by Jasmine Taylor | Oct 23, 2023 | Militia and Hate Groups
Yesterday a group of NeoNazis demonstrated outside of the Chabad Jewish Center in Missoula. As usual, they carried signs with racist messages, preaching White supremacy and hatred towards refugees. Their clear intent was to intimidate and threaten the Jewish community in Missoula.
There are multiple NeoNazi organizations in the northwestern United States, and this particular demonstration brought in some out of town guests. (I use the term “guest” loosely. These assholes were certainly not invited, nor are they welcome in our state.) The small group of incels were soon outnumbered by counter protestors whose video documentation was quickly shared on Twitter. [We’re not gonna call it X. Fuck Elon Musk. But I digress.]
Citizens were quick to identify one Nazi who lives in Washington. Larkin McIntyre, a White man of below-average intelligence and terrible fashion sense, was seemingly arrested. Although booking information is not yet available, those in attendance note that the Nazis moved their protest from the Jewish Center to the courthouse. Larkin allegedly had a weapon, which, spoiler alert, is not allowed on courthouse property. Photos of Larkin’s arrest are included below.
Why, you ask? Because now that Larkin has visited Montana, we want to be sure that his employer knows what he’s been up to. Larkin works for the Shoreline School District. Although Larkin certainly has a right to free speech and protest, typically breaking the law is not a protected activity. Further, it is of grave concern to allow a White supremacist contact with students. Larkin potentially poses a safety risk to any student that falls within his wide umbrella of hate, to include: Jewish people, LGBTQ+ people, refugees, and all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Basically, if you aren’t a straight, White guy who hates his neighbors, Larkin and his cohorts are a danger to your safety.
We’ve emailed the Shoreline School District to inquire how they’re assuring student safety while employing a known Neo-Nazi, and if there are any rules which prohibit staff from engaging in unlawful activity. Read our email below, and maybe consider sending one of your own to express your concerns.
The email reads:
“To: darlene.mendoza@ssd412.org, don.dalziel@ssd412.org, trish.campbell@ssd412.org
Good evening,
The attached photos have been circulated widely on social media. They appear to show an employee of your school district, Larkin McIntyre, being arrested. McIntyre was participating in a Neo-Nazi rally in Missoula, Montana. Arrest information is not yet available, but counter protestors have reported that after harassing people at the Chabad Jewish Center of Missoula, Larkin and the NeoNazi group moved their demonstration to the courthouse. Some attendees claim that Larkin was seen with a weapon, which is illegal on courthouse property, and potentially prompted his arrest.
Our blog, which covers local happenings in Montana, is running a story about this Neo Nazi activity. As such, we have a few questions.
Firstly, what protections are in place for students and co-workers that interact with McIntyre?
Although employees certainly retain their right to free speech and protest, does the school district have any policies which preclude staff from engaging in unlawful behavior?
Are school district employees and parents aware of the potential safety risk McIntyre poses to any BIPOC, LGBTQ+ Jewish, or non-White students and staff?
Please note that we are not asking for any protected employee information regarding McIntyre. We have already received information (attached) showing the employment relationship between himself and the Shoreline School District. Rather we are asking what steps the district is taking to assure the safety of those affected by NeoNazi ideology, and what policies and procedures would apply to a situation in which a school district employee is arrested.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have as to this request. If there is a more appropriate party to provide this information to, we would request to be provided that contact information as well.
Thank you for your time.
What The Funk 406 Blog Team”
UPDATE 10/24/23
We received the following response from the Shoreline School District
“Hi Jasmine,
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We take allegations of discrimination seriously, including thoroughly investigating the allegations and taking appropriate steps to ensure that the District is safe and welcoming for students, staff, and community members. While the District has a general policy of not commenting on particular personnel matters, the District is responding and taking appropriate action.
Thank you,”
Response received by WTF406 from the Shoreline School District.
WTF406 sent this email to Shoreline School District.
In this photo shared across Twitter, it appears McIntyre is being handcuffed and detained by Missoula PD.
McIntyre was quickly identified by citizens who shared his photo across social media.
by Jasmine Taylor | Aug 24, 2023 | Militia and Hate Groups
Mere days after celebrating beautiful new murals in downtown Great Falls, residents and business owners awoke to find a very different addition to the scenery. Over the weekend, White Lives Matter plastered an estimated 200 stickers throughout town. Stop signs, traffic lights, and even art installments were vandalized with racist propaganda.
What is White Lives Matter?
White Lives Matter (WLM) is a neo-nazi organization of insecure, unsuccessful white men who hate anyone different than them. In typical nazi style, you’ll hear them denying the Holocaust, advocating for the eradication of Jewish and LGBTQ+ people, and claiming their skin color makes them superior to all other races. In reality, you’ll find these are mostly men who have prior domestic violence charges that have never gotten around to accomplishing anything positive in their lives. Instead, they spend their Saturday nights covering their faces and riding around on bicycles, defacing public property in an attempt to recruit other desperate losers.
We at WTF, along with many friends in the community, have spent the week locating and removing these stickers. However, White Lives Matter activity has only increased in the past few years, and it’s very likely that you, dear reader, will come across this sad propaganda as well. So today we bring you:
The WHAT THE FUNK Guide to Removing Nazi Propaganda
Step 1: Gather your supplies.
You’ll need: A Paint Scraper, Gloves, Goof Off Graffiti (available at Aces Hardware), A Step Stool, and a Trash Bag
Step 2: Grab a friend and go for a walk!
Nazis tend to post their stickers on locations like art installments, utility boxes, and the backs of street signs. Take a stroll through the neighborhood. Turn it into a game. Whoever finds the most propaganda gets a prize. Remember, it’s safest to do this during the day, and with a friend if possible. Nazis typically only come out at night- probably because they knew they’ll get their asses kicked otherwise.
Step 3: Document and Remove
When you find a sticker, note the location. Take a picture or throw the cross streets into your notes app. Then, spray that sad bullshit with the Goof Off Graffiti. Wait a few seconds, then presto-chango, you and that scraper just restored a Stop sign to its former non-racist glory. Here’s where your trash bag comes in. After you scrape off the sticker, throw it away. We don’t want to litter while fighting white supremacy. If you choose to post pictures of the stickers, be sure to obscure the QR code and the contact information for their message boards. They use these stickers to recruit new members. We don’t want to give them any more reach by sharing that info.
Step 4: Report that shit
The State of Montana chooses not to track these kinds of incidents. (Crazy, right?) But there is an organization that does! The Montana Human Rights Network has a report form. The link to that form is at the bottom of this article. While you’re there, check out their rapid response guide for great info on how we fight assholes like White Lives Matter.
And that’s it! You’ve cleaned up your neighborhood and you’ve helped stop the spread of nazi ideology. Congratulations- you’re antifa now!
https://mhrn.org/reportingform/
https://www.mhrn.org/publications/fact%20sheets%20and%20adivsories/HateIncidentRapid-ResponseGuide.pdf
by Helena Lovick | Feb 23, 2025 | E-City Beat Watch
Great Falls, Mont.
In our occasional E-City Beat Watch, recently Great Falls City Commissioner Rick Tryon put up a post about a Facebook page called “The Montana Resistance”. In his blog post, Rick tried to conflate the page with the “Hate has no home here” movement, because some local activists liked the FB page’s dark humor memes. According to Rick, that FB page “is inciting violence and hate against folks in our community.”
Below are a few images from the Montana Resistance page that Rick’s blog post highlighted.
Oh, you don’t like “the armed left” Rick? How interesting…
Back in 2019, I organized a rally for some common-sense measures to reduce gun violence. I reserved the band shell at Gibson Park to speak up after a horrific August weekend of gun violence including 20 people murdered at a Walmart in Texas, and nine people killed in Dayton, Ohio. The rally’s focus was calling for strengthening of red flag laws and universal background checks on gun sales.
Well, Mr. “I don’t incite violence” Rick, who was running for the Great Falls City Commission at the time, saw an opportunity to strengthen his gun-humping brand. Rick organized a pro 2nd Amendment protest adjacent to our rally and posted whiny remarks all over his public Facebook wall trying to rally people to join him. How dare people try to reduce deaths and injuries from gun violence!?? The audacity to want less murder! Thanks to Rick’s efforts, dozens of people made intimidating comments about wanting to bring their ARs, and I even saw a comment that said, “We need executions” on one of Rick’s posts. Nice. Really peaceful. Rick, don’t you know that you can delete inappropriate comments like that on your posts? Or were you cool with it? Oh, and sure Rick made some weak ass comments on his posts to not bring firearms to the rally. Seems too little too fucking late. Only in good old Great Falls was the risk of violence enough to have plain clothes security at the event. Thanks Rick!
At the time, someone told me not to worry about Rick, because he is just a bully and a coward. And, yes, that’s accurate. Rick is just a bully and a coward. But he has a platform that he uses to stir people up. I wasn’t worried that Rick would shoot me. I was worried that someone he incited to chant about the 2nd Amendment would try to harm us.
As a public official, Rick should know better.
When you have a platform like that, you have a responsibility to consider the weight of your words. And I haven’t seen any tempering of Rick’s dumbfuckery. Rick is either too stupid to know the effects of his actions OR he doesn’t care and does it any way. So miss me with Rick’s whining about a FB page with some edgy anti-Nazi memes and his laughable efforts to connect it to the “Hate has no home here” crowd. These groups obviously aren’t related, but maybe Rick needs to introduce himself to the Paradox of Tolerance. Why are you so eager to protect Nazis, Rick?
by Helena Lovick | Nov 19, 2024 | Abortion Rights
-Great Falls, Mont.
In the summer of 2018, Trump paid a visit to Great Falls in an effort to bolster the Senate campaign of Matt Rosendale. The rally was accompanied by a group of about four hundred anti-Trump protesters. As the rally attendees and protestors shouted back and forth, the MAGA crowd was joined by neo-nazis waving white supremacist flags, including the “national flag of Kekistan.” In a disturbing foreshadowing of the insurrectionists of January 6th, it was clear the white supremacists were aligned with Trump.
With Trump’s win this November, the far right crowd is energized again.
In a skin crawling rallying cry, trolls are posting “your body, my choice” and other misogynistic attacks on social media. The likely originator of the “your body, my choice” slogan, Nick Fuentes, reportedly claims it was a ‘joke’. Hahahahhaa. So funny that men love rape jokes. As Nicky gets to deal with the consequences of his actions, what the hell is wrong with people cheering this on?
As explained in a Vox Op-Ed:
“The spike in sexist hate is a reflection of one of the dominant narratives of the election: that it was essentially a triumph of men over women. Trump tailored much of his campaign to disaffected American men — especially young men, many of whom feel they are victims of discrimination and who have expressed resentment against feminist movements like Me Too. For a lot of these men, the election feels like vindication, and for some, it’s more than that: a chance to put women back in their place.”
Nothing screams “protecting women” like letting them know they have no control over their own bodies.
As disturbing as the post-election joyous celebration by the worst people is, it’s not a surprise.
In addition to the anti-feminist backlash, we have seen a rise in the visibility of white supremacists, anti-immigrant sentiments, anti-LGBTQ attacks, and the list goes on. And Montana is certainly not immune. White supremacists have plastered their stickers all over Great Falls multiple times as we’ve previously reported here and here. The Republican majorities that Montanans keep electing, love passing laws to restrict women, the LGBTQ community, more! All of these flavors of hate, just part of the shit sandwich emboldened by electing bigots.
Sometimes the worst people win.
Sometimes the bullies don’t get the comeuppance they deserve. But our push back makes a difference. I was at that 2018 Trump protest. I remember my disgust when I saw those flags and I started shouting and pointing at them, “nazis, nazis!” And when other protesters joined in shouting down those white supremacists, do you know what those cowards did? They quickly rolled up their flags. With Trump returning to office they think they can come out of the shadows. We don’t have to accept that. Hate has no home here.
by Ken Toole | Jun 28, 2024 | Uncategorized
This image depicts an African American man joining Confederate troops marching off to war.
Almost immediately after the Civil War, the losers began a propaganda campaign to reframe and rehabilitate white supremacy. This movement, which is now referred to as the “Lost Cause,” carries on today. They claim the Civil War was not about slavery. It was a matter of “States Rights” and industrialization in northern states versus a romanticized agrarian South. Understanding the power of symbols in the public square, advocates of the Lost Cause moved to place monuments to the Confederacy in cities and towns across the country and to name public facilities like schools, parks, streets and highways after leaders of the Confederacy. All of this to support and promote the institutional racism of Jim Crow and marginalization of African Americans in society.
Most people assume these monuments were placed shortly after the Civil War, but that is not the case. The monument pictured above was placed in The National Cemetery at Arlington in 1914, almost 50 years after the war ended. According to the American Historical Association, monuments put in place during this time “were intended, in part, to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction, and to intimidate African Americans politically and isolate them from the mainstream of public life.” The Confederate monument which was in Women’s Park in Helena was commissioned in 1914 by the Daughters of the Confederacy. It was replaced in 2017.
In the 1950s and 1960s, there was another surge in the placement of Confederate monuments across the country in response to the civil rights movement. For example, after passage of the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s, 27 monuments dedicated to Confederate soldiers who had fought against “the federal enemy” were installed in Texas. Of course the Confederate battle flags we see all over Montana (most often next to Trump flags) are part and parcel of the same Lost Cause strategy to defend and protect white supremacy.
In recent years there has been a strong national movement to remove these commemorations to the Confederacy and white supremacy. The efforts to remove these symbols and change place names has become a flashpoint for controversy and, in some cases, violence, in many communities. Since 2017 and the murder of George Floyd, along with the Charleston church shooting and the Unite the Right Rally, 160 monuments across the country have been removed or torn down.
That brings us to Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale and their vote to reinstall this monument. The proposal failed in Congress, but the vote was a slap in the face to the African American community and advocates for equality as they were preparing to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday less than a week away. Unfortunately dog whistles and race baiting have become the order of the day among Republican politicians. And the rhetoric provided by advocates of Lost Cause propagandists that assume the mantle of historical accuracy and patriotic sentiment leaves people confused about the inherent bigotry of their phony facts and rewriting of American history. Zinke and Rosendale are finely tuned to the negative power of race baiting in the political process. Even though Rosendale is leaving public office, it should come as no surprise that he would join Ryan Zinke in jumping on this issue in an election year.
In Germany people don’t put up monuments to Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime. Is it only in America that we celebrate white supremacist losers?
