COLUMBUS, Ind. -- A white supremacist group has launched a recruitment campaign in Columbus that has some citizens on edge.
The founder of the group “Midwestern Alliance” said their mission is “a peaceful creation of an ethnic state in the Midwest.”
The group has posted fliers at multiple bus stops in Columbus recruiting “young patriots.”
Citizens like Tina Ball say they aren’t happy with the advertisements.
“I think they should take it down,” said Ball. “I think they should keep their mouth shut and take it down. I don’t see any difference in people. There are some good and some bad in all of us.”
READ | Central Indiana organization launches hate crime database
The group’s website has a clear message: “The time for whites to stand up for our people is now more than ever. If we fail to do so, our race will become extinct and our civilization will be swept into the dustbin of history.”
It isn't the first time a white supremacist group has targeted Columbus - just last month the Traditionalist Worker Party staged a practice march through the city.
RELATED | White supremacist group stages practice march in Columbus
Brittany King who heads the local chapter of Black Lives Matter calls the fliers and recruitment campaign “unacceptable.”
“They are trying to invoke fear,’ said King. “They are trying to continue a white supremacist world, white supremacist America. We’re not going to stand for that.”
Columbus police say no criminal laws appear to have been violated, but they do have an active investigation underway.
“Columbus is a diverse place,” said Lt. Matt Harris. “People come here from all over the world, it is concerning.”
Lt. Harris says there is an appropriate way to report fliers and other material so it can get the proper attention.
"On our human rights department website there is a place where if you see this type of material they can report it directly to the human rights department," said Lt. Harris. "They can in turn let the police department know so we can properly address it."
The Anti-Defamation League is aware of the Midwestern Alliance and called it a relatively new group that has made a presence mainly online.
READ | These are the hate groups operating in Indiana
The ACLU is updating its stance on hate speech after a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia turned deadly back in August.
The group says they will no longer represent White Supremacist or Nationalist Groups that demonstrate with guns and they are going to review requests from these types of groups on a strict “case-by-case” basis.
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