After watching big-name conservatives and social media influencers posting “hyped-up BS” for nearly a week, Clackamas County Republican Party Vice Chair and Local Proud Boy, Dan Tooze, is out to set the record straight.
“Bottom line of the story is a group of right-wing extremists attempted to overrun locals and Proud Boys who wanted to protest against a drag show at a children’s theater in Oregon City,” Tooze explained in a Tuesday evening phone call.
Tooze says the drag queen event was sponsored by Lisa Halcom — ANTIFA supporter and owner of Happy Rock Coffee (a low-key haunt with a courtyard & koi pond), and organized by Oregon City Commissioner Rocky Smith. Other members of ANTIFA provided a supporting role.
Oregon City Children’s Theatre Director Michelle Leigh was quoted by KOIN:
“I’ve been running this theatre for 19 years. About a third of the kids who participate in my theatre are a part of the LGBTQ community. As I’ve watched those kids grow up and transition or become proud of who they are or share their stories more openly, I realize how far back I had the privilege of having those kids in my presence, but I didn’t recognize how important my presence was in their life.”
Although the event was at the last minute canceled amid uproar from local churches, Halcom said it was postponed due to “much interest” and the need “to move it into a much larger venue.”
Tooze says local churches decided to move forward with plans to express their First Amendment — nobody believed the promoters.
The church protest went ahead as scheduled with support from Clackamas County Republican Party Chair Rick Riley.
On a beautiful Oregon summer day, everything was just as it should be — peaceful and patriotic.
Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys the First Amendment.
The white supremacist group Rose City Nationalists “attempted to mix ranks with the Portland Chapter of the Proud Boys.”
But Tooze says that’s only partially true.
“People make assumptions,” he explains, “A couple of people involved in the brawl weren’t even Proud Boys.”
As to widespread rumors that Rose City Nationalists and their leader Casey James Knuteson are FBI agents of some sort, Tooze says it’s anyone’s guess.
Even still, Occam’s Razor is applicable.
By nearly all accounts, Knutson and his Rose City Nationalist Club are little more than racist extremists with a dire need to be famous.
Tooze is inclined to agree.
“All they have to do is let people protest for two hours, but they just can’t do it,” he explains, “It’s like they’re trying to trigger people with everything they do.”
As for the Proud Boys, the goal is the same as it’s been since their founding. Regardless of where expression originates on the political spectrum, Dan Tooze says all voices should be safe in America:
“Proud Boys are just trying to keep extremists from both sides away.”
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