Ku Klux Klan flyers turned up scattered near Sutton Avenue in Mount Washington last week, and within days a local group most people have never heard of showed up to push back. CinSatanas, a 150-member Cincinnati organization, staged a counter-protest to denounce the flyers, and its founder says the backlash that followed included death threats against him.
Ashley Morningstar, who founded CinSatanas, gathered fellow members of the group after hearing about the flyers, organizing the counter-protest specifically to oppose racism and hate, according to FOX19. Morningstar told the station that speaking out publicly brought backlash and death threats, which is why he declined to show his face on camera. He said most of the threatening messages were likely from what he called keyboard warriors, and added that some Cincinnati residents oppose fear and hate and want to see the world improved.
What CinSatanas Actually Believes
Morningstar described his version of Satanism as rebellion and free thought rather than evil or demons, saying the organization believes in empathy, science and reason. He follows the tenets associated with The Satanic Temple, which emphasizes compassion and justice. A separate CityBeat profile notes that CinSatanas follows the Seven Tenets but is not formally connected to The Satanic Temple or any other larger non-theistic Satanic organization.
Joseph Laycock, a professor of new religious studies at Texas State University and author of “Speak of the Devil,” told the station that members of groups like CinSatanas do not actually believe in God or Satan. He said the first tenet of their belief system requires compassion not just for people, but for all creatures. Laycock also said CinSatanas members have been called the Hot Topic ACLU, and he described Satan, in this context, as a fictional romantic hero who does not give up.
A Contrast In Philosophies
Laycock drew a sharp line between the two groups' worldviews, saying the Klan and Satanists hold contrasting philosophies. Per Laycock, the Klan believes only a certain type of person counts as a proper citizen in America, while the Satanists he studies teach compassion toward all people and creatures. That contrast is part of what pushed Mount Washington resident Mark Lorenz to speak up when the flyers appeared.
Lorenz, who has lived in Mount Washington for more than 20 years, said he was shocked when the flyers showed up in his neighborhood, calling them a horrible thing. He also said he supports Satanists exercising their freedom of religion, even if he does not share their beliefs. CinSatanas says it hopes its public stand encourages others in the city to speak out as well.
Part Of A Wider Pattern In The Region
The Mount Washington flyers are not an isolated incident in the area. Earlier this fall, WOSU reported that KKK flyers turned up near Indian Springs Elementary School and World Language Middle School in Clintonville, as well as near schools in Worthington, with those flyers attributed to a faction called the Trinity White Knights, which the station said had previously distributed flyers in Franklinton back in 2023. WLWT has also documented similar flyers scattered on Covington's Russell Street, following earlier reports of flyers found in Mount Auburn and Clifton. CityBeat reported separately that the Cincinnati Police Department's Intelligence Unit investigated the origin of KKK-propaganda flyers found in several city neighborhoods.
The Southern Poverty Law Center told WOSU that groups like the Klan use flyers because they are a cheap, low-risk way to spread propaganda, cause panic in communities and appear larger or more organized than they actually are. A separate SPLC researcher, quoted by the Lexington Herald-Leader, described the same kind of anonymous flyer campaigns as easy, inexpensive and relatively low-risk. CityBeat has also noted that overall KKK flyer distribution remained fairly low in 2023, hovering around 18 known instances, with the Trinity White Knights responsible for most of them.
No evidence has surfaced identifying who distributed the flyers found near Sutton Avenue in Mount Washington, and no investigation specific to that incident has been confirmed. What is clear is that the episode pushed a small Cincinnati Satanist group into the public eye, and its founder says he is willing to absorb threats to keep speaking against hate in his city.
