Ozark Pridefest Stands Up to White Nationalists

Members of the masked white nationalist group Patriot Front rolled out to a rented U-Haul to march on Ozark Pridefest in Springfield, Missouri, on June 10. As the group has done often, the group planned to intimidate LGBTQIA participants and allies with bigoted chants and the unfurling of a “Reclaim America” banner.

This time, community members used nonviolent tactics to push out white nationalists. Community activists jumped into action, standing in front of Patriot Front members and blocking visibility.¹ After blocking their visibility for over half an hour, Patriot Front members pathetically climbed into the back of a rented U-haul and left.² There were no fights or injuries. The rest of the Ozarks Pridefest went on without a hitch.

Patriot Front was founded as an offshoot of Vanguard America after the murderous Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville in 2017. The group is ideologically white nationalist and revolutionary in approach. The Patriot Front manifesto stated, “Our mission is a hard reset on the nation we see today— a return to the traditions and virtues of our forefathers.” The group’s logo contains the fasces, or bundle, used as a symbol by Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini’s party.

Patriot Front is also anti-Indian, believing America was a “savage continent” before it was colonized by Europeans³. They celebrate the “conquering” of America. Patriot Front wrote, “From the varied nations and cultures of Europe a new nation was forged in the flames of conquest. E Pluribus Unum was the new creed that bound our people together with their pan-European identity as Americans.”

Ozark Pridefest Targeted by Other Far-Right Groups

Far-right “constitutionalists” and the Missouri Proud Boys made bigoted comments leading up to Ozarks Pridefest while pressuring sponsors to drop out of the event.

Members of the Telegram channel of We the People of Missouri (WTPMO) were the first far-right group to target Pridefest online. They posted a photo of the event’s flyer and a border around it, “Why do they want children to attend? Check out their website to see all the sponsors.” They listed all of the sponsors and encouraged boycotting those sponsors.¹²

Members of the group also unleashed threatening comments towards Pridefest. One member wrote, “Fish in a barrel. All the perverts in one place!” with a middle finger emoji¹³.

Another member wrote, “We can’t be the only ones standing up against these groomers more people need to get off their computers and get out on the front lines. #FreeTheBoys #ProudBoysDidNothingWrong”¹⁴. It is important to note that this user is a self-proclaimed Proud Boy. Their profile picture is of a white man wearing a bandana over his face with a Proud Boys logo¹⁵.

Yet another member wrote, “This is in my goddamned city. Time to mask up.” ¹⁶

We The People of Missouri is a statewide “nonpartisan, community-based, grass-roots organization” founded in 2021⁷. They are followers of KrisAnne Hall⁸. WTPMO’s main forms of communication are through Facebook (643 followers)¹⁰ and Telegram (895 Subscribers)¹¹.

The Punished Proud Boys of Mid-Missouri joined the online attack on Ozark Pridefest. They called to “boycott these fucks,” meaning the sponsors ¹⁷. The Admin of the group’s Telegram channel “Econo Boat Lift: I called and asked if it was true. They are big at the lake, and the guy laughed about it. Sponsors are groomers too.” ¹⁸

Two minutes later, “Lovecraft’s Cat” reposted the WTPMO post to their Telegram page¹⁹ and their chat called “Lovecraft’s Cat fan club.” ²⁰  Lovecraft’s Cat is an anonymous white nationalist with 15,562 subscribers to their Telegram channel and 807 members in their chat²². In the comments section under the WTPMO post, subscribers joked about gay people committing suicide and burning down churches allied to the LBTQIA community²³.

Pride and drag events have been targeted by white supremacists and the far right nationwide. The LGBTQIA community in Springfield, Missouri, courageously stood up against white supremacists and won. They achieved this victory without injuries, violence, or escalation and maintained a fun and safe atmosphere for Pridefest goers.

NOTES

1. Bethany [prideforMO]. “I won’t lie, I’m disappointed in the lack of news coverage over this moment. This moment was a HUGE victory. Remember this is same group that was arrested last yr in full riot gear at pride in Idaho. Armed with nothing but love we drove them out.” Twitter, June 12, 2023, https://twitter.com/prideforMO/status/1668230299212193792.
2. The_honeyman. “Proud Boys showed up to Pride. Lost their corner in 30 minutes. Piled in a uhaul and ran away. Fuck hate.” Reddit. June 11, 2023. https://www.reddit.com/r/springfieldMO/comments/1469uvx/proud_boys_showed_up_to_pride_lost_their_corner/.
3. Patriot Front. “Life Liberty Victory.” Patriot Front. June 11, 2023. https://patriotfront.us/manifesto/.
4. Patriot Front. “What we do.” Patriot Front. June 11, 2023. https://patriotfront.us/action/.
5. Patriot Front. Telegram. June 11, 2023. https://t.me/PatriotFrontUpdates.
6. Tanner, Chuck. Pierce County (Washington) Men Linked to Olympic College Patriot Front Activity. Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. November 13, 2018. https://irehr.org/2018/11/13/pierce-county-washington-men-linked-to-olympic-college-patriot-front-activity/.
7. We The People of Missouri. “Who We Are.” We The People of Missouri. June 11, 2023. https://wethepeopleofmissouri.org/.
8. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. April 25, 2023. https://t.me/WTPofMissouri/3246.
9. Tanner, Chuck. Krisanne Hall on the Road Bridging the Gap Between Far Right and White Nationalism. Institute of Research and Education on Human Rights. February 16, 2021. https://irehr.org/2021/02/16/krisanne-hall-on-the-road-bridging-the-gap-between-far-right-and-white-nationalism/.
10. We The People of Missouri (We The People of Missouri) “Profile Page.” Facebook, June 11, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/WTPMO.
11. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. June 11, 2023. https://t.me/WTPofMissouri.
12. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. May 17, 2023. https://t.me/WTPofMissouri/3328.
13. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. May 17, 2023 (11:51 AM). https://t.me/WTPofMissouri/3328?comment=11402.
14. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. May 18, 2023. (9:22AM). https://t.me/WTPofMissouri/3328?comment=11433.
15. Bad Company Mo PB. Telegram. June 11, 2023. https://t.me/BadCompanyMoPB.
16. We The People of Missouri. Telegram. May 18, 2023. (10:00PM). https://t.me/WTPofMissouri/3328?comment=11458.
17. Punished Proud Boys of Mid-Missouri. Telegram. May 18, 2023. (2:27PM). https://t.me/MidMissouriProudBoys/10650.
18. Punished Proud Boys of Mid-Missouri. Telegram. May 18, 2023. (2:34PM). https://t.me/MidMissouriProudBoys/10651.
19. Lovecrat’s Cat. Telegram. May 18, 2023. https://t.me/Lovecraftiancat/22061.
20. Lovecraft’s Cat fan club. Telegram. May 18, 2023. https://t.me/mikesdayofthepillow/336834.
21. Lovecraft’s Cat. Telegram. June 11, 2023. https://t.me/Lovecraftiancat.
22. Lovecraft’s Cat fan club. Telegram. June 11, 2023. https://t.me/mikesdayofthepillow.
23. Lovecraft’s Cat. Telegram. May 18, 2023. https://t.me/Lovecraftiancat/22061?comment=336969.