Sarasota school board candidates must openly condemn the Proud Boys – Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Lisa Gialdini Schurr| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled by many when they read the recent Herald-Tribune article reporting thatSarasota County School Board candidate Robyn Marinelli had finally decided to skip a meet-and-greet eventthat was to be hosted, for her benefit, by local Proud Boy James Hoeland his wife Kathy.

But if you believeMarinelli deserves a standing ovation for doing the right thing, you may want to sit back down.Marinelli has continued to claim that she did not know Proud Boy Hoel, but that is clearly not the case.

Marinelli met and spoke with Hoel at The Hollow in Venice on Dec.3, 2021, during an event sponsored by Unmask Freedom, a Proud Boy front group. In a video that was livestreamed and publicly posted by Unmask Freedom, Hoel and Marinelli are clearly shown having a one-on-one chat and after their discussion, Marinelli appears to give Hoelher business card.

Hoel was the emcee at the Hollow event, where current School Board Member Karen Rosewas a featured speaker.Roses appearance with the Proud Boys was detailed in a Dec. 28, 2021 Herald-Tribune guest column thatI co-authored. But at that time we were unaware that Marinelli had also attended the event.

Publicly available Florida incorporation records indicate that Hoel and his wife established Unmask Freedom as a nonprofitshortly before the event at The Hollow.The other incorporators were Proud Boy Nicholas Radovich, and his wife, Melissa Radovich. Unmask Freedom was used as a front group for these Proud Boys to hold events and make social media posts.Numerous photos have been publicly postedshowing Hoel and Radovich at various events and protestswhile wearing Proud Boy gear andwaving Proud Boy flags.

Hoel and the Radovichs, along with other Proud Boys and their followers, are frequent disruptors at Sarasota County School Board meetings and they sometimes weartheir Proud Boy gear. During aDecember 2021 SchoolBoardmeeting, Nicholas Radovich directly addressed Board Member Bridget Ziegler and stated the group's support for her. In case anyone is curious, Ziegler has never publicly repudiated the Proud Boys support.

None of these facts are secret; this information is widely available.Unfortunately, what may not be as widely known is how involved the Proud Boys, their affiliated front groupsand their assorted followers have become in local elections, particularly in supporting School Board candidates Ziegler, Marinelli and Tim Enos.

Nor has it been widely reported that the Sarasota County Republican Party, through precinct captains Jim and Sally Nista, were planning to take an active role at the Proud Boy-sponsored event at the Island Organics Caf in Venice.

The Proud Boys have worked through several other front groups over the last six months, as have their wives and supporters. And whenever their cover is blown, they simply move on to another front group.

Lately, they seem to be working through a group called Sarasota Freedom Friends,"which appears to be an unincorporated organization.You may soon find them showing up at your front door or at your church or synagogue handing out campaign literature.

Are Ziegler, Marinelli and Enos as well as Sarasota County's Republican Party willing to accept support and backing from a known hate group like the Proud Boys? Do they support the hatred and oppression that is espoused by the Proud Boys? And, perhaps more importantly, what is it about these candidates and their platforms that the Proud Boys and their front groups find so appealing?

There comes a point in time where wemust draw a line in the sand on this issue.But in addition to drawing thatline,we must also erect a barricade against the toxicrhetoric espoused by the Proud Boys and other hate groups. And that's why the time has come for all of the candidates running for the Sarasota County School Board to loudly and publicly denounce the Proud Boys.

This challenge is not just for the School Board candidatesit also appliesto our localRepublican and Democratic parties. Our community must say it loudly and clearly: Hate has no home in Sarasota County!

Lisa Gialdini Schurr is a retired international tax attorneywho spent 20 yearsliving and working in Russia, Kazakhstan andthe Baltic states.She has resided in Sarasota since 2011.

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Sarasota school board candidates must openly condemn the Proud Boys - Sarasota Herald-Tribune