KKK member with dreadlocks spotted at Virginia rally

A Ku Klux Klan member with dreadlocks spotted at a rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday caused a firestorm of reactions on social media.

Twitter user DeVante Cunningham, with the Twitter handle @Freeyourmindkid, posted the photo of the unidentified man from rally on Twitter Saturday night. The North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights held the rally to prevent the city from removing the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a local park.

"A klansman with dreadlocks y'all...A KLANSMAN WITH DREADLOCKS," user @Freeyourmindkid wrote on Twitter.

Cunningham told the BBC he and his friend were in "total disbelief" when they saw the member with the hairstyle.

"We're looking at the KKK here, and dreadlocks are basically a symbol of African culture. It was really weird to see," Cunningham told the BBC on Monday.

Cunningham's tweet generated tens of thousands of retweets, likes and responses, with many people also illustrating their confusion of seeing the member with dreadlocks in gifs.

However, some users fired back, saying no particular culture "owned" the hairstyle that anyone can adopt.

Cunningham also told the news outlet he was at the rally to protest it, saying it angered him to see the rally at place he called home.

"So I knew that whatever counter protest was going to be happening, I needed to be there," Cunningham said.

About 50 Klan members clased with more than 1,000 protesters at the Saturday afternoon rally.