The Anti-Defamation League surfaced this photo of Darrell Leon McClanahan with Knights Party leaders Thomas and Jason Robb and at a cross-burning circa 2019. (Photo provided by ADL)
Darrell Leon McClanahan III, a reported recipient of an “honorary one-year membership” to join the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist hate groups, is poised to be kicked off the ballot for the governor’s race in Missouri after photos of him resurfaced appearing alongside klansmen and a burning cross.
The state’s primary is this August and the Missouri Republican Party said it only became aware of McClanahan’s associations with the KKK and other hate groups, like the League of the South, this week. The Missouri GOP announced plans to remove McClanahan from the unofficial ballot on Thursday in a statement posted to X.com.
“The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for Governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform,” the party said. “We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate. We condemn any association with hate groups and are taking immediate action to rectify this situation. Our party upholds respect for all individuals, and we’re dedicated to addressing any challenges to these principles decisively.”
As of Friday morning, after a review by Law&Crime, McClanahan’s name still appeared on the candidate list.
When reached for comment Friday, McClanahan told Law&Crime in an email that he has never been an honorary member of the KKK and that he has not been removed from the ballot.
“I have not been removed from the Missouri ballot. I filed legally and lawfully. The GOP knew exactly who I am. They will need to file a civil complaint to remove me. And I will stay it again I am not a member of the klu Klux Klan nor have I ever been. Some news agencies are reporting that I attended Charlottesville I did not attend Charlottesville. I was given a one-year honorary membership to the League of the South I do not support secession And do not support them,” he wrote. [Spelling, grammar in original]
The Riverfront Times reported first that former Missouri state representative Shamed Dogan posted a screenshot on X.com showing the unofficial candidate filing list that featured McClanahan’s name. Next to it, Dogan posted a photograph of the GOP gubernatorial candidate where he is standing next to klan members, cross ablaze. He also appears to be offering a Nazi salute.
“Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs,” Dogan wrote on X.com before then calling McClanahan a racist loser
The photographs first appeared in a report published online in 2022 by the Anti-Defamation League, a group that McClanahan tangled with in court — and lost — after he accused them of defamation.
In the wake of Dogan’s tweet, when the Riverfront Times first reached McClanahan and asked him to confirm if it was him in the pictures, he replied: “It’s an invisible empire Yes it’s me.”
He denied being a member of the klan, but instead told the outlet Dogan was making defamatory statements against him online.
“Your statement about me being a cross-burning KKK member and white supremacist is false and damaging to my reputation,” he told the outlet.
McClanahan did not immediately return a request for comment to Law&Crime on Friday but he did respond to the Missouri GOP online:
In response, the Missouri GOP knew exactly who I am. Chairman Myers told me when I signed up for Senate, paying my $500 fee, saying he had vetted me and knew I was a Christian identist; and that I should just not say anything bad about the Jews. When I met Prince lazy J Ashcroft at Vernon County Lincoln days, we discussed the 2020 riots and his exact words were, “The Blacks are a problem.” Again, I’ve received several death threats today that I’ve made the Vernon County Sheriff’s office aware of. I have forwarded my email communications with the GOP to media and will to any other media that request it. At this point, I’m not sure if I will release the recorded conversations. Again, I will state the GOP knew exactly who I am. What a bunch of Anti-White hypocrites.
The Missouri GOP chairman did not immediately return request for comment Friday.
“Based on the above, the Court finds Plaintiff has not sufficiently alleged a claim against either Anti-Defamation League or [ADL CEO Jonathan] Greenblatt. This Court also lacks the authority to exercise personal jurisdiction over Mr. Greenblatt and Plaintiff did not properly serve him. It is therefore ordered that Defendant ADL’s motion to dismiss is granted with prejudice. It is further ordered that Defendant Greenblatt’s motion to dismiss is granted with prejudice,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill Morris.
The docket shows McClanahan tried to file multiple responses to the order but he was denied after his last attempt when a judge found he failed to file properly and effectively had no basis for his request.
In his email to Law&Crime, McClanahan denies the case was ever dismissed and called it “more twisting of the truth.”
“A little busy right now I will be sharing my correspondence with the GOP As I’ve stated they knew exactly who I am and it’s not that difficult to have googled Darrell McClanahan and you would have got the lying article from the defamation League,” he wrote Friday.
The body of the email also promoted his campaign platforms, including his vow that if elected he would “implement the Posse Comitatus Act as State Governor using federal military personnel for domestic policies in order to remove the millions of criminal illegal aliens from Missouri.”
“I hate no one I’m not a part of any hate group It’s very upsetting to me and my family as I merely wish to advocate for the things I’ve listed,” he wrote in the Friday email “Fairness for all again peace and blessings.” [Spelling, grammar in original.]
A spokesperson for the ADL did not immediately return a request for comment.
