After Action Report for Anti-Gay Protest!

NSM-MO/SPU PROTEST

- AFTER ACTION REPORT -

- PHOTOS -

At around 12:30pm on June 13, several members of the NSM-MO unit, accompanied by NSM Ambassador and his wife, participated in our Adopt-a-Highway Program clean up by removing trash along the West Bypass and Sunshine Ave area in Springfield, Mo. We finished around 4 pm. Also in attendance were two Italian reporters and a photographer from the NY Times. A total of 16 bags of trash were picked up from both sides of the street. One woman stopped and said that she appreciated what we were doing and that she supported our thoughts and our right to free speech. We gave her a flyer for the gay protest the following day and she said she was going to take it to her church and share it. Several others drove by and gave us the usual grief of calling us names and telling us that we are “number one”.

Around 7pm several members met with the Italian press again for a sit down interview and general conversation. We talked about why people fear us and their misunderstanding of who we really are; how our children benefit from being in the Viking Youth; and how we relate to gays, blacks, and Mexicans. Over all it was a good interview with lots of input from everyone.

At around 9pm we all headed out to distribute close to 3000 flyers pertaining to our scheduled "gay pride" festival protest, using both the ticketing method and the mid-night commando run. There were no incidents during the flyer run. A few people told us that they agreed with us completely and that we were doing the right thing. There is support in Springfield; we just have to pull them out of their shell. After the flyer run we all gathered back at SPU head quarters for a good nights rest.

On June 14 at around 1:30pm, 12 NSM Members congregated on Commercial Street in Springfield, Mo to protest the "gay pride" festival sponsored by the local Glo Center. We were on the scene for roughly 3 hours, with little to no response from the gays and anti-protesters who had gathered in a feeble display of deviance and misguided loyalties. At one point the gays were coming to our side of the street and trying to talk to us. Sergeant Keene asked the officers standing around if that meant that we could go to there side of the street. The officer responded with “Sure, but that is private property unless you stay on the sidewalk.” As soon as one of the gays dared us to come to their side we headed over there. One of the lesbians decided to get in the face of SS Lt. Boswell and start screaming at him. He stood his ground yet never touched her or anyone else. When the officers realized that she was not going to back off they came and pushed her back away from SS Lt. Boswell. We stayed and flew our flags until around 4:30 when we broke for dinner and time to cool off. It was about 90 degrees out and we didn’t have any shade.

When we returned from dinner and camaraderie close to 7pm we were greeted by the anticipated mixed responses of the public at large, along with jeers and profanity from the gays and anti-protesters. We were joined by several local supporters that stood along the sidelines and one that stood with us. While there were several encounters between both sides involving local law enforcement, no NSM member or supporter was arrested or even ask to leave the premises. Unfortunately, or depending on how you look at it fortunately, the same could not be said for the gays and counter-protesters; as several of them were removed by both law enforcement and event staff under threat of criminal charges. We remained until the events end around 9pm.

Shortly after leaving the event, we re-assembled at the SPU headquarters for refreshments and camaraderie where much fun was had by all until our comrades started to leave for home. As usual we are already gearing up for the next event in two weeks in Mississippi. We can’t wait to see everyone again!

Hail NSM!

This is not an official NSM video, but this is some of the stuff that happened at the protest. The Ambassador made it.