11/15/24 LIVCO PROVES THAT RACIST REPUTATION IS DESERVED

FACT

Livingston Co. Sheriff Mike Murphy accepted an award earlier this year from the Grand New Party (GNP) for refusing to enforce gun safety legislation. He was honored for calling himself a “constitutional sheriff.” The event was organized and MC’d by well known white nationalist Shane Trejo, executive director of GNP, who has made past statements supporting white supremacy including a public podcast he hosted with a European identity hate group.

2/24/24 SAGE called out white supremacy being welcomed into Howell during Murphy's award ceremony, post here.

2/26/24 SAGE sounded the alarm of welcoming these specific white nationalist hate groups into Howell. The letter to the Howell Opera House regarding how problematic them hosting the GNP was went unresponded to.

More info on the CSPOA ideology, which views the sheriff as the supreme law enforcement officer of the land, above the federal govt and Murphy's ties in this post.

White supremacist views have become normalized and dangerous people are getting more bold, which is especially scary when someone has the power to arrest you, like Sheriff Murphy tried to do to a SAGE lead for her sharing truthful tweets.

FACT- Murphy has protected a known local white supremacist leader for months continuing to refuse naming Eric William Cooper who was in training with Pennsylvania white supremacists at the Howell White Lives Matter rally and then actively recruited locals in LivCo to attend the WLM Brighton demo, which he lead, the following month. It is very likely that Cooper was a part of the anti-Semitic demo this past weekend as WLM masks were worn and per Murphy they stated they were from Fowlerville - where Cooper lives.

FACT- Yesterday Murphy very clearly proved just how unsafe Howell is for Jewish people and BIPOC / LGBTQ+ communities refusing to even acknowledge that what happened last weekend was a display of nazism - in complete contrast to what the rest of the world can clearly see. Murphy goes on to try and pin these hate incidents on “paid actors” despite zero evidence. Mike Murphy's 11/14 FaceBook live stated they don't know where the white supremacist are from, despite clear evidence- photos of protester’s license plates, drivers license checked by law enforcement and full face photos.

11/11/24 Murphy states that the white supremacists said they are from Fowlerville before his FaceBook live on 11/14 stating they don't know where they are from.

FACT - The police showed up to protect the white supremacists during their Anne Frank protest. Video here

FACT - not one local official has spoken out about the third/fourth white supremacist appearance in LivCo in the past four months. The county commissioners, city council, etc. are SILENT minus a Free Press article stating that the city is hiring a PR firm to try and fix Howell’s racist reputation problem. SILENCE IS COMPLICITY.

SAGE says FIX THE DAMN RACISM then the reputation will follow! It is clear that our local officials are problematic - doing literally nothing and jeopardizing local businesses that are in danger of negative economic impacts. So go ahead and waste tens of thousands of taxpayers dollars on some ridiculous attempt to rebrand this place, but the marginalized of Livingston County will continue to shine a light on the TRUTH of the situation.

In the past four months, the wave of hate and discrimination has shown up in Howell, Brighton and Fowlerville affecting not only our Jewish friends but also women and the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. These escalating eruptions of hate continuously undermine our community’s safety, unity, and sense of security. Local businesses are in danger of negative economic effects as national and statewide news headlines portray our community as an unwelcoming place.

Implications can be far reaching and end up escalating into hate crimes. The impact has been traumatic to those groups who are targets of this intimidation. In the face of hatred, silence and apathy have been interpreted as acceptance by our neighboring communities, white supremacists and their victims.

We must denounce white supremacy not just through words, but by taking meaningful action against it. Passive inaction and silence from local leaders provides tacit acceptance to white supremacy as our marginalized neighbors and their legitimate safety concerns for themselves and their families are ignored. The alarming rise in hate speech promotes violence against individuals while the extremists grow their base. Racial slurs can quickly escalate to harassment, harassment to threats, and threats to physical violence.

Stand Against Extremism LivCo emphasizes the need for a unified front against these heinous, harmful acts. We call upon community leaders from all across Michigan to come together with us in making a strong statement as we rise against white supremacy in our communities. Our collective response must be unwavering, resolute, and committed to protecting the rights and dignity of all our fellow residents.

Please join us for a Community & Unity rally on the front steps of Howell City Hall Saturday November, 23rd from 2-4pm as we continue to hold local leaders accountable in taking action to address the escalating hate incidents in our community. Original post.

“But that KKK guy has been dead forever, that is so far in the past! We aren’t racist!!” Read on to learn why this rhetoric is not only WRONG, but dangerous.

Timeline of hate instances in Livco (not comprehensive or recently updated, but clearly shows the racism that LivCo still struggles with).