Regarding The Chronicle’s coverage of last Saturday’s rally in Mossyrock, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Joey Gibson is a notorious right wing extremist who is currently facing a felony riot charge for his role in attacking a Portland bar last year, in which a young woman’s spine was broken. His rhetoric is intended to inspire people to violence, just as it did Jeremy Christian, who murdered three people on a MAX train a few weeks after attending one of Gibson’s marches. Gibson has regularly associated with a wide variety of far right extremists, including Proud Boys and white nationalists. The same is also true of the WA Three Percenters, co-sponsors of the Mossyrock rally. Matt Marshall, their founder (and Borat prank victim), was photographed last year at a BBQ hosted by Brien James, a violent neo-nazi and former member of the Hammerskins, after a rally organized by the Proud Boys in Portland.
Just as they used opposition among conservatives to I-1639 last year to recruit people into their racist far-right networks, they are now using resentment against COVID restrictions to do the same, by spreading baseless lies and conspiracy theories.
It is the responsibility of a journalist to provide this kind of context when reporting a story, and it’s one that The Chronicle failed at miserably. Instead, you allowed your platform and considerable reach to be used by Gibson to further gain recruits in Lewis County by quoting him extensively and acting as videographer for his rally, without providing any context about him, his background, or his dubious claims. To the casual observer who is unfamiliar with him, he’s just a God-fearing patriot who loves freedom and small businesses, at least if one were to believe The Chronicle’s reporting.
It is completely irresponsible and totally inexcusable to mislead your readership in that way. If it means that white supremacist hate groups establish a further foothold in Lewis County and commit acts of racist violence and intimidation, some of the responsibility for that will rest with The Chronicle for lending credibility to Gibson and enabling his band of fascist thugs. Shame on you.
John Brown
Southwest Washington
Anti-Racist Movement
