Although the Ku Klux-Klan (KKK) was granted a permit to hold a rally on Gettysburg National Military Park this month, their scheduled event has been cancelled due to the government shutdown, the Times Online reported.
Once the shutdown began Tuesday, park officials announced they had no choice but to invalidate all permits previously handed out.
The self-proclaimed "white separatist" group was preparing to hold an event on Oct. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. on a lawn near Gen. George Meade's headquarters.
Officials defended the KKK's permit, saying it was a matter of free speech and not based on personal beliefs.
"The group requested the permit under the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which grants all citizens the rights to freedom of speech," the National Park Service said in a statement. "As custodians of land owned by the American people, the National Park Service has a responsibility to make that land available for exercising those rights."
Last month, the group held an event on Antietam National Battlefield -- in their home state of Maryland -- where thousands of people died during a Civil War clash that led to the Emancipation Proclamation.
The October event was going to be lead by imperial wizard Richard Preston, who said the main goals were to get President Barack Obama out of office and protest immigration laws.
"He's never proven his U.S. citizenship," Preston said of Obama. "We're out for either his impeachment or proof that he isn't a U.S. citizen."
"This country is flooded with illegal immigrants who don't belong here," he said while discussing immigration policy. "We want our borders closed and for the federal government to spend more time on getting illegals out of our country and stop trying to police the world when we can't even police our own backyard."
Despite being classified as a hate group, Preston insists that the KKK is not a racist organization.
"We just want people to come hear what we have to say," he said. "It's never been about racism. We're not white supremacists, we're white separatists. This is about America for Americans. The only thing we want is our country back."
