The Region - News from March 3, 1985

A former Ku Klux Klan leader apologized for belonging to the racist group and announced that he was hanging up his white robes to “preach the word of God.” George Pepper, an RTD bus driver and Fontana resident, made the announcement on a Riverside radio talk show hosted by Ed Forrest, who is black. Pepper, formerly a grand dragon in the klan, said that he did not agree with the group’s philosophy of violence and complained that he could not bring respectability to the klan. He denied ever being a racist and said he will now focus on battling communism. Pepper ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Fontana in 1982.