A North Carolina newspaper has filed suit over a practice of white supremacists that is familiar here. Indeed, it’s the odious Arkie Kluxer Thomas Robb who’s at the root of this complaint. His bunch takes legitimate newspapers, such as the Arkansas Times, inserts hate literature and then tosses the poisoned bundles in selected neighborhoods. The familiar cover encourages people to pick them up, rather than simply toss them straight in the trash.
We think the North Carolina newspaper’s chances are slim at prevailing in court, though their novel argument might be a way around the First Amendment, which gives the Klan virtually unlimited ability to publish and distribute its thoughts. Might it be a “deceptive trade practice” to cloak itself in another publication?