1/3/25 SAGE is hosting free screening of documentary about recently reformed LivCo KKK leader, film questions narrative that ‘racists aren’t from Livingston County/not our problem’

An anti-extremist group plans to host the U.S. theater premier of a documentary next month detailing the journey out of white supremacy of a former KKK leader and Nazi sympathizer from Livingston County.

‘Face of Hate’ tells the story of Jasen Barker, who made headlines when he and a cousin were sentenced to prison after assaulting a Black Michigan State Police trooper at a bar in Brighton in 2001. Over the course of the film, Barker’s path takes him deeper into white supremacy, including becoming a leader with a Kentucky-based Ku Klux Klan group, taking on pro-Nazi ideology and eventually receiving a second prison term for multiple firearm offenses related to illegally possessing guns and explosives. . .

“The facts of this documentary bring to question our local leaders’ narrative that “racists aren’t from LivCo / not our problem”; which is why we feel strongly it needs to be seen by as many community members as possible,” stated a press release by SAGE. “This event and its crucial follow up conversations are the start of moving forward from a validated history of racism with LivCo at the active center,” stated the group. Link