White nationalist stickers appear again in Springfield. Here's what to know
Stickers and posters printed in the patriotic colors of red, white and blue have appeared around Springfield in recent days. While they may appear harmless, the stickers are promotional material for a white supremacist hate group.
The stickers have been spotted at local parks, on lamp and signposts, bus stops, gas station pumps and even by the World's Largest Fork. Some who came across the stickers took to social media to share their findings and urge people to remove the promotional material. The stickers included slogans like "not stolen conquered," "free occupied America," "for a new American nation state," "American spirit European blood" and others pushing for a revamp of the current political system.
The posters and stickers direct people to visit a website of "Patriot Front." The News-Leader was unable to reach any representatives from the group as of Tuesday morning. The contact form on the website notes that "The organization does not participate in interviews with journalists."
According to the watchdog Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Patriot Front is designated as "a white nationalist hate group" with ties to the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The group was also behind posting stickers around Missouri State University campus less than three years ago.
Joel Alexander, City Utilities chief spokesperson, said that the transit department will be notified and they will work on removing any posters or stickers that may be at bus stops.
"From time to time, unauthorized materials such as stickers are posted on our bus shelters or benches. We make every effort to quickly remove this type of unauthorized content or graffiti. However, the identification and removal process may require a few days," he said in an email noting this is the case no matter what the postings may promote.
Jenny Fillmer Edwards, public information administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, said she could not verify whether Patriot Front stickers had been recently found at parks but noted that they have been removed over the past couple of years from different parks. No matter the message, stickers, tags and graffiti are considered vandalism at parks and are removed as soon as possible after being reported.
"Generally speaking, tags, graffiti and other vandalism experience an uptick when the weather gets warm and when school lets out for the summer," Fillmer Edwards said in an emailed statement. "It’s always a disappointment, but not a surprise. We make it a priority to remove them as soon as possible."
History of the Patriot Front
The Texas-based group split off in August 2017 from Vanguard America, a neo-Nazi group that participated in "Unite the Right" rally and was led by the Patriot Front founder. That protest culminated in the death of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, when a neo-Nazi driver rammed his car into a crowd.
According to the SPLC, the founding of Patriot Front was a way to rebrand and cast the motives and attitudes of the group in a more patriotic light and rhetoric after the rally resulted in negative media coverage. Members of the group believe in reclaiming America for the descendants of European conquerors. The group's manifesto states that even those born in the U.S. may be foreign and that nationhood is only bestowed upon those of the "founding stock of our people" and the European diaspora.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Patriot Front has been responsible for the vast majority of white supremacist propaganda distributed in the U.S. since 2019. In much of the promotional material, the group uses an image of the fasces, an original symbol of fascism depicting a bundle of wooden rods with an axe.
In July, five members of the group were convicted of conspiracy to riot at a pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 2022.
How prevalent is the Patriot Front in Missouri?
The Patriot Front website encourages members to engage in "activism" by using graffiti stencils and placing stickers and posters in cities across the country. According to their website, in September and October, Missouri had the fourth most instances of promotional material distribution and other forms of activism.
A channel on Telegram dedicated to the group's promotional material distribution includes 10 instances of its members posting stickers around Springfield since the start of the year. The channel includes updates from cities and towns across the state on an almost daily basis.
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One of the group's main slogans is "reclaim America." A group of twelve masked protesters carrying a banner with the same statement appeared at the Ozarks Pridefest in June though quickly dispersed thereafter.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: White supremacy promotional material posted around Springfield
