Daily Archives: June 27, 2021

With two groups of very different views set to host events in Centennial Plaza on Saturday, some fear conflict, out-of-town visitors

Though Sandy prides itself on its independence of the Metro area, it has not escaped unscathed by the social and political divides that have emerged nationwide over the past few years.

Those fissures came into sharp focus Saturday, June 26, with a rally by Universal Pentecostal Church Pastor Russell Collier, and an LGBTQ2SIA+ pride event by the Sandy student group Students Advocating for Equality (SAFE) planned. Both events are scheduled at Centennial Plaza, and people connected to the pride event are expressing concerns for their safety.

Some of those concerns were aired on June 21 during the Sandy City Council meeting. Students, parents and community members joined the hybrid meeting to ask the council to denounce the Proud Boys, a far-right organization described as a hate group by members of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.

Proud Boys have been attending events in Sandy since last year, most recently at the March 20 rallies in downtown Sandy where they came to allegedly support Collier as he exercised his First Amendment rights.

Multiple commentors mentioned the recent riot that broke out between Proud Boys and leftist protestors in Oregon City on June 18, sharing concerns that some of the people involved in the fight that took place in Clackamette Park have also attended events in Sandy.

"A lot of those people that were down rioting in Oregon City have attended numerous flag waves and other events in Sandy," claimed a citizen named Meg. "A lot of them have extensive criminal history and a couple are even still on probation for prior crimes related to their violent activities at allegedly peaceful rallies. They themselves have documented their crimes on social media, but I've witnessed their intimidation and threats personally, too."

Meg said she had attended the Have a Gay Day event hosted behind City Hall on March 20, and witnessed a group of self-proclaimed Proud Boys "patrol the park in packs, lurk on the sidelines of the Have a Gay Day event space and, at one point, stroll menacingly through the middle of a group of kids, telling everyone to 'F*** off. It's a free country.'"

"It was appalling to see armed out-of-town adult men intimidating local queer kids," she added. "How does that even happen in Sandy?"

Co-manager of SAFE Amaya (whose last name will be omitted for the minor's safety) also spoke to council, reading statements from herself and other students about the fear they've felt hosting public events in Sandy.

Amaya called the city out for "failing to condemn both the Proud Boys and the local church who harbors them."

"(At the Have a Gay Day event) it got to the point where people were afraid to cross the street and we were forced to hide behind City Hall to ensure our safety," Amaya recounted. "We should not be expecting to celebrate love and be met with hate. I'm 16 years old, and I should not have to fear adult men preaching against my existence and threatening my safety."

In an interview on June 22, Collier countered the insinuation that his church "harbors" Proud Boys by saying, "There are no Proud Boys in our congregation. Also, we are not a right-wing extremist organization threatening local LGBQIA+ youth."

Collier went on to say he does not decide who attends the rallies or flag waves that he attends or promotes.

"We are a free country," Collier said. "The LBGTQIA+ community cannot control who attends their events. It's a free country. We are still America."

He added that when he originally scheduled his rally for 1 p.m. June 26, he was unaware of the SAFE group's intentions for a pride event. Since finding out the two groups had laid claim to the plaza at the same time, Collier has rescheduled his event for 10 a.m. to noon the same day.

Complicating matters further, Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the year thus far with temperatures approaching or exceeding 100 degrees.

A concern voiced by commentors in the June 21 council meeting and echoed by Collier is the lack of a permitting and reservation process for Centennial Plaza, which allows for conflicting events.

The city in 2020 intentionally forewent a permitting process for the plaza with the reasoning that it's a "public space." But now plans to establish a reservation process and fee beginning July 1.

But, until then, the plaza remains a first-come, first-served space.

"Whenever we were getting permits for our rallies in the past, I felt that was a good system," Collier said. "I have shared with the planning department, the city manager and the Sandy Police Department my concern about future events where multiple groups could want to use the plaza at the same time. And now that concern has become reality."

To date, Collier added that his rally "A Time and Place for Healing" has not received nearly as much of an online response as his March 20 "Celebration of the Heterosexual Family," which he speculates could mean fewer out-of-town visitors to the plaza.

"I'm not promoting any kind of Proud Boys involvement whoever comes comes," he said. "We have worked to accommodate the pride event. I'm trying to be very cooperative by moving the time. I personally don't have a concern about safety. And I do plan on going to their event to stand across the street with a couple of signs sharing my own message. I've never tried to incite violence at all. We do certainly speak what we believe."

Both groups were asked why they didn't reschedule for another day or location when realizing they'd double-booked the plaza.

Collier said he tries to host at least one event a month and June 26 was the last Saturday to do so in June. Amaya with SAFE said the group hoped to have a more public presence with their pride event, so they wished to stay at the plaza.

"We kind of had to weigh our options since we'd been advertising for a few weeks by (the time we realized the conflict)," Amaya added. "We considered moving back behind City Hall, but we specifically chose the plaza to be public and not appear like we're hiding."

Sandy Police Chief Ernie Roberts has confirmed that officers will be present in the plaza on Saturday to keep all in attendance safe.

"The police will be present at the event including officers working overtime shifts," City Manager Jordan Wheeler explained. "I asked the chief to reach out to the event organizers to hear their concerns and share how we police these situations."

We also have agreements with neighboring agencies for mutual aid assistance if needed."

In response to the people who voiced concerns during the council meeting, Wheeler said: "I thought it was moving and courageous of the students and parents (to express those concerns)."

Wheeler said the city of Sandy takes safety and security seriously, adding that no significant safety incidents have arisen from unpermitted use of the plaza.

He also said tensions have surfaced when multiple groups emerged during the pandemic when the city was not taking reservations for the plaza.

"Even with these situations our police department communicates with the event organizers to understand their plans and hopefully keep tensions down," Wheeler said. "In prior events, there have been verbal exchanges and other obscenities, but no physical altercations or crimes committed."

Going forward, Wheeler said the permitting process will help the city better manage these situations.

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Excerpt from:

Oregon LGBTQ groups fear Proud Boys will return to Sandy - Pamplin Media Group

The federal appeals court in Washington ordered the continued detention of two members of the Proud Boys accused of conspiring to instigate the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

A three-judge panel on Friday upheld an order by a lower court that the two extremist-group members, Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean, remain in custody as they fight charges that they helped orchestrate the riot.

The panel cited its decision in a separate case involving the bail status of the accused rioter Eric Munchel. That opinion drew a distinction between Jan. 6 rioters who only entered the building and those who engaged in violence or other serious crimes.

In contrast to the defendants in Munchel, the district court here found that appellants provided leadership and planning for the Proud Boys in connection with the events, the panel wrote. Appellants have not shown this finding was clearly erroneous, nor have they shown that the district court failed to consider conditions of release that could reasonably assure the safety of the community.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

See more here:

Proud Boys Ordered to Remain in Detention Over Jan. 6 Charges - Bloomberg

Six Proud Boys involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol may have plea deals in the works, according toThe Arizona Republic.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys told a D.C. federal judge on Thursday that they expect to have preliminary negotiations done just before going to trial, the newspaper reported. The talks are expected to take a few weeks.

The case involves the Proud Boys members who were charged in February with conspiring and coordinating to attack the Capitol.

William Chrestman, Christopher Kuehne and Louis Enrique Colon were arrested in Missouri. Siblings Cory and Felicia Konold were arrested in Arizona.

Another defendant, Ryan Ashlock of Kansas, was later charged with the other defendants.

Prosecutors alleged that the group coordinated their movements inside the Capitol and wore tactical gear during the riot.

They have been charged with conspiracy, unlawful entry, disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Hundreds of people have been charged in connection with the riot that disrupted the certification of the Electoral College results for the 2020 election.

Several people have pleaded guilty in connection to their participation, including some affiliated with far-right groups like the Proud Boys.

Graydon Young, one of 16 defendants in the Justice Departments case against affiliates with the far-right Oath Keepers group, entered a guilty plea earlier this week to one count of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding.

See the original post here:

Six Proud Boys involved in Capitol riot may have plea deals in the works: report | TheHill - The Hill

A man arrested by Seal Beach police after a road rage incident in which authorities allege he fired bear spray into a car with a family inside is a convicted felon arrested earlier this year during a violent altercation involving the Proud Boys.

Marcus Kelly, 43, was apprehended in Hemet on Sunday after Seal Beach police detectives identified him as the motorist involved in the June 14 attack on Pacific Coast Highway. Investigators believe the attack may be part of a pattern of incidents involving Kelly and have asked witnesses and victims to come forward.

Seal Beach Lt. Nick Nicholas said he could not release specifics about why they suspect there may be other attacks as it is an ongoing investigation. He said the department has no evidence that the June 14 attack was a hate crime.

In April, Fresno police arrested Kelly on suspicion of being a felon in possession of bear spray after a series of street confrontations that involved members of the extremist group the Proud Boys. Kelly was detained after officers intervened in the confrontations. Fresno Chief Paco Balderrama at the time said Kelly was wearing clothing consistent with the Proud Boys, although a department spokesman said the suspect denied any affiliation.

Seal Beach investigators acknowledged Wednesday that the person they had arrested and the suspect in the April incident are the same person.

The incident in Seal Beach began with a verbal altercation shortly before 2 p.m. on June 14 as two vehicles drove south on PCH. In an attempt to distance himself from Kellys vehicle, police said, the other driver turned off of PCH. But after that driver parked on Anderson Street, Kelly allegedly pulled up next to the vehicle and sprayed it and the driver with bear spray. According to detectives, the other drivers vehicle windows were down and the spray entered the passenger compartment. In addition to the driver, there was another adult in the vehicle, along with a child in the back seat.

All of the occupants suffered injuries, including eye and skin irritation from the highly concentrated aerosol spray. Kelly allegedly then fled southbound.

Several witnesses saw the attack, which was also partially captured on surveillance video. That helped Seal Beach police identify the suspect and his 2006 green Saturn, police said.

Kelly was arrested without incident and booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of assault and battery, unlawful use of pepper spray and felony child endangerment.

In the last year, Kelly has been seen protesting at Los Alamitos school district headquarters and at various rallies with known members of the Proud Boys and other extremist groups.

Seal Beach police say that anyone with information about incidents involving Kelly should contact Det. Bruno Balderrama at (562) 799-4100, Ext. 1109, or email him at bbalderrama@sealbeachca.gov.

Read more:

Suspect in bear spray attack linked to Proud Boys incident - Los Angeles Times

The Trudeau government has added two more right-wing extremist groups and an American neo-Nazi to its list of terrorist entities as it tries to counter the rise of white nationalist violence.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Friday that the Three Percenters and Aryan Strikeforce will join the list alongside the Proud Boys, who were added in February after the storming of Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 6.

A 69-year-old white supremacist named James Mason, who senior intelligence officials describe as a lifelong neo-Nazi whose writings laid an ideological foundation for multiple terrorist groups, has also been placed on the proscriptive list.

Groups on Canadas terror roster, created after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, may have their assets seized, and there are serious criminal penalties for helping listed organizations carry out extremist activities.

Blair said the threat of white nationalist violence is a growing concern that has exploded into public view recently with tragedies such as the deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont., earlier this month as well as a spike in other Islamophobic, antisemitic, anti-Asian and misogynist incidents.

These acts that have been taken over the past several weeks and months against the Muslim community women whove been attacked for simply wearing the hijab, a Canadian family out for a walk on a Sunday evening being attacked and murdered by an individual clearly motivated by hatred and the ideologies which drive many of the groups which weve spoken about this morning is deeply concerning to us, he said at a virtual news conference.

Members of the Three Percenters, a militia movement, have been linked to a plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan, and officials say Canadian chapters have carried out firearms and paramilitary-style training in Alberta, with another chapter in British Columbia.

Their adherents are active in Canada. We monitor their activities in Canada with growing concern, Blair said.

The Aryan Strikeforce also has chapters in Canada as well as the United States, eastern Europe, South America and South Africa, he said.

An affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant based in the Democratic Republic of Congo has also been placed on the terror list.

The four latest additions follow 13 others named in February, four of which were right-wing extremist groups, including the Proud Boys.

Blair warned of an abiding risk that far-right ideologies will take root in the rank and file of police and the military.

Both the Aryan Strikeforce and the Three Percenters have indicated their interest in recruiting among our law enforcement and military agencies, and they do attract some adherents who are former law enforcement and former military, he said.

The problem is a matter of concern and, Im sure, of action by law enforcement and the Canadian Armed Forces, he said.

The Three Percenters, whose name references the false belief that a minuscule proportion of colonists fought against the British in the American Revolution has been linked to bomb plots targeting U.S. federal buildings and Muslim communities. One member was convicted of assault after shooting and wounding five men at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Minneapolis in 2015.

Aryan Strikeforce, a United Kingdom-based neo-Nazi group, views violence as a means of inciting a race war and eradicating racialized minorities. Adherents of the decentralized skinhead movement planned a suicide bombing attack on counter-protesters during a 2016 white supremacist rally in Pennsylvania, and have been convicted of crimes in the U.K. and U.S. involving chemical weapons production and bomb-making instructions.

Officials lump such groups under the catch-all term ideologically motivated violent extremist entities.

Conservative public safety critic Shannon Stubbs said her party supports the latest designations, but demanded the Liberal government also list Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military with close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The IRGC is not only the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world, its responsible for the killing of 138 individuals with ties to Canada with the downing of flight PS752, Stubbs said in a statement, noting that Liberals backed a Tory motion calling for its listing in 2018.

A forensic report on Thursday found that Iran did not plan last years deadly downing of the passenger jet in advance, but a series of failures by the regimes civil and military authorities set the stage for the shoot-down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 minutes after it took off from the Tehran airport on Jan. 8, 2020.

In Canada, the terror listing process begins with intelligence reports that provide reason to believe an organization has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity.

If the public safety minister believes the threshold is met, they may recommend to the federal cabinet that the organization be tacked on the list. The listing is then published if cabinet agrees with the recommendation.

A listed group is not banned, nor is it a crime to be on the roster. However, the groups assets and property are effectively frozen and subject to seizure or forfeiture.

Canada previously placed two right-wing extremist groups on the list in 2019: Blood and Honour, which is an international neo-Nazi network, and its armed branch, Combat 18.

They joined more than 50 other listed organizations at the time the number has since swelled to 77 including al-Qaida, the Islamic State militant group Boko Haram, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, identified just over 100 far-right and white supremacist groups in 2015. But an updated study shes completing highlights more than 300 active groups, some of which are explicitly Islamophobic, she said in an interview.

The atomization of hate movements is another phenomenon of the past five or six years, she said.

While groups remain central, there is a growing number of floaters individuals who are unaffiliated with organizations and drift in and out of social media platforms associated with an array of different groups, cherry picking bits and pieces of their ideologies that suit their needs, she said.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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Terrorism

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2 more extreme right-wing groups join Proud Boys on Canada's terror list Peace Arch News - Peace Arch News

Frank Fernandez & Mark Harper| The Daytona Beach News-Journal

Othal Wallace, accused of shooting a Daytona Beach Police Officer, arrested

Othal Wallace is charged with attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer in the shooting of Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor.

Frank Fernandez, The Daytona Beach News-Journal

Before suspect Othal O-Zone Wallace shot Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor, Wallace pulled the power cord on the officers body camera, according toVolusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

The move, Chitwood said in an interview Saturday, is just one of the tactics taught by the NFAC, the Not F---ing Around Coalition, a Black nationalist militia that has made its presence known at marches across the South starting in 2020.

Wallace's social media accounts indicated his connection with NFAC. Those accounts have been taken down. He was captured early Saturday morning in a tree house on rural property outside of Atlanta, Georgia that was owned by someone affiliated with NFAC, according to police.

CAUGHT: Daytona officer shooting suspect Othal Wallace captured: What we know

SOCIAL SUPPORT: Why do some support Othal Wallace, mansuspected of shooting Daytona cop?

READ THE POLICE STATEMENT: Othal Wallace captured 'hiding in a tree house'

Some extremism experts and Chitwood say theNFAC is another example of a group like the Proud Boysthat threatens the nation's peace.

Numerous Proud Boys have been charged with taking part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6. One of the self-identified leaders of the Proud Boys, Joseph Biggs, lived in Volusia County just outside of Ormond Beach. He is now in jail awaiting trial for charges related to the Jan. 6 riot.

NFAC's leader, meanwhile, has been indicted for pointing an assault-style weapon at several federal officers at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sept. 4, 2020. According to a criminal complaint, John F. Johnson aka Grand Master Jay also took to YouTube to urgeNFAC members to attack and kill law enforcement and their families.Johnson urged members to dismantle the body cameras of police they intended to assault.

In an interview with NBC's Morgan Radford last March, Johnson said the NFAC was growing "by leaps and bounds." He said its goals are self-defense and to create a Black ethnostate.

The NFAC was born out of the last four years under the Trump administration. The deterioration of racial relations in this country," he said. "It means that you are preparing yourself to defend yourself.

He called violence a "last option," but added the United States was built on violence as an option.

J.J. MacNab, a fellow in the Center on Extremism at George Washington University, said left-wing militias are "the newest entrant to the militant world," in written testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism in July 2020.

This includes small groups such as the John Brown Gun Club / Redneck Revolt and the Socialist Rifle Club to the newly formed Latino Rifle Association and the NFAC black militia that made its debut in Georgia on the 4th of July," MacNab wrote. "To date, armed left-wing militias and gun clubs have generally arisen in response to the perceived threat from armed right-wing militias, Three Percenters, and Oath Keepers, but some express strong anti-police and anti-government beliefs.

Chitwood sees no difference in the threat posed by militia groups, left or right.

I think that this is a grave crisis that's facing America right now, because any extremist militia group, I don't care whether they're white, Black or Hispanic, whatever they are, they are a danger to society and they are a danger to democracy," Chitwood said in an interview.

And what we see is we see people collecting around them. We saw it with the Proud Boys, Chitwood said. President (Trump) telling the Proud Boys to stand down. When you you're getting that kind of attention from the president of the United States, it kind of signals that these extremist groups are somehow part of mainstream society.And they are not. They are not.

Chitwood said that the NFAC was formed in response to white supremacist groups.

As goofy and as squirrely as their ideas are, their ideas are no more squirrely (than)the Aryan Nation or the skinheads or the neo-Nazis. They are just as dangerous, Chitwood said.

He added thatall the groups share a hatred for law enforcement and a hatred for the rule of law.

Thats the commonality between these extremist groups, Chitwood said.

President Joe Biden has said that white supremacy is the most lethal threat to the homeland today," and experts say the development of groups like the NFAC is a response.

Chitwood said that the NFAC was formed in response to white extremists who marched at the "Unite the Right" rallyin Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017and similar events.

More recent police shootings of Black people, and George Floyd's 2020 murderwhen a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than 9 minutes, have contributed to the formation and radicalization of NFAC members.

I think its a combination of things but I think that is one of the (reasons), Chitwood said. It was formed, from what we are reading, the intel weare getting,in response to Charlottesville and some of the other things that have occurred but clearly the police shootings also played a role in that group being formed.

Chitwood said suchgroups train in camps to defeat police tactics and one of the things they are taughtis to take the body cameras from police officers to get rid of evidence. He said that Wallace partially followed that tactic before shooting Raynor.

It doesn't end because we cut it,: Chitwood said. It ends because the power cord is taken from the camera so therefore the camera couldnt record anymore. He methodically in my opinion dismantled the camera before he shot Jason.

Wallace interrupted the power source to the camera, Chitwood said.

All these moves are practiced and rehearsed, Chitwood said. Extremism against law enforcement isnt anything new.

In the 1960s, there were a number of assassinations of police officers. Chitwoodsaid he remembers an incident in which two Black Panthers shot a pair of Philadelphia police officers. He said the two Black Panthers had gunned down two Washington D.C. police officers before they were approached by the Philadelphia police.

Social media now gives extremists groups more power to recruit, the sheriff said.

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What we know about NFAC, the extremist group linked to accused cop-shooter Othal Wallace? - Daytona Beach News-Journal