AZ-01 Candidate Walt Blackman literally put the ‘proud’ in ‘Proud Boys’ this past weekend.
Speaking at a ‘Justice for J6’ rally on Saturday in support of the so-called “political prisoners” of the deadly January 6 riot, Blackman touted the support he has received from members of the white nationalist, neo-facist organization which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group.
Blackman told the crowd: “The Proud Boys came to one of my events and that was one of the proudest moments of my life.”
Other attendees at the rally included members of the Proud Boys, an insurrectionist currently facing charges for his involvement in the January 6 attack, and a Nazi sympathizer who called Adolf Hitler a “complicated historical figure.” AZ-01 candidate Eli Crane was also slotted to speak at the event.
ICYMI, here are some of the ‘lowlights’ from this weekend’s rally:
Pinal Central: Arizona ‘Justice for J6’ rally draws small crowd of extremists, CD1 candidate
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | September 26, 2021
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Only a few dozen people, many of them members of a violent extremist organization, showed up at the Arizona Capitol on Saturday for a rally claiming that Donald Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 did nothing wrong and were being held as “political prisoners.”
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“It was an awesome, awesome day,” former state Republican legislator Anthony Kern told attendees about being at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
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Approximately half of the audience in attendance at the Arizona rally were members of the Proud Boys, which the SPLC designates as a hate group. So far, 19 members of the Proud Boys have been indicted in relation to the events of Jan. 6, with one indictment suggesting that there may have been coordination between many of the groups.
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Their presence was a boon for GOP Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake.
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“The Proud Boys came to one of my events and that was one of the proudest moments of my life,” Blackman said to the crowd. Blackman is running for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Democrat Tom O’Halleran.
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One of the speakers, Micajah Jackson, is facing federal charges for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. The FBI alleges that Jackson participated in a march alongside members of the Proud Boys chapter from Arizona and that he knowingly entered the Capitol without permission.
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Jackson claimed on Saturday that the Jan. 6 riot was a setup “coup” by the FBI, the Capitol Police, D.C. Police, Black Lives Matter, antifa, Democratic activists and the “radical U.S. government.”
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Blackman was the only elected official who spoke, a last-minute change from how the event was promoted. It originally billed GOP legislators Rep. Mark Finchem and Sen. Wendy Rogers as speakers, as well as a controversial figure named “American Greyson” Arnold.
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Arnold has used his social media pages to post memes lauding Nazis as the “pure race” and lament the American victory in World War II. He also called Adolf Hitler a “complicated historical figure.” Another time, he posted the logo of Stormfront, the first major hate site on the internet that was founded by Don Black, the former leader of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan. The logo is the Celtic Cross, a common white supremacist symbol, emblazoned with the words “White Pride World Wide.” “God is on our side because our fight is righteous,” he declared.
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Shortly after the Mirror inquired about these posts, an event spokeswoman said Arnold was no longer a speaker at the event. However, he still attended the event and was seen with local anti-mask agitator Ethan Schmidt.
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