Stickers and flyers originating from the neo-Nazi hate group Patriot Front were discovered Monday afternoon along Heather Heyer Way, Market Street Park and on the property of the First United Methodist Church of Charlottesville.
The flyers contain the link to their website and also statements such as “Better Dead Than Red” and “Not Stolen — Conquered.” Also discovered was “Free James Fields” scrawled in purple chalk, referencing the neo-Nazi who plowed his car into counter-protestors resulting in the death of Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Fields was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years by state court in July.
Both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League — which track ideological groups for extremism, hate and bigotry — categorize this group as a designated hate group that centers around white nationalism, anti-semitism and neo-Nazi rhetoric.
Patriot Front was created as an offshoot of Vanguard America — another designated hate group — that began following the deadly Unite the Right rallies in August 2017. The group utilizes patriotic imagery in the form of flyers and stickers to promote their ideology.
Recently, college campuses have been their target for these flyers and propaganda campaigns. The ADL reports that instances of white supremacist propaganda on college campuses have tripled since 2017 — with Patriot Front being one of the leading culprits.
Sena Magill, Democratic candidate for the Charlottesville City Council, condemned the messages contained in the flyers. Her husband was left in critical condition following the Unite the Right rally.
“It disgusts me and angers me that people continue to hold these beliefs.” Magill told The Cavalier Daily. “It angers me that my husband risked his life two years ago and almost died and still the alt-right feels they can spread their evil.”
Phil Woodson, a pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Charlottesville who discovered the flyers around Market Street, also denounced Patriot Front’s presence in Charlottesville.
"To me, these stickers serve as a reminder that white supremacy seeks to wear us down,” Woodson said. “It strives to wear us down to the point where its existence in our society becomes so commonplace that we begin to dismiss and ignore it — to the point where we become numb to the words and symbols of oppression and terror. This is probably best exemplified through the continued presence and protection of the many idols to white supremacy that remain in downtown Charlottesville and on Grounds at U.Va."
As of Monday evening, the flyers around Heather Heyer Way had been destroyed and replaced with anti-fascist stickers.
This story has been updated.
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