KKK Imperial Wizard Frank Ancona Found Dead In Missouri
Frank Ancona, the “Imperial Wizard” for a group called the “Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan” was found dead over the weekend.
A native to Leadwood, Missouri, Ancona was reported missing on Friday when local police found his car abandoned on Federal Forest Service Property. The next day, he was found along the Missouri River with a gunshot wound in his head, according to USA Today.
“During the investigation, one subject was arrested on an unrelated warrant and two search warrants were executed in Washington County,” Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen reportedly said. “Subsequently, a body was discovered on the bank of the Big River near Belgrade, Mo., in southern Washington County… The body was identified as Mr. Ancona, and his family has been notified.”
Before leaving home on Wednesday, Ancona reportedly told his wife that he was going out of state to deliver a car part and wanted a divorce when he returned. She made a Facebook post requesting a roommate to help her cover rent that day.
While Ancona’s membership in the KKK is on record, local authorities chose not to speak on it at the time of his death. However, some research showed Ancona standing in front of a burning cross on the organization’s website.
“The media will tell you The KKK is dead, gone, irrelevant. They have tried since the birth of the Klan to downplay the influence and power of the KKK,” Ancona wrote on the website of the Traditionalist American Knights. “They also will try to portray us as haters, ignorant. They will ignore the facts. Let me tell you they are the haters. They have engaged in a campaign to destroy our Race, culture, and heritage.”
Leadwood, Mo. is less than 70 miles away from St. Louis and 80 miles away from Ferguson. Due to the proximity of the Ferguson Uprising, Ancona used the opportunity to recruit members to join his organization and constantly criticized protestors and labeled them as “terrorists.”
Ancona’s death is still being investigated as a homicide.