GEOFF ROBINS/AFP through Getty Pictures
A Sacramento County, California supervisor says she didn’t imply to rub shoulders with members of the Proud Boys when she joined a Telegram channel to assist plan a possible far-right truck convoy.
Sue Frost, one of many county’s 5 supervisors, got here below hearth this week after an space Twitter-user noticed her in a collection of fringe Telegram channels, together with a channel run and moderated by self-described Proud Boys who had beforehand used Telegram to encourage the murders of Jews and “race conflict now.”
Now Frost says she was unaware of the boards’ Proud Boy ties. As an alternative, she accuses the Twitter whistleblower of following her round and “dubbing” her into photos with Proud Boys—a declare that Twitter person firmly denies.
Frost is a vocal opponent of anti-COVID measures like masking, and has beforehand promoted COVID-19 conspiracy theories, the Sacramento Bee beforehand reported. However she appeared to change into actively concerned in fringe organizing this month, when she posted in a number of Telegram teams devoted to organizing a “convoy” in her area.
“I'm a Sacramento County Supervisor who's speaking with many freedom teams who need to assist the convoy,” Frost wrote in a California convoy group this month, based on screenshots first flagged on Twitter.
“I’m a freedom fighter, Linked with dad and mom religion neighborhood, companies and my nonprofit is gorillalearninginstitute.org. Do you want a gaggle to coordinate in Sacramento? Perhaps I might help. I’m truly simply attempting to determine how I can donate to the convoy and likewise how I will be within the loop.”
Frost posted in a number of California-based convoy channels. Up to now the convoy, which is modeled after a right-wing demonstration in Canada, has few clear leaders or concrete plans, with a number of U.S.-based teams suggesting demonstrations in opposition to COVID-prevention measures like masks and vaccines.
A few of these channels had been linked with far-right teams together with the Proud Boys, a paramilitary group, Sacramento-area Twitter person “Borwin” famous this week. In a number of circumstances, folks with Proud Boys avatars had been homeowners or moderators of the channel. Elsewhere on Telegram, those self same customers had posted extra incendiary rhetoric, like one who posted a Nazi image with the textual content “gasoline the okay***s, race conflict now.” The person claimed to be the chief of a California Proud Boys chapter.
Frost and her spokesman instructed the Bee that Frost’s messages had been genuine, however that she had been unaware of the Proud Boys’ involvement within the teams.
“I assist ending the COVID-19 restrictions, and getting life again to regular so our companies can thrive and youngsters can go to high school with out having to put on a masks,” Frost instructed the Bee. “However I completely denounce any violent extremists [sic] teams and wish no affiliation with them.”
Throughout a board of supervisors assembly this week, Frost additional defended her posts, and went on the offensive in opposition to the Twitter person who had highlighted them.
“I've reached out to assist an area small group that was accumulating provides to ship over to the truckers. I used to be not conscious that I suppose there’s these folks referred to as the Proud Boys, okay, and there’s this particular person by the identify of Borwin who follows me in all places I am going and take an image of Proud Boys and dubs them subsequent to an image of me and tells the world that I’m there with Proud Boys once I by no means even talked to the Proud Boys.”
Frost didn't return a request for clarification on the alleged dubbing.
“Borwin” is an nameless Twitter person who screens the state’s far-right actions (together with beforehand figuring out a Proud Boy-affiliated California cop). Reached for remark, they denied Frost’s allegations.
“I undoubtedly do not ‘observe her round,’” Borwin instructed The Day by day Beast through Twitter direct message. “I posted about her on a handful of events to notice that she was sharing a public rally area with Proud Boys (and as soon as to clown on her youtube channel). I monitor Proud Boys and different far-right teams and the one actual specific curiosity I've in her is that if she's interacting with or working with these teams. I've additionally by no means edited or ‘dubbed’ her into any pictures. I've simply included pictures of her in the identical tweet with pictures of different individuals who had been on the identical rallies.”
Borwin has beforehand highlighted Frost’s attendance at an August anti-vaccine demonstration this summer season, the place members of the Proud Boys had been additionally in attendance.
Opposite to Frost’s claims to haven't talked with Proud Boys, a few of her current Telegram messages got here in dialog with individuals who used Proud Boy avatars and used Proud Boy slogans.
“Is there a emblem or a reputation for the convoy? We if we [sic] need to start making banners or indicators for drop offs?” Frost wrote in a dialog with an individual who used a Proud Boy avatar (and with that self-described Proud Boy’s companion). Each Proud Boy-linked customers had been listed as directors for the channel.
In a single reply to the self-described Proud Boy’s companion, Frost recommended that a meals scarcity was imminent and that the trucker convoy can be blamed.
“We might be heading for a tough time and it's important for us to replenish in our personal houses for six months of meals and filtered water. We needs to be accumulating dry items, pasta, canned items ect.,” Frost wrote, happening so as to add that if truckers went on strike “they might be blamed for the disruption within the provide chain which is eminent [sic] anyway.”