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Who is William Quigg? KKK Grand Wizard who stabbed Klansman seen at Huntington Beach's White Lives Matter rally

Quigg has been arrested four times, including two cases of stabbings, and in 2017, he was jailed for beating up a homeless man

Nazis, Proud Boys and the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) were just some of the many attendees at the 'White Lives Matter' rally in Huntington Beach, California, on April 11. Photos from the controversial event show a few notable names that also made it to the event. One of them is 'Grand Wizard' of the KKK, William Ernst Hagen aka William Quigg.

Quigg's presence at the rally was confirmed by local journalist Vishal Singh on Twitter. Singh tweeted, "Confirmed member of the KKK. I’ve been told he’s a grand dragon," along with a video of Quigg. He followed this up with a tweet hours later saying, "Nazis, Proud Boys, and Neo-Nazis all made appearances at the “White Lives Matter” rally in Huntington Beach. The first picture is KKK Grand Dragon William Quigg. He’s wanted for stabbing 3 people a few years ago during a Klan rally."

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Quigg is a notorious figure with a long criminal record and a history of racist politics. He's not big enough to have his own Wikipedia page, but there's no shortage of news articles on him online. Here's a look at the man whose presence at the rally scared people into tweeting "please be careful". 

Who is Quigg?

Not much is know about Quigg beyond the available news reports. He is reportedly the head of the California chapter of the Loyal White Knights of the Klu Klux Klan. The role gives him the title 'Grand Wizard'. Quigg doesn't appear to have a public social media profile, making it hard to verify any details about him. His rise is quite closely tied to that of former president Donald Trump. When Trump won in 2016, Quigg's name became prominent in the news.

One of the earliest mentions of Quigg is in a March 2016 article in the BBC. Filmmaker Dan Murdoch spoke to Quigg as part of his documentary 'KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy'. During an interview, Quigg made his racist thoughts clear. He said, "they're our mortal enemy. Blacks - they’re known to be drug dealers and carry guns." In another article around the same time, Quigg revealed his rather shocking political leanings.

One would think a KKK leader would back Trump to the hilt. However, Quigg told The Telegraph, "We want Hillary Clinton to win. She's telling everybody what they want to hear so she can get elected, because she's Bill Clinton's wife, she's close to the Bushes. (But) once she's in the presidency, she's going to come out and her true colors are going to show." 

Before these reports though, Quigg first came into the news in February 2016 after a White Lives Matter protest in Anaheim, North Carolina. He was beaten and kicked by counter-protesters at the event, which he called a hate crime. He told Fox 11, "It was done because we're White, it's a hate crime. That's the definition of hate crime."  

Quigg also has a long history of legal woes. Freelance journalist Nate Thayer found that Quigg has been arrested four times, including two cases of stabbings. In December 2016, he was arrested for stabbing Richard Dillon at a Klan meeting in Caswell County, North Carolina. Dillon was stabbed in the chest but survived the incident, and managed to drive to a friend's house. The felony charge against Quigg was later dropped.

At the time, Quigg was out on bail while awaiting trial in California after he was arrested for attempted murder. In 2017, he was jailed for beating up a homeless man in 2015. Prior to that, he was on federal probation for possession of a firearm by a felony conviction.