Main Street targeted again
As was reported on the front page of the July 9 issue of The Cornwall Local, stickers promoting the white supremacist group Patriot Front were seen and subsequently removed from traffic signs along Main Street. (See story below)
However, last week three new stickers were found, two having been applied to the very same signs where the previous ones had been removed. One sticker has since been fully removed, one partially peeled off and one still remains.
As reported in the July 9 article, Patriot Front is a white supremacist group based in Texas that has spread throughout the country, including New York State. It splintered off from Vanguard America, the hate group responsible for the infamous 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA, and continues to espouse fascist and supremacist ideology disguised as “American patriotism.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFact page for the Town of Cornwall, nearly 90% of residents identify as white alone, with 11% as Hispanic or Latino, less than 2% as Black or African American alone, and 2.2% of residents identify as Two or More Races (more information is available at www.census.gov). It does lead one to consider the possibility that the group may be trying to recruit residents in a predominantly white community.
And if you’ve noticed more stickers around town proclaiming “Birds Aren’t Real,” (www.birdsarentreal.com) you’re not alone. The movement satirizes outlandish conspiracy theories and movements like QAnon. The premise being that the federal government has systematically eradicated all biological avian life and replaced it with surveillance drones inconspicuously disguised as our feathered friends.
Think about that next time you notice Cornwall’s resident vultures circling your neighborhood.
The following was first published in our July 9, 2021 issue
Group’s stickers concern residents
Having found white supremacist paraphernalia on Main Street
It’s understandable if you missed them.
They were small and easily blended in with other stickers slapped on signs along Main Street.
But upon closer examination, it was evident these red, white and blue, seemingly “patriotic” stickers were promoting a white supremacist group known as Patriot Front.
Two weeks ago, a concerned citizen, who wishes to remain anonymous, brought these stickers to the attention of Town Councilman Josh Wojehowski, who in turn informed Town of Cornwall Police Chief Todd Hazard. Wojehowski said that Chief Hazard planned to investigate the group’s activity within Orange County. Hazard has since had the stickers removed.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Patriot Front, based in Texas, is a white supremacist group espousing racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, under the guise of “preserving ‘ethnic and cultural origins’ of their European ancestors.” Members believe that their ancestors conquered what became the United States of America and therefore they alone are the rightful inheritors of the nation.
Patriot Front is actually a splinter organization, having separated from Vanguard America, a similar neo-fascist white supremacist group, after fallout from the August 12, 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA (where James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer). Several weeks of infighting and leadership disputes led to a coup of sorts, with leaders and members defecting from one organization to the other. Doing so allowed Patriot Front to distance itself from Vanguard America and its association with the August 12 tragedy.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) points out that the group relies on imagery, stating “Patriot Front is an image-obsessed organization that rehabilitated the explicitly fascist agenda of Vanguard America with garish patriotism. Patriot Front focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country.” They further note that the group spreads its message via online platforms and “by distributing banners, fliers, posters and stickers.”
And it was those stickers that found their way onto traffic signs and utility boxes along the north side of Main Street. However, as previously mentioned, the stickers have since been removed or covered up.
According to SPLC, New York State is home to 37 known hate groups. The mid-Hudson Valley hosts both the white nationalist group The Right Stuff in Hopewell Junction, and the anti-Muslim organization Rise Align Ignite Reclaim, located in Fishkill. The New York City and Long Island areas are home to chapters of the more well known Proud Boys, along with hate groups such as House of Israel, and the anti-LGBTQ Mass Resistance, just to name a few.
If one should happen to find more stickers or other forms of hate group paraphernalia, it’s asked that they please bring it to the attention of local authorities.
