[ad_1]
NEW YORK (Dagbladet): The controversy has made headlines in the United States and is covered by NBC News and CNN, among others.
Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) has received permission from the city council in the small town of 280 inhabitants to deny access to non-white people. But now the slightly controversial decision faces opposition.
The men who intimidate America
– Are not welcome
An online signature campaign has obtained around 50,000 signatures.
– I think they thought they could go unnoticed here in a small town like this, but we want to keep the pressure on. Racism is not welcome here, Peter Kennedy, who lives in Murdock, tells NBC News.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes Asatru Folk Assembly as one of the largest hate groups in the direction they call Neo-Volkisch. The group is based on the idea that their white bloodlines make them superior.
The group itself denies that they are a white power group.
– We are not. That is simply not true. Just because we respect our culture doesn’t mean we are degrading others, one of AFA’s board members, Allan Turnage, tells NBC News.
The organization claims that its writings and memberships are exclusively for people of European lineage.
DEFENDER: AFA member Allan Turnage defends the organization during a city council meeting in Murdock, Minnesota. Photo: Renee Jones Schneider / Star Tribune via AP
see more
Freedom of religion
Murdock’s city council says they don’t support the church, but are required by law to allow the denomination. Therefore, the AFA church was approved by three to one. Thus, AFA can start its business in a church building, which previously housed a Lutheran faith community.
Posed with neo-Nazi profile
– Our lawyer strongly recommended that we give them permission for legal reasons to protect their rights related to the first constitutional amendment (which, among other things, guarantees religious freedom in writing). Had we denied this, we would have been forced into a lengthy legal battle that could have been quite costly, says Mayor Craig Kavanagh.
Of the 280 inhabitants of the city, about 20 percent are of Latin American origin.
