A legal defense has been formed in North Dakota to prevent the small town of Leith from becoming a white supremacist colony, Fox News reported.
"We need people from across the state to come alongside of us and show support that they don't believe in what this guy is doing," said Lee Cook, Leith City council member. "There are a lot of people who could speak up. It's not tricky. Silence, to me, means that whatever he's doing is OK."
Cook was referring to white supremacist Craig Cobb, 61, who has purchased nearly a dozen lots to transform into neo-Nazi enclaves in the small North Dakota town.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights group, shows three other similar groups in the state on their hate map.
"None of these groups are in question; they are blatantly white supremacist organizations," said Heidi Beirich, director of the center's Intelligence Project, which tracks the groups.
The civil rights organization said Cobb announced his plan to buy plots of land on the Vanguard News Network, which is described as an online forum for white supremacists. Some of his fellow supremacists have been buying the land from Cobb and want to help him grow the community.
After hearing news of Cobb's attempt to takeover Leith, residents in the state organized and planned a "peaceful show of solidarity" with the town, protesting his plan to transform it.
"We cannot accept this racist hatred they are bringing here. Leith is in a crisis and is crying out for help," said Bismarck resident Jeremy Kelly.
Cobb's current residence includes a neighborhood with a biracial couple, Sherrill and Bobby Harper, who said they're not afraid of him.
"The most extreme thing you can do is hate another man because of the color of his skin, (but) I don't think we should get too excited," said Bobby Harper, who is black. "I believe right will prevail."
