Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston of Mechanicsburg Presbyterian speaks to a crowd opposing the distribution of fliers by a hate group in Mechanicsburg on Oct. 29, 2025.
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Mechanicsburg leaders, residents rally for inclusion after hate group spreads flyers
Republican and Democratic elected officials, religious leaders, educators and residents unify in opposition of a racist attempt to intimidate.
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Jordan Wilkie/WITF
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston of Mechanicsburg Presbyterian speaks to a crowd opposing the distribution of fliers by a hate group in Mechanicsburg on Oct. 29, 2025.
MECHANICSBURG – Around 400 people filled a city block Wednesday night to decry a hate group that distributed flyers earlier in the month. Led by local religious leaders and members of the Mechanicsburg Borough Council, the event was part sermon to love thy neighbor and part rally to declare hate groups are not welcome in the borough.
“We believe our human differences should be celebrated, not targeted,” Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston of Mechanicsburg Presbyterian said to applause. “Silence is the welcome mat of hate and hate is not welcome here.”
Kyle Miller, president of the borough council, read a statement endorsed by the council’s five Republicans, two Democrats and Mayor Jack Ritter: “Our community is founded on the principle that all individuals are created equal and we strive to foster an environment of love, inclusion, and mutual respect.”
The gathering of local elected officials, religious leaders and residents was the right step to take to ensure people feel safe and to prevent the racist flyers from having their intended effect, according to Will Fuller, state lead for the peacebuilding organization Search for Common Ground.
“ There’s always a choice to make as to whether we’re going to stand up and show people who we really are and the values that we really live by or are we gonna retreat in fear,” Fuller said.
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Laura Martin, left, a Mechanicsburg Borough Council member, with her child Jupiter Martin at the “No Hate Here” rally in Mechanicsburg on Oct. 29, 2025.
On Oct. 14, people attending the Mechanicsburg Halloween Parade found flyers for a group claiming to be part of the Ku Klux Klan, once the most powerful hate group in America but now a loose coalition of fewer than a dozen chapters across the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
With few, mostly older members with little to no social power, KKK-affiliated groups distribute flyers as a cheap propaganda strategy, according to SPLC’s Cassie Miller, a senior researcher and analyst. WITF is not identifying the specific hate group that distributed the flyers or directly quoting from them because to do so would be to participate in their propaganda strategy.
“ The Klan simply doesn’t have a great deal of organizational strength or infrastructure at this point. So these flyers, more than anything, I think are a show of weakness rather than strength,” Miller said, adding that the KKK is marginalized even among white supremacy groups.
When a community responds by organizing and condemning hate, it can become stronger than before it was targeted by a hate group, Miller said.
At the rally, Rev. Elizabeth Peter Eckman of St. John’s Lutheran in Shiremanstown said her initial reaction was to expect silence from the community, and that scared her more than the flyers themselves.
“We have to be people who, when that card of hatred is handed out, we say, ‘Not here, not now, not ever,’ and we have to replace that with love. When love shows up, hate has no ground to grow,” Eckman said from the stage.
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Rev. Elizabeth Peter Eckman of St. John’s Lutheran in Shiremanstown speaks to a crowd opposing the distribution of flyers by a hate group in Mechanicsburg on Oct. 29, 2025.
After the rally, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission hosted a “No Hate In Our State” town hall that filled the Buhrig Gathering Place to capacity. The Commission is a civil rights enforcement agency and is part of the state’s executive branch. Pennsylvania State Police sent Corporal Tristan Bennett to speak on the panel, and state troopers provided security alongside Mechanicsburg’s police.
WITF contacted the hate group claiming to be active in the area. An anonymous spokesperson claimed there would be members present at the rally. If they showed up, they went unnoticed and did not follow up on claims they would identify themselves to WITF or show proof of their attendance.
There were no incidents at either event, according to Lt. Brian Curtis of the Mechanicsburg Borough Police.
Instead, rally goers sang together about bringing more love into the world, led by a Mechanicsburg choral teacher, then they talked with the PHRC’s panel of experts about how to help people who join extremist groups to find more meaningful ways to live their lives.
Mechanicsburg schools Superintendent Andrew Bitz spoke at the rally, as did choir teacher Gordon Kaslusky, who led the crowd in song.
Religious leaders who organized the event and spoke also include: Rev. Allyssa Boyer of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Rabbi Carl Choper of Temple Beth Shalom, Rev. Aaron Eardley of Trindle Springs Lutheran, Rev. David Flowers of Grantham Church, Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston of Mechanicsburg Presbyterian, Rev. Layne Lebo of Mechanicsburg Brethren in Christ, Rev. Steve Mann of Mechanicsburg Community Church, Rev. Alex Martini of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Rev. George Spangler of Turning Point Church, Rev. Marlene Griffith-Stull of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rev. John Ward-Diorio of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, and Rev. Laura Viau of Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
