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Local Officials Respond to Neo-Nazi Fight Club's Presence at Lewis … – Centralia Chronicle
The battle of Pine Street Plaza in Centralia was won with pride last Saturday.
On one side, there was a neo-Nazi fight group — a self-proclaimed white supremacist, Swastika-sporting “active club” that, according to Pacific Northwest-based anti-racist investigative group Stumptown Research Collective, hosts nationalist themed mixed martial arts competitions to entice new recruits.
On the other side were Lewis County locals, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies who were celebrating Pride Month in an event organized in part by the Lewis County Dignity Guild, a nonprofit that describes its goal as “intersectional social welfare,” community building and “placemaking.”
The battle? A push-up contest. In a video shared by the research collective, a crowd cheers as a member of the known hate group, the “Evergreen Active Club,” fails to keep up.
Most of the group’s members wore face-coverings. But, the group’s leader, according to Stumptown Research Collective, was identified as Daniel Rowe, who was convicted of stabbing an interracial couple in 2016.
In the wake of Saturday’s events, from before and after the push-up contest, the Dignity Guild made a statement that can be found on its Facebook page or read in part in previous reporting by The Chronicle. And, at Chehalis, Centralia, and Lewis County council and commission meetings, elected officials made their position clear: The hate group does not represent their community’s values.
‘Centralia Needs to Have Some Conversations’
At a Centralia City Council meeting on Tuesday night, councilors took turns making statements about the events at Saturday’s Pride celebration after the topic was brought up both in public comment and in discussion on a proclamation about Juneteenth. A celebration for the holiday is set to take place at George Washington Park in Centralia on Saturday at 10 a.m.
“This hate group proceeded to physically shove me and my friend, with their bodies and backpacks, into the road by repeatedly telling me to ‘watch out for the road, fatty,” said one meeting attendee, Chelle Wilder, in public comment.
She went on to describe disappointment with the Centralia Police Department’s response, saying when she signaled for help from a nearby officer, they drove away.
In a prepared statement, Wilder said of the police, “They left us there, alone, to fend for ourselves against a group with a known violent history.”
She said one commander scolded her to “‘stay out of the road,’ ignoring the aggressors who were shoving me into danger,” and that one officer had a private conversation with the active club’s leaders. According to a public records request by the Dignity Guild’s founder, Kyle Wheeler, no body camera records exist from the time period including that conversation.
“I am very curious to know why Officer Roberts turned off his body camera for this private conversation with a known hate group,” Wilder said to the council.
Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham addressed these concerns in an interview with The Chronicle on Wednesday, including the body camera footage, the officer driving away and a concern by Wilder from the message log between dispatchers where it appeared to say “the (hate group members) are multiplying,” followed by a responding “LOL.”
Denham has not yet been able to debrief with the officers who were on duty at the time, but said the entire department will be sitting down to “dissect” the events and “make sure we will not allow it to happen again.”
He couldn’t speak to any specifics of the officer driving away after searching and not being able to find footage of that happening. Denham said, “I have no reason to disbelieve (Wilder). … This kind of surprised us in a way that caught us flat-footed.”
He said there was a vetting process for security at Lewis County Pride, but that there was never any “buzz” caught on the counter-protestors’ plans.
Of the body camera footage, he said the officer never turned off the camera to speak with the hate group’s leaders. Instead, the camera was never on in the first place.
“It should have been on, but it wasn’t. It could have answered a lot more questions,” Denham said, calling it “frustrating. … It would have obviously been valuable.”
Before speaking to a reporter, Denham said, he reviewed the Spillman report, where messages between law enforcement and dispatchers are summarized, to understand the “LOL” message.
For those who reviewed the report, he said, he understands how they came to see that as a response to the hate group’s presence, but the report is closer to a message “dump” than a perfect timeline, he said. Putting the message in chronological order, Denham said he realized it was in response to a message that the Lewis County Sheriff was handling a collision out on Jackson Highway at the same time.
“(The officers’ response) was no different to if I was handling the collision. It would be, ‘LOL, the chief is actually handling a collision.’ If you put the timelines together, it makes more sense,” Denham said. “It really had nothing to do with that.”
With the celebration of Juneteenth upcoming on Saturday, Denham wanted it to be on the record that his team is preparing an action plan and will be ready for any similar events.
“The tactics (the Evergreen Active Club) used, is, what happens next is we have two groups going against each other. We have emotions at stake here … with people who wanted their opportunity to celebrate without being overshadowed by this, what I will refer to as a hate group,” Denham said. “This is kind of new for us. It’s a huge lesson for us. I apologize to all the folks who were involved because we just didn’t see this coming and that’s on us, that’s on me. … We’ll definitely do better moving forward.”
Centralia Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston, noting it was her daughter’s graduation weekend, said she’d intended to briefly stop by the Pride celebration. Upon seeing the hate group’s presence, Smith Johnston said, she felt compelled to stay.
“It was dangerous. It was ugly. And it was profoundly disturbing. Those folks were there to intimidate. To attempt to dominate. Going forward, I do think the City of Centralia needs to have some conversations … I’m sad to say I expect that we will see more as we have more visibility for people who are a minority population. Whatever (population) that is, unfortunately, that usually brings some pushback. But, for those of you who felt scared for your safety, who felt demeaned or dehumanized, I want to express my deepest sorrow … and my commitment to do everything I can to make sure we are striving for inclusivity and acceptance and belonging in Centralia.”
Centralia Councilor Cameron McGee said he’d heard people noting the hate group’s members were not from Lewis County, but said their actions nonetheless encourage similarly-minded folks who are from the community.
“People coming from out of town, like this, emboldens that behavior. It recruits. That is the entire goal of it, outside of just, you know, being awful,” McGee said. “We can’t let that ideology have a foothold in this community.”
Chehalis City Councilor Kate McDougall in a Monday night meeting also said she’d attended Pride and made a statement on the situation that occurred.
County Response
Lewis County Commissioner Lindsey Pollock made a statement in a Tuesday morning business meeting, citing historical figures of the Republican Party. She and her seatmates all ran as Republicans.
“Would Lincoln or Reagan have supported this intimidation? Of course not. Hatred is the shared currency of the ignorant and the insecure. Hatred is the Devil’s seductive drug,” Pollock said, later adding, “They were there to intimidate a minority group and hijack the legitimate effort of parents to eliminate political coercion from our public schools. When leaders of our Republican Party make common cause with Nazis, they forfeit their claim to speak for us. Their leadership is malignant, repulsive and deserving of public repudiation.”
In this, she was apparently referring to a petition by the leaders of the Lewis County Republican Party who’d established a pop-up tent in downtown Chehalis Saturday. Brandon Svenson, the party chair, said the intent was to garner signatures on an initiative to overturn a recently-passed Senate bill that creates confidentiality between shelters, parents and transgender children leaving home to seek gender-affirming care. The bill has seen backlash, especially from conservatives, who feel it removes parents from long-term decision making with their kids.
Svenson, in a follow-up interview, wanted to make it very clear that the booth was not affiliated with the neo-Nazi counter-protestors from Saturday. He’d never heard of the group and did not believe it was based in Lewis County.
Though his party, too, set up the pop-up tent in a form of counter-protest to a Pride event, putting it near a drag show at McFilers Chehalis Theater, Svenson was staunchly opposed to the stance and behavior of the Evergreen Active Club.
“You have to bring light. If you’re going to show up with that kind of hate and anger in your heart, you’re going about it in the wrong way. I don’t condone that,” Svenson said. “That’s not some political statement. I don’t care what side you’re on, you can’t show up with hate in your heart and expect to make any progress.”
Pollock said attendees at the McFilers show told her they felt uncomfortable with the party leaders’ “presence and photography.”
Asked about the photography, Svenson confirmed one party member had been taking photos.
“I don’t know why that individual took pictures,” he said. “I recommend against this sort of thing. I don’t expect it should happen again.”
He said he was initially feeling hostility from passersby who got into arguments with he and other Republican Party members. Some people, he said, were “filming us and flipping us off.”
“But, to be fair,” Svenson said, upon later learning about the white supremacist group in Centralia, “it finally dawned on me,” people may have thought the Republicans were affiliated with the active club.
Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope sent a commentary to The Chronicle on Tuesday expressing similar sentiments.
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Boxing News 24
Ryan Garcia will take a confidence-builder fight on December 2nd against little-known lightweight Oscar Duarte live on DAZN in San Antonio, Texas.
This will be Ryan’s first fight with his new trainer Derrick James, and it’ll be interesting to see if he fires him immediately after if he loses or fails to shine.
Duarte has an 11-fight winning steak since losing in 2018, albeit against obscure fighters with poor records.
In looking at some of Duarte’s fights, he’s very, very slow in hand & foot, and and should be an easy win for Ryan. Despite never having beaten anyone of note during his ten-year professional career, Duarte is ranked #10 at lightweight.
Duarte has a little bit of power, but his glacially slow hand speed will make him an easy mark for Ryan.
It’s a good idea for Ryan’s December 2nd fight not to be placed on PPV because he’s coming off a KO loss, and his opponent is a guy that most boxing fans have never heard of.
Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya says Ryan’s next fight after the rebuilding match against Duarte could be a big one in early 2024. Oscar is interested in having Ryan challenge WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez for his title in February.
If not Teo, De La Hoya has another fight, which could be for the WBA 140-lb belt against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero if he’s still holding the title by then. Rolly is a more winnable fight for Ryan, but even that match-up would still be viewed as a long shot.
In the leaked sparring video, Ryan was getting shelled by Rolly, and it wasn’t pretty to watch. It was worse than what Tank Davis did to Ryan, as he seemed to be taking it easy on him until knocking him out with a body shot last April.
De La Hoya calls this a “proper fight” for the 25-year-old social media star Ryan Garcia, which some would argue is code talk to mean mismatch.
The 27-year-old Duarte’s only career defeat came against Adrian Estrella, a fighter who was destroyed in four rounds by Subriel Matias and in one round by Shohjahon Ergashev.
This is the first fight for the Golden Boy-promoted light welterweight contender Ryan (23-1, 10 KOs) since he was knocked out last April by Gervonta Davis.
“Here you have a guy who’s coming off eleven knockouts in a row,” Golden Boy chief honcho Oscar De La Hoya told Mike Coppinger about Ryan Garcia’s little-known opponent Oscar Duarte for his comeback fight on December 2nd on DAZN.
“There’s a guy who’s a power puncher who’s going to come forward and make Ryan fight. It’s the proper fight after a knockout loss to Gervonta.”
“I would love to talk to Bob to see what’s going on with him and Teofimo,” said De La Hoya about his interest in speaking with Top Rank boss Bob Arum about putting a fight together between WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia for Super Bowl weekend for February 10th, 2024.
RYAN GARCIA, INTERNATIONAL BOXING STAR AND SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CONTENDER:
“Everything I’ve got, I’ve thrown into this fight. It’s like, for the first time in forever, I’m all in. You know, 2021 was that year that kinda knocked me down. Then 2022 rolls in, switches things up for me, and bam, 2023 opens my eyes. I’m on a mission to reclaim everything, with this laser-like focus, and that’s where I’m drawing my confidence from.”
OSCAR DUARTE, SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CONTENDER:
“Hey everyone, good afternoon. Super pumped to be here, just soaking up every second. This was once just a dream, now it’s my reality. Come this Saturday, you’ll see the best of me. Got an amazing team backing me up, and this Saturday, I’m all set for a victory.”
FLOYD SCHOFIELD, WBA LIGHTWEIGHT INTERNATIONAL TITLEHOLDER:
“Hey folks, I’m just stoked about this opportunity. Huge shoutout to Golden Boy, Cameron Davies, and my dad – they’re the reason I’m here. I see Saturday as a stepping stone to blast my name across the 135 division. Expect a show with some serious fireworks this Saturday. Thank you!”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
“This fight card? It’s just jam-packed with insane talent we’ve been scouting and grooming to be the next wave of world champs. Trust me, you don’t wanna skip this one.”
BERNARD HOPKINS, PARTNER OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
“This is it, the big moment. As we wrap up 2023 and head into 2024, it’s time for our fighters to step up, show they’re top dog material. They’ve got this shot to show they’re main event material.”
The co-main event sees Ohara “Two Tanks” Davies (25-2, 18 KOs) from London, jumping into the American ring for the first time as a Golden Boy fighter. He’s up against Venezuela’s El Tigre, Ismael Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KOs), in a 12-round skirmish for the WBA Super Lightweight Interim World Championship.
Now, for a dash of rising stardom: Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (15-0, 11 KOs) of Austin, Texas, is defending his WBA Lightweight International Champion title. He’s squaring up against Ricardo “Explosivo” Torres (17-7-3, 12 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico in a 10-rounder that’s sure to spark fireworks. Remember Schofield’s last fight, a genuine thriller against Haskell Rhodes? Expect that level of excitement, presented by Davies Entertainment.
Shane Mosley Jr. (20-4, 11 KOs), the NABO Middleweight Champion, is gearing up for a showdown with Joshua Conley (17-5-1, 11 KOs) from San Bernardino in a 10-round battle. Fresh off his knockout victory over D’Mitrius Ballard, Mosley Jr. is all set to turn up the heat.
Let’s not forget Houston’s own Darius Fulghum (8-0, 8 KOs), a knockout artist ready to dazzle his home crowd in an eight-round light heavyweight fight. He’s facing Pachino “Chino” Hill (8-4-1, 6 KOs) of Davenport, Iowa. With this being Fulghum’s sixth fight in 2023, he’s proving to be one of boxing’s most active up-and-comers.
Kicking things off, Golden Boy Fight Night: Garcia vs. Duarte Prelims will stream on Golden Boy’s YouTube Channel. Asa “Ace” Stevens (5-0, 2 KOs) from Waianae, Hawaii, is set for a four-round super bantamweight scrap with Dominque Griffin (5-5-2, 2 KOs) of Irving, Texas. And, Gael “El Terror” Cabrera (2-0, 1 KO), the former Mexican Olympian, steps back into the ring for a four-rounder against Alejandro Dominguez (2-0, 1 KO) from Las Vegas, Nevada. Plus, Sean Garcia (5-0, 2 KOs) of Victorville, California, is ready to impress in a four-round bout against an opponent to be revealed.
A: Oh, it’s stacked:
Boxing News 24 » Garcia vs. Duarte: Start Time, TV Schedule, Ring Walks
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury get heated in their faceoff and push each other in the ring. (1:28)
After the multiple disappointments of fights failing to materialize last year, 2023 is already shaping up to be an improvement for boxing, with some exciting matchups on the horizon. Some fights have been officially announced. Others are very close to being finalized.
But what are the top fights in the months ahead? From Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury to Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis and the first heavyweight fight for the undisputed championship in the four-belt era, ESPN marks your calendar for dates not to be missed.
A clash between the best two heavyweights in the world, and perhaps the best heavyweight world champions since the Klitschko brothers (Wladimir and Vitali) reigned, is likely to be the biggest fight of 2023. Boxing suffered from fights not getting made last year, but this one — dare we say it — seems likely to get made and will determine the legacies of both these skilled and clever boxers.
Both have achieved so much in their careers, but what they do on April 29 will be what they are remembered for most. This fight is the first to have all major four heavyweight belts on the line and will create boxing’s first undisputed world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 (three-belt era).
Usyk’s slick movement and quick hands could unsettle Fury, but Fury’s long jab and heavier punches (if he can land them) could leave Usyk flat out like Deontay Wilder.
It was a pleasant surprise to see this fight get made given the obstacles — rival promoters and broadcasters, egos and unbeaten records — and it could be the start of a series of megafights at lightweight.
As well as popularity — they have nearly 13 million followers on Instagram between them — these two American rivals are supremely talented. Davis has skills, power (he has stopped 26 of his 28 opponents) and tactical intelligence, while Garcia has lightning-fast hands with a six-inch height advantage.
Devin Haney holds all the belts, but this matchup is almost as important as Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko. When the fight was announced, Garcia perfectly summarized this encounter: “Boxing needs this fight right now. It’s time for us to get back to what made this sport so great for the fans: Glamourous fights in places like Las Vegas, grudge match storylines, and most importantly — the best fighting the best.”
Be sure to find time to watch the Taylor vs. Serrano rematch.
Taylor, who lives and trains in Connecticut, has yet to box in her home nation since turning professional more than six years ago. When she steps out at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue in Dublin that night, the roof will lift (presuming the fight doesn’t occur at an outdoor venue like Croke Park). Taylor’s decision over Serrano last year lived up to expectations of it being the biggest fight in the history of women’s professional boxing. Who wouldn’t want a rematch?
Anthony Joshua doesn’t hide his emotions while discussing his split-decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion, believes he is the man of the moment, the younger champion looking to make this his era.
Lomachenko, 34, was winning Olympic gold medals when Haney was nine years old and is definitely in the last throes of his career. It’s yet to be seen whether Haney can come close to showing the dazzling technique and skills Lomachenko has in lighting up boxing, winning world titles from featherweight up to lightweight.
With war raging in his homeland Ukraine, Lomachenko could understandably be distracted and slowed by the passing of time and a long career. Haney sees this as an opportunity to establish himself as one of boxing’s biggest names.
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The two former super middleweight champions almost got their fight started early during a recent news conference to announce the event. The animosity will only intensify toward fight night, ensuring a healthy interest in the nontitle encounter. This clash, between the best 168-pounders not named Canelo Alvarez, will be decided by whether Plant’s slick boxing skills can defuse Benavidez’s big-punching power and volume.
Plant is in form after his stunning KO of Anthony Dirrell in October catapulted him back to the No. 3 spot in the division after losing to Alvarez in November 2021, and he will be Benavidez’s best opponent yet.
To go straight into a world junior featherweight title fight in his first outing at the new weight class is a bold move by Inoue. To do it against Fulton is even bolder.
Fulton, 28, from Philadelphia, is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 122 pounds. As a seasoned campaigner in the division who throws a prodigious number of punches, he represents a big risk for Inoue. Inoue became undisputed bantamweight champion in December and is chasing a world title belt in a fourth division, a feat that would surely deserve universal recognition — or confirmation — as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
These two featherweights are the least well-known boxers on this list, but what they lack in star appeal, they make up for in entertainment value. After being plucked from the domestic scene in their home countries, both pulled off shocking wins at an elite level and produced fireworks in recent fights.
Wood’s last-gasp, 12th-round knockout of Michael Conlan was voted ESPN’s fight of the year and KO of the year for 2022. The English boxer also produced a last round KO win to capture the WBA belt against Can Xu in July 2021. Lara stopped Josh Warrington — who was ESPN’s No. 1 featherweight — in February 2021. Lara added two early stoppage wins last year. It has all the ingredients to be an eventful fight.
Alvarez needs a dominant performance to silence critiques that he’s sliding after a brilliant career, winning world titles in four different weight classes. After losing by decision to Dmitry Bivol for the light heavyweight title last May, followed by a decision win in his trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin at 168 pounds, Alvarez will return to defend his four world title belts against Ryder, the mandatory challenger who will have to pull off one of the biggest shocks in boxing history to win.
It is one of the least competitive matchups on this list, but it will be intriguing to see what sort of form Alvarez is in after surgery on his left hand and a confidence-denting defeat that has seen his position in the pound-for-pound rankings take a tumble. Details of the fight have yet to be confirmed.
This fight is about how Joshua responds to back-to-back decision losses to Usyk and the upheaval in his training arrangements. Joshua’s frank and confused outburst in the ring in the immediate aftermath of losing to Usyk for a second time only adds to the doubts around whether Joshua can regain the form that saw him reign as WBA, IBF and WBO world champion. But Franklin looks like an accommodating opponent.
Stevenson is a talented boxer, but his lack of punching power and relatively unknown opponent means his fight will not attract as much attention as his lightweight rivals Haney, Garcia and Davis. But this is a solid first step at lightweight for Stevenson, who unified world titles against good opponents at junior lightweight. A fight against the winner of Haney-Lomachenko is a good incentive for Stevenson to look good — and a KO victory would help.
Okay, so this is the bottom of the pile, but for many, this crossover event will be the No. 1 fight of 2023 to follow and tune in to based on entertaining value alone. Paul is better known than many current champions, even if he has just six professional fights, with no amateur boxing pedigree.
The YouTube star appeals to demographics that Terence Crawford, Inoue, Errol Spence Jr. and Canelo can’t reach. Tommy Fury is a reality TV star from the UK, half-brother of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, but also a professional boxer taking the sport seriously.
The storylines behind the fight will ensure it generates good pay-per-view numbers, with many intrigued to see if Paul can continue his impressive adventure in professional boxing, during which he has silenced all criticism that he is out of his depth. But Fury will be his toughest test yet.
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