Modesto
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PROUD BOYS ASSAULT PEOPLE AT MODESTO STRAIGHT PRIDE, COLLABORATE WITH BLM ACTIVIST
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by LCRW & SIERRA FOOTHILLS STUMP STAFF
EDITOR'S NOTE : This story was written in conjunction with staff at the Sierra Foothills Stump. You can the Stump on Patreon here.
UPDATE 14 SEPTEMBER 2021 12:00PM: This article was updated to include comment from Jaimee Ellison of Turlock BLM.
For the third year in a row, perennial fringe candidate Don Grundmann put on his “Straight Pride” event in front of a closed-for-the-day Planned Parenthood in Modesto, California on August 28th. The annual gatherings have become a defacto show of force for violent, hard-right paramilitary groups in the Central Valley and this year was no different. A counter-rally at nearby Roosevelt Park saw a turnout of about 100 people. Antifascists at the park chased out heads of two of the paramilitary groups who had been invited by a Black Lives Matter organizer against the wishes of the anti-hate event’s organizers. The day ended in the Proud Boys and others assaulting antifascist counter-protestors who showed up to extract a small group who went to stand in across the street from Grundmann’s event with signs and were being surrounded and heckled. Police allowed members of the Proud Boys and others to assault counter-protestors with relative impunity, with only two people arrested—one for assaulting an officer.
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PROUD BOYS RALLY BEHIND RELIGIOUS BIGOTS TO INTIMIDATE MODESTO LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY
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by SIERRA FOOTHILLS STUMP & LCRW STAFF
EDITOR'S NOTE : This story was originally published by the Sierra Foothills Stump. You can read the original here and support the Stump on Patreon here.
Last year, Don James Grundmann, a religious bigot with ties to the Proud Boys and founder of the National Straight Pride Coalition, tried to hold a “Straight Pride Parade” in Modesto, CA. Grundmann’s intent was to hijack the “Straight Pride” branding of a Boston-based fascist group called Resist Marxism, who got national attention for the stunt. To capitalize off the Boston event, Grundmann wanted to hold his event a week before Resist Marxism’s. At the first Straight Pride Event in Modesto last year, the National Straight Pride Coalition struggled with PR, denied permits due to lack of insurance, and then the day of the event a handful of bigots got chased out of a barn they rented for the event by the owners, and got shouted down by a hundred or more antifascists, and liberals from the Modesto Pride Center.
This year, it was a rough one.
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"Peaceful, racist group" National Straight Pride Coalition Returning to Stanislaus County 8/29
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by SABINE ALEXANDER, SIERRA FOOTHILLS STUMP
EDITOR'S NOTE : The Sierra Foothills Stump is a fledgling publication that reports on a part of California with a lot of stories and not much coverage. This article first ran on their Patreon page on the 24th. You can follow their important work on Twitter at @SabineSFS. Please consider supporting them on Patreon here, where you can read their work until their site is off the ground. You can also make make a one-time donation to the Stump through Cashapp here.
UPDATE 24 JULY 2020 1:00PM: The initial post identified Matthew Mason as the organizer of the counter-protest, but it was Chris Holland who organized the event, while Matthew later agreed to be a marshall.
Mylinda Mason and Don Grundmann’s National Straight Pride Coalition are returning to Modesto on 29 August 2020 to hold the Second Annual Stanislaus County Straight Pride Event. Mason and Grundmann’s first Straight Pride Parade was marred with complications and family drama.
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