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A self-professed white nationalist featured in a video about protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend has been identified by Suffolk County political figures as a man who once tried to run for Congress in the 1st District on the East End.

Christopher Cantwell, 36, announced as a Libertarian Party candidate in 2009 but failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot, according to his website and Republican, Democratic and Libertarian political operatives.

In a video documentary from Vice News that was viewed by millions of people, Cantwell brags about his capacity for violence and he and others chant anti-Semitic slogans as they march with torches to a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Facebook banned Cantwell, and YouTube removed his videos on Wednesday for violating their policies on hate speech.

As recently as 2014, Cantwell was a featured speaker at the Suffolk County Libertarian Partys annual fundraiser at a Babylon restaurant, according to Suffolk Libertarian Party chairman Michael McDermott. There was no indication of hatred or violence on Cantwells part, McDermott said.

Cantwell attended Ward Melville High School and court records show he had multiple arrests in Suffolk County and served time in jail.

Cantwell told Hatewatch, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight extremism, that he grew up in Stony Brook and lives in Keene, New Hampshire.

The center describes him as an unapologetic fascist who uses his call-in Internet show and website to argue for a state free of African-Americans, Jews and nonwhite immigrants, save, perhaps for the occasional exception.

In a separate video posted Wednesday, Cantwell wipes away tears and says hes facing an arrest warrant and is terrified of being killed. He says he did not provoke any of the violence in Charlottesville. In a post on his Web page Thursday, Cantwell says hes preparing to turn himself in to police in Virginia.

Cantwell did not respond to requests left on his cellphone, in text messages and through his website seeking comment.

Long Island political operatives said they recognized Cantwell from videos of the Charlottesville march.

Cantwell became involved in Suffolk politics in 2009, local political figures said.

I remember him being a passionate libertarian, said Kevin Tschirhart, a political consultant who worked for Republican congressional candidate George Demos at the time.

This is just very surprising, and frankly very sad that someone would fall into this sick type of thinking, Tschirhart said of Cantwell. He said he has not had contact with Cantwell since the campaign.

McDermott, the Suffolk Libertarian Party chairman, described Cantwells 2014 speech to the annual fundraiser in Babylon as very calm and normal.

It was a warm and tender speech that came from the heart, he said.

McDermott said he has followed Cantwells progression toward racism and fascism through Facebook. Now I cant even listen, its so obscene, McDermott said.

In a 2014 posting on his website of his prepared remarks for the 2014 speech, Cantwell said a DWI arrest in 2009 caused him to lose his job and nearly bankrupted him. He said he contemplated violence against the police officers and the government.

Gary L. Donoyan, a Nassau Libertarian who Cantwell has said managed his congressional campaign, said he helped Cantwell only briefly.

I did not know that he is a racist or a fascist, as he himself calls himself, said Donoyan, who recognized Cantwell from current pictures. Thats a shock to me, and Im very disappointed.

Donoyan, an attorney, said he last spoke with Cantwell about a year ago when Cantwell called him with a business issue. Donoyan said he told him he couldnt help him.

Cantwell in 2000 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and driving while intoxicated. Cantwell told the Southern Poverty Law Center he served four months in jail before being released.

The issue of his criminal record was raised by his opponents in his attempted run for Congress, in particular because he had faced another DWI charge after a March 2009 arrest by East Hampton Town police, according to Tom Stevens, a Mineola-based attorney and libertarian activist. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, according to Suffolk County court records.

During his try for Congress, Cantwell listed a Stony Brook address, and his mother as his campaign treasurer on Federal Election Commission documents.

A man at the Stony Brook house, who confirmed he was Mr. Cantwell, said Wednesday he did not know a Christopher Cantwell.

Shown pictures of Cantwell from the Charlottesville rally, two neighbors in Stony Brook confirmed that it was Christopher Cantwell who had lived there years before. They declined to give their names.

More here:
Christopher Cantwell, white nationalist in Va. protest, sought to run for Congress - Newsday

Adam Fondren, Deseret News

I voted stickers and voting cards at the Sandy City Office polling location on August 15, 2017.

On Aug. 16, Republicans in the 3rd District finally chose a candidate to fill the empty seat formerly held by Jason Chaffetz. Because this was a three-way race with no run-off, the fiscally responsible voters of the 3rd District were divided, and as a result, the GOP candidate for this fall will be the least fiscally responsible, least free market oriented of the three. And this is in Utahs most fiscally responsible congressional district.

On the Democratic side, we have a candidate advocating an even more aggressive federal government micromanaging of health care from D.C., raising the tax and debt burden on every American.

Meanwhile, our local media have zeroed in on only one alternative to this lack of real choice, the son of the late Sen. Bob Bennett, who was ousted by Utahs fiscal conscience Sen. Mike Lee. The fiscally sound folks from Utahs 3rd Congressional District currently have six candidates on the November ballot to choose from, but only three are being mentioned as viable choices to represent their interests in Washington.

This letter is not a reflection on the character of the candidates in this race, in fact, having met both Jim Bennett and John Curtis, I can genuinely say that these candidates are seemingly very good people with good intentions.

However, the records and statements of the Democrat and the Republican in this race present two candidates with only slight differences in their tax and spending policies. With Congress discussing the critical issue of tax reform in the coming year, it is critical that the fiscally responsible people of Utah are represented by a true voice for substantive tax reform.

When Jason Chaffetz resigned, one of the most often referenced concerns of voters was the absence of a voice in Congress during this critical time. Ask yourself, do you want a congressman who has a bad record on taxes, or do you want a sane voice for fiscal discipline? Do you want a candidate who, once elected, must immediately turn around and begin campaigning for re-election?

Despite what you are hearing from the media and the political elite, there is another option, a reasonable option that will give the 3rd District a determined and knowledgeable voice on tax reform for one year, a powerful option that will look straight in the eye of the political elite and let them know that the 3rd District is not for sale. If you vote for the Libertarian candidate in this election, you will be voting for principled tax reform you can trust that no matter what happens, your representative will represent your interests and not be beholden to the Democrats and Republicans who keep their freshman members on a tight leash.

If you vote for the Libertarian, you will have a representative for one year who will not be forced to focus on re-election, and who will instead work every day to provide real reform in Washington. If you vote for the Libertarian, you can tell the lobbyists with Count My Vote that this system placed two tofu candidates on the ballot and you wont be a part of it.

Here is the bottom line, this candidate will only hold office for one year before a new election is held. By sending the Libertarian to Washington, you will have the time to focus on finding a candidate for the 3rd District that truly represents Utah values. You have an opportunity to vote for the only candidate who was nominated at a convention rather than in a well-funded primary. A candidate with an MBA in finance, a career in education and a principled stand. A candidate who will enjoy the support of the leaders of the national Liberty Movement. There are so many reasons to vote for the Libertarian this November, take a risk and vote for Dr. Joe Buchman.

Joseph Buchman is chairman of the Libertarian Party of Utah and a candidate for Utah's 3rd Congressional District. Buchman has a Ph.D. in media from Indiana University and has spent his career teaching marketing, finance and communications.

Read more:
Op-ed: Why you should consider the Libertarian candidate for the 3rd District - Deseret News

LISTEN: How John Curley changed his mind about Seattle bike shares

Hey, check out my bike! (John Curley, KIRO Radio)

John Curley has been critical of any bike share in Seattle. So how is it possible that he could change his mind about something he has called socialist in the past?

Then I realized that Im supporting private enterprise, Curley said. The other one (Pronto!) I was forced to participate in it by having my tax dollars support it. I wasnt given a choice whether or not I wanted to get on the bike. The government just said, Hey, we think this is a good idea. We are going to pour money into this failure.

RELATED: 3 days commuting via a Seattle bike share

Seattles previous failed bike share, Pronto!, was largely publicly funded. The city even bought it out for $1.4 million before shutting it down. But the bike share companies currently setting up shop in Seattle are quite different than the Pronto system. First of all, as Curley points out, they are private companies competing to become Seattles main bike share (SDOT will make some money off of them, however). They also dont use stations. You drop them off wherever you are.

In Curleys case, he picked up a Limebike from Eastlake near the KIRO Radio studios and rode it down to Safeco Field to watch a Mariners game avoiding traffic and parking.

I got there in plenty of time; soon enough to see the first batter, get the second pitch and hit a home run against the Ms, Curley said.

Overall, it was terrific, he said. One dollar was all I got charged. It was fast, easy, and efficient. I didnt wear a helmet; made you feel a little bit like an outlaw, especially as I rode past a bunch of cops without a helmet.

RELATED: Seattle enforcing bike helmet law less and less

While he found it convenient and cheap to use, there are some drawbacks.

I will do it again in the future, but you will never win the Tour de France on one of these things, Curley said. They are clunky and slow. At first, I felt really embarrassed to be on it. Because you got the big basket and you look like the Wicked Witch of the West. Its just not something you want to see yourself on. I passed by a plate glass window and watched myself on it not the best look.

Read the rest here:
A Libertarian changed his mind about using a Seattle bike share - MyNorthwest.com

The Libertarian Party wants to be clear: they reject white supremacy, bigotry, and racism.

In a press release on August 15, 2017, in the wake of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, the LPs executive director Wes Benedictreiterated the partysstance on bigotry:

We condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. Government should neither deny or abridge an individual human right based on sex, wealth, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference, or sexual orientation.

The press release went further, and asked any members who identified as white nationalists to leave the party:

There is no room for racists and bigots in the Libertarian Party. If there are white nationalists who inappropriately are members of the Libertarian Party, I ask them to submit their resignations today. We dont want them to associate with the Libertarian Party, and we dont want their money. Im not expecting many resignations, because our membership already knows this well.

The press release might not have been a response just to the event in Charlottesville.

A controversy has been raging over a blog post, written by Jeff Diest a prominent Libertarian thinker, Mises Institute president, and former chief of staff to Dr. Ron Paul.

The post was titled, A New Libertarian. It calls for rekindling the spirit of Blood and Soil, God and Nation, and suggests these should be virtues Libertarians should fight and die for.

Libertarian Party Vice Chair Arvin Vohrareacted on Facebook, calling the phrases central to Nazi, and nationalist ideas, and to the belief that the US should be turned back into some pure, white, Protestant, Christian, vaguely theocratic, racially segregated, cultural backwater.

On a pragmatic note, Vohras post reads, this means that at the current time, Mises Institute has been turned into a sales funnel for the white nationalist branch of the Alt-right

Mises will continue to put out useful information, he said, But that will be just the bait to lead unsuspecting people down this path of collectivist, racist lunacy.

To some, the Mises Institute, a Libertarian think tank, is a bedrock of Libertarian ideas. However, the institute has been harshly criticized as racist in highly regarded publications, like the Washington Postand Business Insider.

Diests blood and soil phrasing was also criticized by fellow Libertarian thinker Steve Horowitz.

Diest defended himself against Horowitz in a Facebook post of his own:

Nicholas Sarwark, LNC party chair, saidhe has been verbally attacked, and asked to step down as chair, by some, for asking people to condemn racists and nationalists.

Comments to the chair on Facebook rejected the phrases as reflections of Nazism and white nationalism:

In response, Sarwark offered commentators a simple, three step plan for removing him join the party, register for the national convention, and elect someone else.

Read more here:
Libertarians Tell White Nationalists, Racists to Leave Party - IVN News

August 16 - To the Editor:

The recent events in Charlottesville have left me disgusted and ashamed. Our country is better than what was on display last week.

What was even more frightening to me was the echoed silence coming from many members of the Republican Party. For too long they have turned the other cheek to their racist and bigoted members within their party base, fearing to lose their vote come election season.

For too long their silence has enabled the factually incorrect and morally repugnant wing of their party to grow in numbers and in power, to spread their hate-filled ideology, to the point of placing a white-nationalist enabler in the White House with known white-nationalist advisors.

To those in the Republican Party who are as appalled and sickened as I am seeing the racist views and openly practiced neo-Nazism on their airwaves, I beg of you to make a stand. Denounce the evil within your party and root out those within your party who treat others as second class citizens.

Or simply abandon the sinking ship of the GOP, because there is another political party which believes in fiscal conservatism and human rights. There is another party out there that believes that all people are created equal and inhibit certain inalienable rights. There is another party out there that believes all human rights apply to all humans, regardless of demographic. There is a party that believes this so strongly, they put it in their platform for all to see.

Join the Libertarian Party, and leave the racists and bigots to their festering party of white-nationalism enablers, and join a party of principle. Join the party that pledges never to use force to achieve political or social goals. Join a party that accepts everyone of faith, everyone of color, and every one of every gender not because it is popular, but because it is the right and moral thing to do.

I am Brian Shields, and I am running for State Representative in Dovers first ward, and I am doing so as a proud Libertarian because Dover needs a new voice in Concord. A voice that will not stand for bigotry, misogyny, and hatred, and will not turn the other cheek. This, I can promise you. You need someone who will protect your rights, all your rights. You need someone who will not have their vote bullied by party power leadership to further an agenda that doesnt benefit Dover. I am the independent voice Dover needs in Concord.

The Libertarian Party is the independent voice New Hampshire needs in the State House. If you are politically homeless, check us out. We welcome everyone with open arms.

Brian Shields

Libertarian Candidate for State Representative, Strafford 13

Read the original post:
Libertarian Party is the independent voice for NH - Foster's Daily Democrat