White supremacist & alt-right hate groups AND their supporters have NO place in Charleston! Please sign this petition to DEMAND that Charleston City Councilmember Harry Griffin resign IMMEDIATELY!!!

*Official Charleston DSA Statement*

Harry Griffin Supported and Promoted Hate Groups and Must Resign

On Dec. 6, 2020, multiple right-wing groups including the Proud Boys held a rally in downtown Charleston with the support of Charleston City Councilman Harry Griffin. While Griffin did not himself speak at the rally, he was scheduled to do so and only pulled out at the last minute.

The Proud Boys have been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, and the FBI as an extremist hate group. They are an all-male fascist organization with a history of inciting and inflicting violence in communities across the U.S. In the past four years, people affiliated with this group have threatened the mayor of Portland, Oregon; killed a peaceful protester with a car in Charlottesville, Virginia; and carried out gang assaults in New York City. They routinely ally themselves with neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and far-right anti-government groups such as the Oath Keepers.

Groups like the Proud Boys should be condemned and resisted in any community. In Charleston especially, we should recognize the clear and present threat of white supremacist mobs. The racists and fascists who inspired Dylann Roof’s terrorist attack at Emanuel AME Church are now emboldened and marching in the streets across the country. Any elected official allying himself with these mobs should be promptly removed from office.

By inviting an overtly violent alt-right organization into our city, Councilman Griffin has proven himself unfit to hold any kind of leadership in Charleston. This behavior is completely unacceptable from a sitting council member. He should and must resign immediately.