I was not there but I followed the happenings leading up to the event closely, as well as the event itself as it unfolded, through livestream. I do not know the organizer, John Medlar, but I looked into him, by all accounts he is a libertarian leaning Republican who was concerned about free speech being under attack across the nation, most notably on college campuses. Medlar organized this event, and echoed time and time again, to anyone that would listen, that white nationalists were not welcome to speak at this particular event. Medlar even reached out to Black Lives Matter and other left leaning organizations to try to quell the misunderstanding. The events unfolded and this mythical narrative, that this was some form of racist rally, persists.
I find this troubling on multiple levels:
- The attack on free speech.
- The lack of honest journalism/media.
- The blatant demagoguery by politicians.
- Ignored or downplayed violence.
To name a few.