Left Coast Right Watch

MEET THE KILLER NEO-NAZI MASSEUSE AND HIS SAX-PLAYING ARMY RESERVIST TRADWIFE

May 28, 2024 by SOUTHWEST RESEARCH CLUB

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On June 6, 2006, in the Phoenix suburb of Cave Creek, David Ryan Drake (DOB: 09/09/1987) arrived at a “666 party.” Drake was wearing his new uniform: steel-toed boots, a long-sleeve khaki shirt with a swastika armband, a patch taped on that read “NSM” and a six-inch blade. He was representing the National Socialist Movement, successor to the American Nazi Party and at the time the largest neo-Nazi organizations in the United States.

NEO-NAZI WHO KILLED LATINO TEEN IDENTIFIED: DAVID RYAN DRAKE

screenshot from section “A.” in the “MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES.” it reads “FACTS: The defendant is a member of the National Socialist Movement (NSM) • It is undisputed that the defendant is a member of the National Socialist Movement (NSM). The defendant claims membership to NSM during his initial 911 call. He also admitted membership in the NSM to Julie Sutton, Chase Alvidrez, Ricky Botti, and Detective Armendariz. He even tried to recruit Chase Alvidrez to join NSM.”
SOURCE

Also at the party was David Michael Scarano, an 18-year-old with Mexican, Native American and Italian heritage. He was unarmed. 

Witnesses would later comment that Scarano had mocked Drake for wearing his NSM uniform and a fight ensued. After Drake’s patch fell off, Scarano stepped on it, a move that a police investigator later explained had sent the neo-Nazi over the edge. Witnesses, and a 911 dispatcher, would soon hear Drake refer to Scarano as a “fucking half-spic motherfucker,” before driving his blade into Scarano’s abdomen, severing his lower aorta artery, killing him.

screenshot from section E. in the “MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES.” It reads “THE DEFENDANT IS HEARD CALLING THE VICTIM A SPIC MOMENTS BEFORE THE DEFENDANT KILLS THE VICTIM. It is undisputed that the victim called the defendant a "fucking half spic mother fucker" seconds before he killed the victim. The victim is of Mexican, Native American, and Italian ancestry. The Mexican and Indian ancestry come from his mother's side of the family. Merriam Webster dictionary defines spic as an offensive term for one of Spanish-American ancestry.”

Drake was unremorseful. Only days after being incarcerated, he was attempting to make contact with an NSM lead and making requests for a new NSM uniform. 

“I can live with what I’ve done,” Drake said in a recorded rant over the jail telephone disparaging the murder victim. “Don’t feel sorry for him.” 

Months later, he began “requesting racial and violent lyrics be sent to him,” including Johnny Rebel’s “Stay Away From Dixie,” a slur-filled song telling Black people to leave the South.

The prosecutors requested a sentence of 16 years, citing the racist motivations behind the stabbing and Drake’s admitted affiliation with the NSM.

Scarano’s father wrote to the judge: “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t shed a tear. I cannot put into words what I’m going through. It’s like a twilight zone. I feel empty.”

On January 17, 2007 a jury found Drake guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to nine years and released on May 28, 2015.

 David Ryan Drake's mugshot pulled from the Inmate Data Search on the AZCorrections website. Drake is smiling and has his brown hair cut short. Underneath his photo reads "Inmate 214665." His height reads 5 ft. 10 inches, his weight 140 pounds, his hair is described as brown, his eyes are listed as blue, his ethnic origin is Caucasian, the Custody Class is set at Minimum/Moderate, and the admission reads 2/28/2007. Prison release date: 5/28/2015, release type Community Supervision End Date. Last Movement listed as 5/28/2025.  Sentence Length: 9 years, Sentence County: Maricopa: Court Case: 2006131923001D, Offense Date 06/06/2006, Sentence Date: 02/23/2007, Sentence Status: Imposed, Crime: Manslaughter. Another smiling mugshot of Drake is also pulled and added to the side with an enlarged photo of the 2006 mugshot.
Mugshots of David Ryan Drake, now Ryan Aleksander Drago.

18 YEARS LATER: NEW NAME, NEW WIFE, NEW HATE GROUPS

Five years after leaving prison, on October 10, 2020, David Ryan Drake would legally change his name to Ryan Aleksander Drago. By that time, he had already been licensed as a masseuse for two years under the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy. (#MT-24457).

Since at least October 2022, Drago has been listed as a massage therapist for Simply Divine Massage in another Phoenix suburb called Surprise. Drago’s business card with Simply Divine Massage can also be seen in a photo posted under their Google Reviews last year. As of writing this article, Drago is currently featured under the name “Aleksander Ryan” on their home page.

Two captures from the Wayback Machine on Simply Divine Massage’s website. One is dated Oct. 2, 2022 and has David Drake/ Ryan Drago listed as “Aleksander Drake.” The other is dated May 16, 2024 and has him listed as “Aleksander Ryan.” Both has the following bio written for him: “Aleksander (Aleks for short) has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2017 and graduated from Cortiva Institute in Scottsdale. His areas of expertise can essentially be described as an emphasis on "therapeutic" over "spa." Using spartan techniques, no tools, and almost entirely hand work (no elbows or forearms), Aleks incorporates some myofascial work with elements of sports massage and deep tissue to create his signature style that has lasting and rehabilitative effects on the body. Having arrived to us from a luxury medical spa in North Scottsdale, Aleks' main clientele consisted primarily of athletes and doctor referrals. He, of course, can offer a simple and relaxing Swedish massage, but we all have our specialties!" With a sense of humor, Aleks doesn't take life too seriously and hopes you don't either.. as that produces stress, which means you'll be back more often to see him: job security.”
What in the fuck are “spartan techniques?”

Is the new name and career path a sign that Drago has left the life of neo-Nazism behind him? Far from it. Drago has maintained a relationship in the white power movement and expanded his affiliations to the current Active Club scene, Patriot Front, Asatru Folk Assembly and multiple offshoots.In addition, he has also married a woman who herself is active in the neo-Nazi scene and who is a member of the Arizona National Guard, plays saxophone in the 108th Army Band and teaches the instrument at a high school in the Phoenix area. 

On May 25, 2021 Drago legally married Ashley June Krogstad. That November, Drago and Krogstad would hold an outdoor “handfasting” wedding ceremony that was “officiated” by Joseph Rozanek, an organizer and “gothi” with the whites-only Asatru Folk Assembly. Wedding guests would include other members of the neo-Völkisch hate group, an organization that blends a distorted version of paganism with white supremacy.

Ryan Drago wearing a gray suit and an animal pelt while holding the hand of Ashley Krogstad, who is wearing a red and white lace dress with the same style of animal pelt as Drago. Her eyes are painted red and she's wearing a white tiara. Their hands are linked with a white and red braided rope. In between them is a table with a horn and hammer and Joseph Rozanek wearing a gray suit and large Thor's Hammer pendant. They are surrounded by forest scenery.
Married by an Asatru Folk Assembly “Gothi” and occasional Schutzstaffe bit actor.

The Dragos began appearing in photos at Asatru Folk Assembly meetups (“moots”) in 2022 in Arizona. Photos show the couple were regularly joined alongside local Asatru Folk Assembly organizers Lyubomir “Lou” Nickerson, American Third Position leader Ralph Brandt and Samuel Breckenridge Ramsey, a Tucson neo-Nazi with a violent criminal record.

At one meetup, Ryan Drago appears alongside the Asatru Folk Assembly Arizona faction in a shirt reading “RWDS,” an acronym for “right wing death squad.”

A dozen white people linked arm and arm and posing for a photo in the Arizona desert. Drago is the second from the left and wearing a white golf hat, sunglasses, a blue knitted sweater and burgundy pants and white shoes. Krogstad is next to him wearing a red sweater, black pants, white shoes and sunglasses. In the middle is Sam Ramsey and a woman wearing Asatru Folk Assembly-branded shirts. Three men towards the right end of the shot are shirtless and one is holding a hammer with a visible Sonnenrad tattoo on his shoulder.
Drago and Krogstad (second and third from the left) at an Asatru Folk Assembly “moot.” Note the fellow with the Sonnenrad tattoo towards the other end.

The pseudo-religious Asatru Folk Assembly has been exposed in the past for its extensive overlap with the neo-Nazi movement.

In November 2020, Antifa Sacramento identified one of Asatru Folk Assembly’s top organizers internationally, Marc MacLeod, as an associate of numerous California neo-Nazi groups. In 2019, Atlanta Antifascists revealed the identity of two white supremacists leading the Asatru Folk Assembly-affiliated “Ravensblood Kindred,” including a Haralson County, Georgia jailer and a member of the Georgia National Guard.
The white separatist hate group has been thoroughly condemned by 180 inclusive pagan organizations for bastardizing paganism as a means to preach racism and white supremacy.

Two posts from Asatru Folk Assembly moots showing group shots with Drago and Krogstad. The top photo shows Drago dressed as a stereotypical Frenchman with a black beret and striped shirt, Krogstad is wearing a black dress and her Thor’s Hammer necklace. Alongside them include Sam Ramsey in his Asatru Folk Assembly branded shirt and other affiliated with the movement. The restaurant they’re all in has yellow glass lamps and the Austrian flag displayed. The bottom photo shows mostly the same crowd at the same restaurant but Krogstad and Drago are both wearing white shirts and their Thor’s Hammer necklace in this shot. Both are captioned “Arizona moot #afa #asatru #asatrufolkassembly.”

In the summer of 2023, Ramsey, who once held the title of Arizona “folkbuilder,” and the Dragos broke away to join the newly formed Raven Folk United, founded by former Golden States Skinheads lead Michael Sessumes. Ramsey was quickly named as part of Raven Folk United’s leadership.

The first meetup under the new Raven Folk United included Sessumes, Ramsey and the Dragos. Others in attendance included former Asatru Folk Assembly members Ashley Stockton, Josh Rapin (also a member of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe), Shea McCurdy and Shade McCurdy.

The offshoot sect also claims Ron McVan, the white supremacist author who worked alongside neo-Nazi domestic terrorist David Lane, as a member.

Similar to Asatru Folk Assembly, Raven Folk United preaches anti-race mixing and prohibits non-white members. However, violence is also a key stated component of Raven Folk United’s belief system. The organization demands that members remain loyal and strictly adhere to its rules or else face repercussions. As part of its so-called “Raven’s Laws,” the group explicitly tells members to “let no man be beyond reproach or acts of violence if his words or deeds are deserving.”

The organization also adheres to an obscure code of ethics, called the “Aesirian Code of Nine,” which has its roots in neo-Nazism. The ninth and final rule of the code is titled “Conflict,” which reads in full: 

“Those who follow the way of the warrior must know the art of combat, weapons and vengeance. War is an accepted part of the path. Always be prepared for hostility against you. It is a destiny woven into the very fiber of our people. Keep your body, mind, and training up at all times. Have no remorse when you must be savage during a conflict.”

10 white adults and one child (censored) posing for a photo at the first Raven Folk United meetup. A red and black raven flag is pinned behind them. A flatscreen also sits on the wall behind them. Krogstad is wearing a white dress and standing next to Drago who is wearing a long-sleeved purple button up shirt, an ugly patterned vest, red tie and Thor’s Hammer necklace. Other men in the group are wearing a similar getup.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Melissa Mills, Samuel Ramsey, unknown, Josh Rapin, Shea McCurdy, Shade McCurdy, Ashley (Krogstad) Drago, David Drake/Ryan Drago, Ashley Stockton, Michael Sessumes.

More images of the Dragos are scattered across Raven Folk United’s website and social media, including the “About” page.

In between work and white supremacist moots, Ryan Drago has also spent his time out of prison as a member of Tribal Active Club Arizona (TAC-AZ).

Active Clubs are a decentralized network of neo-Nazi fight clubs originating from the now-defunct Rise Above Movement. Active Clubs, including TAC-AZ, engage in MMA-style training exercises to prepare for political street violence and what they see as an impending race war.

Five separate images of Ryan Drago attempting to cover his identity as a member of TAC-AZ. He wears plain or skull gators and the same chunky white watch in the photos with the top of his very distinguishable head exposed. He is posing in front of the “Tribal Active Club Arizona” flag in three photos and holding a corner in the other two. In the first photo, he is wearing his “RWDS” (right wing dead squad) shirt.
David Ryan Drake, now Ryan Aleksander Drago, identified as a member of Tribal Active Club Arizona.

Active clubs also ritually litter cities with their propaganda. TAC-AZ shared videos of members, including Ryan Drago, vandalizing park signs and neighborhood poles with stickers promoting themselves, other Active Clubs, Patriot Front, White Lives Matter, and white supremacist propaganda outlet Media2Rise.

“FREE ROB RUNDO,” read one homemade TAC-AZ sticker in reference to the violent founder of the Rise Above Movement.

“End Jewish Supremacy,” read another.

TAC-AZ and Arizona Raven Folk United members also meet alongside Tribal Arya Society, which is described as TAC-AZ’s parent organization meant for white supremacists who are women or men who are older and less engaged in Active Club sparring.

a photo posted to the Tribal Arya Society page showing seven white adults all linking arms in front of a green textured wall. The same photo, unblurred, was also shared to the Asatru Folk Assembly Twitter account on Nov. 6, 2022. Their caption reads “Arizona Concert Moot #afa #asatru #asatrufolkassembly.” Krogstad is wearing a brown dress and crisscross nylons. Drago is next to her in a black tracksuit and white golf hat.
Whoops.

Tribal Arya Society meetups can range from trips to local European-specific cultural festivals to swastika burnings for the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birthday. At one gathering, members of Tribal Arya Society and TAC-AZ were joined by Wayne Peloquin of the neo-Nazi metal band Bound for Glory. 

A Tribal Arya Society video titled “A Wholesome Bachelor Party” dated October 30, 2022 (a couple weeks before Drago and Krogstad’s handfasting ceremony) showed off a feast of pretzels, beer, brats and a cake decorated with pecans in the shape of a swastika.

Telegram post shared by Tribal Arya Society and originally posted by an account called “Blood and Faith (Graziani).” It’s a vintage photo of a crowd holding a Confederate Flag adorned sign reading “WE LOVE THE ORDER.” The caption of the post reads "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war" —Jeremiah 51:20, slogan of the Order Happy birthday Robert Matthews, founder of The Order! Hail the Order!”
TAC-AZ’s so-called “family-friendly” arm, Tribal Arya Society, praising the dead leader of a neo-Nazi terrorist organization.

In February, TAC-AZ and Tribal Arya Society helped to organize “HyperboreaFest,” a Utah camping trip alongside multiple Patriot Front cells and former Rise Above Movement member Ryan Sanchez, who now lives in Glendale, Arizona. The hike included a bonfire of Pride flags and fliers for a conference on gender identity at the University of Colorado.

The multiple Tribal Arya Society and TAC-AZ Telegram, Gab and Twitter accounts would attempt to obscure the faces of members at these meetups, but several of those same photos were unblurred on Asatru Folk Assembly’s social media.

A black and white photo posted to TAC-AZ that shows 7 white people linking arms in front of a flag with a Viking ship design and red and white curtains. The faces are censored. A text overlaid on the image reads “Build your Tribe.” The caption reads “Family is more than blood kinship.” Next to the black and white photo is the same photo, in color, as it was posted to the Asatru Folk Assembly Telegram page. Drago is wearing his “right wing death squad” shirt and white golf hat while standing next to Sam Ramsey, who is in an Asatru Folk Assembly shirt. The caption reads “Arizona Moot #afa #asatru #asatrufolkassembly.”
Blurred vs. Unblurred. Note Drago’s “RWDS” shirt, an abbreviation for “right wing death squad.”

Ryan Drago was also caught on camera by the Media2Rise crew at the second “Birth of a New Frontier,” a neo-Nazi MMA tournament that brings together Active Club and Patriot Front cells throughout the country. The flag for TAC-AZ hung on the wall of the California event.

Ashley June Drago (nèe Krogstad): Swastikas, Saxophones and Military Service

While Active Clubs are normally exclusive to men, TAC-AZ footage often features a woman working out and dropping racist propaganda alongside the group. The woman also appears in photos and videos on Tribal Arya Society’s social media and two other Telegram accounts: “TheModernTradwife” and “ModernTradwife.” 

In multiple posts on those accounts in which the woman’s identity is obscured, she has a similar build, clothing and hairstyle as Ashley June Drago (née Krogstad).

In other posts, however, Ashley Drago could be seen with little to no attempt to hide her identity.

In one video posted by ModernTradwife, Ashley Drago raises up a drinking horn as the text overlaid reads “Embrace Tradition.” This is from a TAC-AZ outing that was censored on their own account.

“Wholesome Midwest childhood” the caption of one photo reads. “First post flashback. ‘Tis yours truly.”

“Anonymous reveal,” reads another image shared to TheModernTradwife. Though her face is censored in this post, the unique wallpaper behind Ashley Drago matches the wallpaper in her husband’s work bio photo.

In a video celebrating Oktoberfest in Tempe, Arizona, the woman is blurred but no attempt was made to obscure Ryan Drago’s face, who has his arm around her.

A screenshot from a video on Modern Tradwife posted on Oct. 9, 2022. The still shows three people posing in front of a large silver Oktoberfest stein. A woman with her face blurred in a black shirt, crisscross nylons, and purple skirt is being held by Ryan Drago, who is uncensored. Drago is holding a drink and wearing a black golf hat, blue shirt, red pants, and white shoes. The man standing next to them is also blurred.
Gee, I wonder who that is next to Ashley Krogstad’s husband (archive).

Based on the Telegram posts, Ashley Drago’s views are no less extreme than her husband’s, expressing a similar devotion to neo-Nazism and white supremacy. 

“If we don’t start fighting together as WN [white nationalist] Women and Men being side by side in this jewish brainwashed propaganda then what is the point? We need to work together as a TEAM,” read one post shared on ModernTradwife.

“There is no Folk without you,” read another post shared by TheModernTradwife account featuring the silhouette of a woman holding up a toddler to the backdrop of a sonnenrad — another symbol used by neo-Nazis.

Watermarked with a “hyperborean 1488 worldwide” logo, the ModernTradwife account shared an image reading “DO YOUR PART. BECOME A MOTHER, YOUR RACE NEEDS YOU.”

One video shared by TheModernTradwife quotes the 14-words, a neo-Nazi slogan coined by David Lane.

In one post praising National Socialism and quoting neo-Nazi occultist Savitri Devi, TheModernTradwife posted an AI image of three white women that form an illusion of a swastika.

Three posts from the Modern Tradwife accounts. One is a black and white image of Ashley Krogstad wearing a red flower crown and cop sunglasses. The text overlaid on the image reads “Tradwife, Happy Life.” The next image is an AI generated image of three white women with flowing white and red dresses and braided blonde hair. They are standing in front of a white shed in a lush green forest. The white on the image forms an illusion in the shape of a swastika. The caption on the post reads “Somebody once asked me what had attracted me to National Socialism. I replied without a shadow of hesitation: It’s beauty. - Savitri Devi.” The first photo is a screenshot from a video on Modern Tradwife showing Krogstad in a red workout outfit and holding a horn while on top of a mountain. The city highlights flash behind her. Text overlaid on the video reads “Embrace tradition.”
Uh, yikes.

Professionally, Ashley Drago boasts a far more extensive resume than her killer neo-Nazi husband.

Before moving to Arizona, Krogstad obtained her bachelor of arts from the University of South Dakota (USD) in 2016 before receiving her master of music from Oklahoma State University (OSU). In May 2024, she got her doctorate of musical arts at the University of Arizona (UA). Her thesis was titled “Approaches to Saxophone Tone: A Pedagogical Resource for Teaching.”

In an interview with the UA Saxophone Studio, Ashley Drago said she hopes to “pursue a position teaching saxophone in higher education, perform with a professional chamber group, and maintain a private studio.”

Ashely Drago’s LinkedIn and a resume listed on her website highlights her time as a music camp counselor at USD and as a teaching assistant at UA and OSU. At the 2019 North American Saxophone Alliance Region II Conference, she taught a lecture titled The Allard Approach. The conference program also credits her as the social media coordinator for the UA saxophone studio.

As a longtime saxophonist, Ashley Drago can be spotted in over a dozen performances during her time in college, her teaching career, at Raven Folk United gatherings, in the Arizona-based tribute rock band, Unleashed, and as a member of the U.S. Army Musical Performance Team and the 108th Army Band. 

Ashley Krogstad Drago wearing her camouflage uniform and black beret hat. She is standing in front of the American flag. Her tags read “DRAGO” and “U.S. ARMY.”
Ashley Drago (nèe Krogstad) in uniform.

Ashley Drago appears in numerous photos on the 108th Army Band’s instagram and Facebook page, including in an image from her white supremacist “handfasting” wedding ceremony. Her uniform displays her married name: “Drago.” 

On February 5, 2024, a post on the 108th Army Band social media announced she had been promoted to sergeant.

During her time in the National Guard, Ashley Drago is credited with performances at the 2023 Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Veteran Employee Recognition Event and the 2024 Arizona Music Educators Association Conference. A photograph also shows her performing saxophone with the Jazz Ambassadors, a premiere, internationally touring orchestra of the U.S. Army.

In 2021, a previously unpublicized Pentagon report highlighted the struggle to keep white supremacists out of the military and how veterans and military personnel are “highly prized” recruits for these hate groups. In 2022, a leak of Patriot Front’s private chats revealed that one in five of their applicants had military experience. According to data by The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, over 200 people with a military background have been charged for their role in the January 6 insurrection.

11 band members playing on stage in the Army National Guard Band. The only woman in the group is Ashley Drago/Krogstad in the front row alongside the rest of the camouflage-wearing saxophone players. The podiums in front of the saxophone players is branded with the U.S. Army logo and reads “Jazz Ambassadors.”
Ashley Drago (nèe Krogstad) performing in the Army Band.

A video posted to both TheModernTradwife and ModernTradwife shows a woman with similar hairstyle and build as Ashley Drago in a military uniform skipping with a caption reading “I am simultaneously a warrior and a wife…”

Ashley Drago is also listed as the saxophone coach for the Mountain Ridge High School band.

The school is part of the Deer Valley Unified School District, the fifth largest district in Arizona. During the 2022-2023 school year, Mountain Ridge had over 2700 students enrolled and nearly a third were students of color.

The picture Ashley Drago uses on the Mountain Ridge website is from the same series of professional shots she uses on her Music & Arts page, where she is currently available to be booked as an instructor for saxophone, clarinet, oboe and flute lessons at their Scottsdale location. It’s also the same image she uses to promote private music lessons on the white separatist Raven Folk United website under “Folk Businesses & Services.”

Ashley Krogstad Drago appearing on the Mountain Ridge band website, her own website, and Raven Folk United’s website. She is wearing a black dress and holding her saxophone in the photos, which are clearly from the same photoshoot. The caption on the Mountain Ridge website reads “Ashley Drago, instrumental coach: saxophone.” Her website reads “WELCOME. Ashley Drago (DMA) is an active professional saxophonist striving for the highest levels of artistry. Located in the Phoenix, AZ area, Drago is currently accepting students into her private studio and welcoming an array of performance opportunities. ​ Browse the site for more information and resources.” Her info on Raven Folk United reads: “Ashley Drago (DMA) is an active professional saxophonist striving for the highest levels of artistry. Located in the Phoenix, AZ area, Drago is currently accepting students into her private studio, offering remote lessons, and welcoming an array of performance opportunities.”
Maybe use a different photo.

“COMPLETE SOCIETAL EXILE”

It’s no surprise David Ryan Drake would change his name to Ryan Aleksander Drago. Maintaining a career after killing a Latino teenager in a neo-Nazi uniform has got to be difficult. Moreso when he has openly maintained a relationship with the violent white supremacist movement — now alongside his equally racist wife.

“I was once again forced out of my job,” read an anonymous post on TAC-AZ, complaining that “service providers are more stringently scrutinized and backgrounds more deeply explored.”

“Since attaining my license, I have had my employers pressured by my coworkers to force me out of every job I held with the last 3 companies. That’s every location I have ever worked in this field. 

This of course is the desired outcome sought by our enemies and their witless and unwitting followers; complete societal exile. We will always be an easy target for ridicule, especially those of us whose names are easily discovered with simple internet searches.

This is just a reminder to always keep your opinions to yourself around civilians and always be conscious of your non verbal optics — they are quite literally NPC’s programmed to detect socially aberrant behaviors and react… and yes, we are considered the aberrant ones.”

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