KKK handbills targeting Martin Luther King Jr. Day distributed across Virginia

At least two towns in the US state of Virginia were shocked to find fliers from a Ku Klux Klan littered around their homes in the days before a national holiday celebrating the black civil rights movement's most influential figure. Police in Leesburg have said that they are investigating several incidents of KKK propanganda being distributed around the town in the last few days.

Authorities in the town said they were first alerted to the fliers on the evening of 12th January and that prelimiary investigations suggested they were distributed "due to the close proximity of the day the nation honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday."

The incidents are also being investigated by the FBI. Images on social media of the propaganda showed small plastic bags containing a flier and bird seed, the Loudon County Sheriff's Office said that the bags also had a Jolly Rancher - an American hard candy.

A local bishop, Shawn Stephens, told NBC Washington, that he saw a woman drive past and throw the bag out the car. The county sheriff said similar incidents were reported in the towns of Round Hill and Purcellville.

Authorities said there was no indication that households who recieved the fliers were targeted. Leesburg police said that they would work with local, state and federal authorities "to identify any potential threats to the community" and mentioned previous incidents with similar fliers.

Leesburg saw a similar incident around Halloween when fliers were distributed with messages about "white extinction".

Representative Barbara Comstock, who's district covers Loudon county, said that she had spoken with local law enforcement officials about the fliers: "Our local officials are coordinating and working together along with the FBI to determine the origin of the fliers"

Virginia was the scene of a bloody encounter between white supremacist groups and counter-protestors in Charlottesville when a far-right demonstrator rammed a car into a crowd, killing one and injuring numerous others.