WV Council of Churches condemns white supremacy group Patriot Front

Article owned and originally published by WDTV 5 News on Apr. 30, 2024.

Original Article

CHARLESTON, W.Va (WDTV) - The West Virginia Council of Churches has officially condemned white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group “Patriot Front” after a march in Charleston.

On Saturday, April 27th, the white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group Patriot Front marched through Charleston in what some described as a ‘flash march’ as many masked members of the organization allegedly emerged from U-Hauls near the state Capitol.

The West Virginia Council of Churches said in a press release that they unequivocally condemn the march, saying that Patriot Front “represents values that are contrary to both Christian belief and practice”.

The WVCoC included in their press release values stated in their 2024 Public Policy Issues Booklet, which they say represent their Christian values:

• People of whatever sexual orientation must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. (p. 12),

• The West Virginia Council of Churches advocates for the dignity and human rights of all persons and speak out against expressions of hatred or acts of violence directed against people because of their race, nationality, culture, ethnic group, religion, political position, gender, or sexual orientation.  Houses of Worship and other religiously affiliated community spaces should be protected. (p. 12),

• The West Virginia Council of Churches rejects antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all bigotry against faiths and ethnicities as contrary to the love of God in Jesus Christ and as an affront to all people of faith and good will.  (p. 13).

The Council of Churches also said that they stand by their “sisters and brothers who are Jewish, Muslim, African American, and all “People of whatever sexual orientation,” as well as all vulnerable persons in our state and nation as called by our belief in the love of God in Jesus Christ to care for all persons”.

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Patriot Front is described by the Anti-Defamation League as “a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them, and no one else”.

The ADL claims that since 2019, Patriot Front has been responsible for the vast majority of white supremacist propaganda distributed in the United States, and that they are known for participating in “flash demonstrations” across the nation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center highlighted several passages from the Patriot Front Manifesto, which can be found in the Patriot Front entry in their Extremist Files, which contains profiles of various prominent extremists and extremist organizations. It also examines the histories and core beliefs – or ideologies – of the most common types of extremist movements.

One such passages says “An African, for example, may have lived, worked, and even been classed as a citizen in America for centuries, yet he is not American. He is, as he likely prefers to be labelled, an African in America. The same rule applies to others who are not of the founding stock of our people as well as to those who do not share the common unconscious that permeates throughout our greater civilization, and the European diaspora”.

They say that the manifesto calls for the formation of a white ethnostate, claiming that passages like this one emphasize the exclusion of people of color from their conception of what the American identity should be.

Read the SPLC’s full report on Patriot Front here, to stay informed on how hateful groups use misinformation and propaganda tactics to spread their messages.