minute has chosen not to reproduce the flyers or information that could be used to contact the organization.
The location identified in the promotional material is particularly relevant to residents of Eastern Kentucky. Daniel Boone National Forest encompasses more than 700,000 acres across 21 Kentucky counties, making a claim that an event will occur "within" the forest extraordinarily broad.
Forest Service Was Aware of Reports
According to reporting by the Herald-Leader, Daniel Boone National Forest Public Affairs Officer Mary O'Malley said Forest Service officials had been aware of the flyers since early July and that rangers were investigating the reports to ensure applicable rules and regulations were followed.
At the time of the Herald-Leader's August 1 report, no one had sought Forest Service permission for the advertised event, according to O'Malley.
That does not necessarily establish that a gathering could not occur.
The Herald-Leader reported that noncommercial gatherings involving 75 or more people on U.S. Forest Service land generally require a special-use permit. The broad wording used in the flyers also leaves open the possibility that an event, if one exists, could take place on privately owned property located within the national forest's larger proclamation boundary rather than federally managed land.
No specific gathering location was identified in the promotional material.
Whether the Gathering Will Actually Happen Is Unclear
There is another important distinction for readers: The Morehead Minute has not independently confirmed that a KKK gathering is taking place today.
The existence of promotional material advertising an event is not proof that the event will occur.
The Herald-Leader reported that the same organization had previously distributed flyers advertising another gathering. Forest Service officials reportedly received no request for a permit or permission for that event either and were unable to confirm afterward whether it actually took place.
According to the Herald-Leader's reporting, researchers monitoring extremist organizations have nevertheless observed discussions about the current alleged event involving more than one KKK faction, lending some credibility to claims that some type of gathering was being contemplated.
That still does not establish that the advertised August 8 gathering is occurring.
Why The Morehead Minute Is Reporting This
The Morehead Minute struggled with whether publishing this story would unnecessarily provide attention to an organization whose ideology we categorically reject.
Ultimately, we believe there is a difference between promoting an organization and informing the public about activity that may occur in their community.
Daniel Boone National Forest is used every day by families, hikers, campers, hunters and visitors from throughout Eastern Kentucky and beyond. When an organization associated with a long history of racial hatred advertises a gathering somewhere within those public lands, people have a legitimate interest in knowing about it.
At the same time, reporting should not become recruitment.
For that reason, The Morehead Minute will not provide the organization's contact information, reproduce its promotional flyer, provide instructions for attending the alleged event, or direct readers to websites or social-media accounts associated with the organization.
Readers should also understand that publicity surrounding extremist organizations can sometimes create an exaggerated impression of their actual numbers or influence. The existence of widespread flyers should therefore not be interpreted as evidence of a large gathering or significant local membership.
A Final Note From The Morehead Minute
Our position is straightforward:
Racism has no endorsement here. White supremacy has no endorsement here. Antisemitism has no endorsement here. Religious hatred has no endorsement here.
People of every race, ethnicity and faith are members of the Eastern Kentucky communities we serve, and all deserve to live, work, worship and enjoy our public lands without intimidation.
Reporting that an organization may be present does not mean giving that organization a platform.
It means giving our community information.
Source and attribution: Portions of the information concerning the advertised gathering and statements attributed to U.S. Forest Service officials were originally reported by Austin R. Ramsey of the Lexington Herald-Leader on August 1, 2026. The Morehead Minute has not independently verified that the advertised August 8 gathering is occurring and makes no representation that the event has taken place, is currently taking place, or will take place.