Locals 'wash away' hate at Opera House after Grand New Party event
HOWELL — A recent event in Howell organized by a conservative political action committee, the Grand New Party PAC, sparked ire from a grassroots group in Livingston County.
On Feb. 19, the PAC presented county officials with "Tenth Amendment Awards" for declarating the county a "sanctuary" for the Second Amendent and opposing some of the state's gun control measures. The PAC booked the Howell Opera House for the private event, part of a three-part series of "Washington Day Dinners."
On Tuesday, a crowd of about a dozen people grabbed brooms and a water jug to stage a protest demonstration in front of the Opera House. They swept the sidewalk to "wash away" "white supremacy" and "hate," as well as what they call the PAC's support of conspiracy theories. A small group of protesters also gathered Feb. 19.
Local grassroots group Stand Against Extremism (SAGE) organized the demonstration, a nod to another demonstration in the 1990s when the Ku Klux Klan appeared at the historic courthouse, according to group members.
Organizers took issue with the PAC holding an event and fundraising in Howell, and with the Opera House's allowance of it. The Opera House regularly rents out space for private events and was not a sponsor of the award ceremony.
SAGE member Kasey Helton emailed a letter to sponsors of the Livingston County Arts Council, which operates the Opera House, to voice her displeasure.
Sharon Fisher, program and events director, declined comment Tuesday.
In SAGE's letter, the group decried PAC Executive Director Shane Trejo's appearance Feb. 19, calling him "a political activist with well-documented ties to white nationalist groups throughout the country."
Trejo made headlines in 2017 after referring to white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville as "civil rights heroes" in a piece for The Liberty Conservative. He also called for a West Michigan library to be "shut down by force" amidst a controversy over books with LGBTQ themes.
Trejo responded in a series of texts sent to The Daily on Tuesday.
"This group of far-left agitators tried to intimidate the venue with threats before the event to get the 'Tenth Amendment Awards' cancelled," he wrote. "Because that failed, they are now continuing their campaign of harassment in order to prevent events celebrating patriotism and the Constitution from happening again."
He called it "cancel culture at its worst."
"We are not promoting any hate agenda against minorities, LGBT or any other group," he added. "This is the usual smear that left-wing activists use to attack conservatives and try to cancel their free speech rights."
Helton told The Daily she believes Trejo "has been very overt in his point of view on white nationalism."
"His point of view doesn't have a place in the city of Howell," she said.
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Ella Nikitin, a Democrat challenging incumbent Wes Nakagiri for a seat on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, said she's concerned the Grand New Party has ties to "alt-right organizations" and supports "local extremist candidates."
Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, announced formation of the Grand New Party PAC in 2022 to support candidates in races for the state house, county commission seats and school board positions, as reported by The Detroit News. The PAC has also promoted fundraising efforts to pay for the legal defense of those accused of participating in the fake elector scheme, among other activities.
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Locals 'wash away' hate at Opera House after Grand New Party event
