Man in KKK robe at Trump rally is self-described troll | Fact check

A Sept. 8 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a person holding a Trump sign while wearing a white robe and pointed hood among a group of Trump backers.
“#Trump #MAGA supporters feeling emboldened to bring out hoods,” reads text within the video, which was originally shared on TikTok.
The caption adds, “Here is the video of the picture posted earlier of someone at a Trump rally in a KKK robe.”
The post garnered more than 8,000 likes in four days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram.
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The man shown in the video is not a Trump supporter. He said he wore the robe as a political statement to criticize the Ku Klux Klan’s support of the former president. The KKK’s official newspaper endorsed Trump in 2016.
Witnesses called police to a roadside rally in Mystic, Connecticut, on Sept. 7 after reportedly seeing a crowd of about 20 people holding Trump flags, along with one person dressed in a KKK robe, according to Connecticut news outlet The Day.
But this person wasn’t there to support former President Donald Trump.
Michael Picard, a self-described troll according to his Facebook page, told USA TODAY he was the person wearing the KKK robe in the Instagram video.
“I wore the robe to remind everybody that Trump was endorsed by the KKK,” Picard said in a Facebook direct message.
He confirmed he is not a Trump supporter and was there to criticize the former president.
Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke declared his support for Trump in February 2016, and the organization’s official newspaper, the Crusader, followed suit in November of the same year. Trump’s presidential campaign quickly denounced the newspaper’s endorsement, calling the outlet “repulsive.”
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Picard shared a photo of several people standing along the side of the road, one holding a Trump flag, on Facebook on Sept. 7. The scenery shown in the picture matches that of the Instagram post. The following day he shared two pictures of himself wearing the KKK robe at the Connecticut rally, including a link to The Day’s article in the post’s caption.
Picard has previously pulled similar stunts at events affiliated with Trump, according to videos uploaded to his YouTube channel. He shared videos of himself wearing a KKK robe at the Conservative Political Action Conference where Trump spoke and attending a Trump rally with a sign that said, “Trump: Endorsed by the KKK.”
USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The TikTok user couldn’t be contacted.
Lead Stories and Check Your Fact debunked a similar version of the claim.
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