Charleroi leaders disturbed by social media post attacking borough’s immigrant population

A shocking social media post is the latest attack on Charleroi’s immigrant population.

The flyer promotes a white supremacy group and asks “white citizens of Charleroi” to arm themselves and “protect your families.”

Local officials tell us there weren’t physical flyers posted throughout the community, but one posted on a private community page on Facebook. The flyer includes several Ku Klux Klan logos. The flyer reads in part “arm yourself white America” and “these 3rd world immigrants are destroying every single city they arrive in.”

“It’s hard to believe in this day and age that the Ku Klux Klan is even a thing anymore but it is, and it’s apparently alive and well,” Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning said.

Manning said he was disturbed by the post but not surprised following the initial remarks made by former President Donald Trump that put Charleroi in the national spotlight.

“The small 4,000-person town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Charleroi. What a beautiful name. It’s not so beautiful now. Has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris,” Trump said.

“It’s in no way representative of the borough of Charleroi,” Manning said. “We know that it was out-of-state radicals trying to stir up trouble here.”

Local leaders from both sides of the aisle have called for an end to this hateful rhetoric. The Mayor of Washington told us that this type of speech is dangerous.

“Don’t put people’s lives at stake with this don’t put people in jeopardy don’t use fear tactics from the 1950s and 60′s to try to win an election,” Mayor JoJo Burgess said.

Manning says for the last decade, Charleroi has welcomed a steady influx of migrants from all over the world.

“At first we saw an uptick in Jamaican immigration, then it became a surge in Chinese immigration, and in more recent years Haitian immigration,” he said.

He says these residents live, work and now consider Charleroi home.

“We don’t need these types of threats against any resident…its wrong,” he said.

Local officials say they’ll continue to remain vigilant to ensure the safety of all residents.

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