Members of the Ku Klux Klan gathered on the sidewalk in front of the Orange County Courthouse for a demonstration on Saturday, quickly drawing condemnation from community members and elected officials at the local, state and national level.

Accounts from the scene showed community members outnumbering the Klan members and white supremacists on Saturday. The scene dispersed around 6:30 p.m., according to a statement from the Town of Hillsborough.

“I am grateful and applaud the citizens of Hillsborough for turning out,” Mayor Tom Stevens said in a release, “for standing by each other, and for standing together to demonstrate to the world that the toxic, KKK, neo-confederate, white-supremacist message has no place in our community. None.”

Town police received no advanced notice about the event, officials said. The group did not have a permit for the demonstration.

Hillsborough Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were both on the scene during the event.

Saturday’s demonstration comes on the heels of small groups standing on downtown street corners holding Confederate flags. A counterdemonstration against gun violence and white nationalist terrorism was held earlier this month.

Elected officials condemned Saturday’s rally, with Stevens thanking the Hillsborough community.

Hillsborough mayor pro tem Jenn Weaver, who is the only candidate running to replace Stevens as mayor this fall after he announced he would not seek another term, said this doesn’t represent the values of the Hillsborough community and thanked residents for confronting the Klan members.

https://twitter.com/Jenn_E_Weaver/status/1165427657846218752

State Representative Graig Meyer tweeted: “We must not stand down in the fight against hate and racism.”

David Price represents Hillsborough in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District. The Congressman said “we must not stop working until white supremacy is sent where it belongs – the dustbin of history.”

https://twitter.com/RepDavidEPrice/status/1165422297483743232

The rally even drew the attention of Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

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