Neo-Nazi Biome Michael Is At It Again

Coming soon . . . .

One of Southern Oregon's most notorious neo-Nazis, Keith Michael Erickson AKA Biome Michael, is at it again.

You can read about it later on today.

-30-

A Brief Overview of Hate and Extremism In Southern Oregon

By Brad Smith

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. -- Oregon has a problem with hate groups and other extremists – and the Rogue Valley and surrounding area isn’t immune.

It's time for a history lesson.

Jackson County was where the Ku Klux Klan gained their foothold in the state. According to the Oregon Historical Society, Klansmen – also known as Kleagles – arrived in southern Oregon, via California and southern states in 1921. Oregon’s first Klansman was formally sworn in Medford while Kleagles found patriotic recruits from Portland to Pendleton. By 1923, the state’s Klansmen reportedly numbered more than 35,000 while many joined the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, the Junior Order of Klansmen for teenagers and the Royal Riders of the Red Robe for foreign-born Protestants.

However, by the mid-1920s, the Klan suffered a number of sex scandals in both Oregon and across the county, causing the organization to implode. Some local Klan groups struggled to survive but never had the power they once did. The KKK saw resurgence in the Civil Rights era and has been hanging on ever since, despite a number of legal setbacks during the last few decades. To date, a number of Klan groups are reportedly active in Oregon: The United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (this group has been posting recruitment posters and flyers throughout southern Oregon), the Pacific Coast Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, based out of Vancouver, Wash.

Neo-Nazi groups have made Oregon their home: According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Socialist Movement has a chapter in the Salem-Portland area with splinter groups popping up across the state from time to time.  A few years ago, flyers promoting the American Vanguard have appeared in Rogue Valley communities and one of Oregon’s most notorious neo-Nazis, Jimmy Marr (his Twitter handle is Genocide Jimmy) has been sighted in Ashland over the last few years. Other groups of Nazis and white supremacists include the American Front, the American Patriot Brigade, Identity Evropa, The Right Stuff, the Northwest Hammerskins, Crew 38 and True Cascadia: The latter, known for inciting fights via social media, once Tweeted, “Mother Nature is a White Supremacist. She has cautiously shown favor to her mightiest children.”

A Black friend of mine, an actor with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, told me that over 25 years ago, he would run into Grants Pass skinheads . . . . Skinheads cruising liberal Ashland bars looking to stir up trouble. Looking to provoke people and start fights. According to him, that happened a lot back in the day. Today, they use social media to stir things up.

Sometimes, hate groups don’t need to wear white robes or march down streets with Tiki torches and chanting “Blood and soil.” Instead, they can and do appear under the guise of something else. In 2000, the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform was formed and has been based out of McMinnville. OFIR worked to put Measure 105 on the 2018 ballot – which was defeated. The Oregonian and other state media reported OFIR has been linked to white nationalist John Tanton, who has said, “One of my prime concerns is about the decline of folks who look like you and me . . . for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.” 

Last year, U.S. Inc., another hate group linked to Tanton, donated over $3,000 to the OFIR’s anti-immigration effort. The OFIR’s ballot measure had the support of right wing extremists from white supremacists to other groups like the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.

Anti-government groups have been more visible in southern Oregon the last few years. Until two years ago, the Oath Keepers had a presence in Josephine County, under the leadership of Joseph Rice. The Oath Keepers, along with a similar anti-government extremist group III Percenters, have been connected to Islamophobic and anti-immigrant groups. During the Sugar Pine Mine uproar, Rice, his Oath Keepers and a motley assortment of III Percenters and paramilitary wannabes prepared to face off against the federal government. The issue was later resolved in the courts. However, two years later, Rice and his group broke off ties with the Oath Keepers, due to disagreements with national leader Stewart Rhodes. Since then, Rice reorganized his group into Liberty Watch of Josephine County.

In some places, bigoted views are openly expressed and even encouraged.

When I started stringing for The Rogue River Press, local churches took out ad space for their Sunday service and so on. One pastor used his advert space to launch vicious attacks against Muslims. Now, the publisher said the pastor had a right to use that space however he wanted -- after all, he did pay for it. What was bothersome . . . no one complained about it. No one said anything. The pastor's congregation said nothing. Subscribers -- nothing. Businesses advertising in the paper didn't have a problem with it.

Something like that wouldn't have happened in Ashland or Talent. Someone would have complained.

Sept. 11, 2016. Rogue River. I was covering a 9/11 event held by the local VFW and was talking to a post officer. As I mentioned the issue regarding Colin Kaepernick, another VFW member overheard the conversation and said: "Kaepernick. That sonuvabitch. Where's the goddamned KKK when you need them the most?"

That VFW officer? He smiled. Laughed. Said nothing and did nothing. Like the time when a Rogue River planning commissioner uttered a racist slur about Asians during a meeting. Nothing was done.

That's the problem we have here. People need to know that this happens here and it shouldn't be acceptable or enabled.

Or ignored.

There's so much more to talk about, other right extremists and those who have hate mongering agendas. Keith "Biome" Michael Erickson. Jeff Rense. Bill Meyer. Ryan Mallory. Andrew Patterson.

Oregon -- especially the Rogue Valley and surrounding area -- has a history of hate. Now and again, from this point on, we're going to talk about it.

And, see what we can do to shut it down.

-30-

Antilockdown Rally in Medford, County Commish Ignores Covid-19 Threat

Note: This rally happened on 16 May 2020. I covered the event and wrote the article -- however, the publisher cut the it so much that it was nothing but a puff piece. They omitted key elements about Roberts' recklessness, the lawsuit and so on. I told the publisher not to run it.

By Brad Smith

MEDFORD, Ore. -- A few hundred or so protesters descended upon the Jackson County Saturday to decry alleged constitutional rights violations and other so-called inconveniences they’ve supposedly suffered due to the state’s COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions.

The event came one day after Oregon started the first phase of slowly reopening. According to Harvard’s Global Health Institute, Oregon – along with Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming – was performing the right number of CV-19 tests per day to properly and safely phase social distancing and other measures. Jackson County and over 30 others gradually reopened.

Event organizers said they would proceed with the rally regardless and said they expected over 1,000 participants. However, the numbers fell short of that.

While such an event usually requires a permit, the city of Medford said one wasn’t approved due to Gov. Kate Brown’s shelter in place orders. “In accordance with (Brown’s) statewide directive to cancel all events and gatherings larger than 25 people – in response to COVID-19 – (Medford) is not approving special event permits at this time,” said a press release.

Chief Scott Clauson, Medford Police Dept., issued a statement stating that his agency wouldn’t stop the event because MPD support individuals’ right to exercise constitutional freedoms. Last week, the Jackson Co. Sheriff’s Office stated they would not be enforcing the state’s pandemic guidelines.

Despite both law enforcement agencies urging people to practice social distancing while out in public, event co-organizer Amy Rose said social distancing and other measures would not be enforced.

“We feel people are smart enough to do what’s best for themselves,” she said in media statements.

However, shortly after the 1 p.m. start time, event organizers – with county commissioner Colleen Roberts and state senator Herman Bautschiger (R – Grants Pass) present – urged protesters to move in closer and crowd together. Which they did.

Aside from disregarding social distancing, protesters also ignored mask guidelines. Many parents brought their children along and none wore masks either.

After a large April 24 lockdown protest in Madison, Wis., more than 72 people who attended were infected with CV-19. And, across the country and even the world, other places that have reopened are seeing surges of new cases. Germany’s leaders are looking at closing down after reopening.

Sarah Paisley was upset over the restrictions hitting religious organizations.

“I want to be in my church,” she said. “I don’t like this at all, being told I can’t be in my church and worshiping. This isn’t right.

Paisley acknowledged that the virus was initially a threat but “they” used it to get power over people.

“This is all about power and control,” she said. “It’s government overreach and it’s not right. We’re safe here, we’ve had a few cases and one’s dead. We’ll be fine – just let us open back up.”

Since the gathering restrictions went into effect late March, churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship have been adapting to the pandemic response. Gatherings under 25 people have been using social distancing or using social media platforms to have services online.

Ten churches across the state have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Brown earlier this month. The suit alleges that the governor is not acting according to the state constitution. Ray Hacke, a one-time sportswriter, is a staff attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute, is representing the churches. PJI, a Sacramento, Calif.-based organization, has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group since it has challenged same-sex marriage laws and tried to champion reparative or conversion therapies – which have been debunked by many mental health professionals.

Hacke represented some churches in the Bay Area who opposed a cannabis dispensary. Although city commissioners did eventually side with the churches, an SF Weekly reporter covering the case wrote that Hacke’s courtroom antics rivaled Joe Pesci’s performance in “My Cousin Vinny.”

A local hate group, The RV Saltshakers – known for displaying graphic bloody images and attacking the LGBT community – was also present and did nothing to hide pictures from passing children. A few Confederate battle flags were displayed too – the Confederate government was founded upon slavery and oppression of blacks and upholding white supremacy. The Faith and Freedom event organizers didn’t object to the displays.

A number of participants handed out pamphlets about COVID-19 conspiracy theories:

• Some claimed that 5G technology caused the virus. Others said that Bill Gates and the “Big Pharma” cabal was behind the pandemic. The same pamphlets said contact tracing, a valuable tool in fighting pandemics, was a prelude to martial law and American citizens being herded into death camps.

• Some pamphlets repeated a debunked claim made by the Trump Administration that the Wuhan Institute of Virology received millions of dollars in grants from the previous administration. The money, the claim goes, came via the National Institutes of Health. The money actually went to the US based EcoHealth Alliance and $600,000 went to the Chinese lab. The same pamphlets also repeated claims made in the widely discredited video, Plandemic.

When Roberts spoke, she expressed her concerns about Jackson County’s Christians from attending church – however, she never said anything about the county’s number of Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other adherents.

According to polling data collected from different sources, Americans who take part in anti-lockdown protests are in the minority. The majority of the country do support lockdowns and are wary of opening too soon. Polls conducted by Fox News Channel and others revealed varying numbers for support, from 56 percent to 81 percent of Americans approve of such guidelines and restrictions.

Hacke's lawsuit failed. A Baker County judge attempted to run with it but the Oregon State Supreme Court shut it down.

As of July, the state is experiencing surges of new Covid-19 cases. Gov. Brown has issued new mandates in an effort to avoid another lockdown.

Many in the Southern Oregon area are refusing to comply.

All in the name of "freedom" . . . .