Wisconsin man seen wearing KKK robe and hood while walking dog

A Wisconsin man was seen wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood while walking his dog on Friday, police said.

The Vilas County Sheriff’s Department identified the man as Charles Michael Booth, 50, of Conover. The police said he was “out walking his dog, wearing a Ku Klux Klan shirt, drinking a beer and waving at the traffic,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

A photo of a man dressed in a white and green robe and hood walking along the road with a black dog was shared on Facebook on Saturday. 

Vilas County Sheriff Joseph Fath told the Journal Sentinel that an officer received calls on Friday about the man, and police made contact with the man and confirmed it was Booth. 

Fath told the newspaper that there was “no traffic problem” at the time the man was walking, adding he wasn’t committing any crimes.

“I don’t anticipate any follow-up on it,” the sheriff said.

A call log from the sheriff’s department obtained by the Journal Sentinel showed other calls about the matter on Saturday, with an employee at a local gas station asking for extra patrol.

Gregory Jones, the president of a local NAACP chapter, told the newspaper he considered the episode a “terrorist act.” 

“He intended to project what I believe to be white supremacist behaviors by wearing this garb,” Jones said. “It is intended to create fear among people — even people who are not of color. (People in Vilas County) should be mindful and be willing to stand up and say this is not acceptable in our county at all.”

The incident comes as protests have broken out across the country over police brutality and racial inequality after George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody late last month.