Anonymous plans to 'unhood' 1,000 Ku Klux Klan members online

"We never stopped watching you. We know who you are... The privacy of the Ku Klux Klan no longer exists in cyberspace."

These are the words ofAnonymous, as postedthis week in an open letteraddressed to America's most infamous hate group and if the promises made inthat letter cometo fruition as planned, the hacktivistsmay be right.

At least in regards to theapproximately 1,000 Klan members Anonymous claims to have identified by gaining access to a KKK Twitter account.

According to a Twitter account dedicated toOperation KKK, the name Anonymous has given the attack, the names will be released next month around the anniversary of 2014's mass riots overa grand jury decision in the Ferguson, Mo., shooting of Michael Brown.

The date is significant in that it coincides with Anonymous' first organized "hoods off"operation and public spat with theKlan.

As The Guardian reported in November of 2014, Anonymous started taking action againstthe KKK after the white supremacist group threatenedto use "lethal force" against Ferguson protesters.

The KKK threats were made both online, and in a series of flyers allegedly distributed around St. Louis by members of a Missouri-based KKK chapter.

Using the hashtags#OpKKK and #hoodsoff, Anonymousbegan on Nov. 14 of last year doxxing alleged Ferguson-area Klan members (that is, releasing photos of and personal information about them to the public).

"Our Kommunity is not at all scared of the threats from anonymous," read a message posted by one of the KKK's main Twitter accounts on Nov. 16. "Just try us. You'll regret it. #OpKKK #KKK #WhitePrideWorldWide"

By Monday evening, Nov. 17,that account(@KuKluxKlanUSA) and one other (@YourKKKCentral) had been seized by the hacktivist collective.One of the KuKlux Klan'swebsites had also been takenoffline.

As of October, 2015, both accounts still remain under Anon's control. Little has been posted to either since 2014, however, and many had assumed the battle was over.

The message Anonymous published to PasteBinon Tuesday indicates otherwise.

"You are abhorrent. Criminal. You are more than extremists. You are more than a hate group," the statement read. "You operate much more like terrorists and you should be recognized as such. You are terrorists that hide your identities beneath sheets and infiltrate society on every level."

After further elaborating on this point, the group makes a pledge that is now being echoed in news headlines around the world:

"We will release, to the global public, the identities of up to 1000 klan members, Ghoul Squad affiliates and other close associates of various factions of the Ku Klux Klan across the Unites States."

It remains to be seen if this will actually happen, but many online arewatching closely and encouraging the hacktivists to go through with their newestiteration of #OppKKK.

While the @Operation_KKK Twitter account (and many others affiliated with the group) has been almost gleefully bigging up what isalleged to be happening next month, Anonymous has been adamant about the fact that it does not promote violence.

"The aim of this operation is digital. Another cyber war trist, nothing more. We are not violent," reads the PasteBin document. This sentiment has also been reiterated on the operation's Twitter account several times.

"To the Citizens of the World:We stand with you always, against oppression and injustice," reads the conclusion of the now-viralmessage shared by Anonymous on Tuesday."The anons participating in Operation KKK believe that it is a civic responsibility to be conscious and self-critical of our society in order to improve upon the shape of things to come."

"To those that really disagree with us:Sorry for the inconvenience, but not really. We are trying to change our world."