EVERETT, Wash. — Everett is fighting back against a white supremacist propaganda campaign that’s hitting the city. Messages of hate are being posted in public places as a recruitment tool, and not just in Snohomish County.
A banner reading “Reclaim America” was hung from Everett’s 25th Street overpass about a week ago by members of the white supremacist organization, Patriot Front. The group was formed after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
When word of the banner reached Mayor Cassie Franklin, she took it personally.
“It's just so much frustration and disappointment,” she said. “That sort of thing does not belong anywhere in this city.”
Everett wasn't the only city targeted.
Around the same time, Patriot Front members posted pictures of themselves hanging banners over Interstate 90 in Seattle on their web page.
They, too, read, "Reclaim America," just like in Everett.
“Unfortunately, we're seeing a huge resurgence of domestic extremism in our country right now,” said Miri Cypers of the Anti-Defamation League.
Cypers called the sudden appearance of the signs a “recruitment campaign.”
According to the ADL, the amount of white supremacist propaganda has been skyrocketing in recent years.
In 2018 there 1,214 reports filed. That number more than doubled to 2,724 the next year. By 2020 the number doubled again to 5,725 incidents.
Washington has the third highest hate crime rate per capita in the U.S., according to the ADL.
“There is a long, dark history of white supremacy in this state,” said Cypers. “For decades Washington has been a hotbed of activity and a home for people who want to create a state for only white people.”
Someone tore the offensive Everett banner down before city crews could get to it, but the mayor wasn't content with letting the incident blow over.
She ordered a new banner to replace the racist one.
The new banner reads, "All are welcome in Everett. No place for hate."
“I did that because I think it’s important to take action. Not just to take down hateful messages but to counter that,” Franklin said. “We’re all living with so much fear and anxiety right now that we have to stand up for what we know is right.”
Cypers said that was the right move.
"I think what Everett did, not brushing it under the rug so it could fester, and talking about how all members of our community belong and are safe, I think the banner they put up in response was the perfect response,” Cypers said.
In direct response to the racist banner, Franklin decided to use some discretionary funds from her office’s budget to put more banners of inclusivity in other parts of the city.