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September 1, 2019 Sandy Robson

There have been some people in Whatcom County who have suggested that posters linked to the white supremacist group, Patriot Front, which were reportedly placed in Ferndale in late July, might just be a stunt or a false flag. However, there have been numerous news stories reporting on the distribution of similar white supremacist posters and literature having occurred in other cities across the country. 

Besides the posters seen in Ferndale, there was an August 22nd Bellingham Herald news article about Patriot Front posters having been placed in the Fairhaven shopping district in Bellingham which were reportedly seen on or around August 20, 2019. 

Also, since mid-June of this year, there have been approximately 117 tweets posted by a Twitter account named ”Patriot Front“ (@PatriotFront3) featuring photos documenting Patriot Front activists’ actions of postering in cities across the country. That Twitter account was only recently created in June of this year, and it uses a logo commonly associated with Patriot Front. 

One of those tweets posted by “Patriot Front” (@PatriotFront3) was an August 23rd tweet which featured photos of posters that appear to have been placed in Lynden by Patriot Front activists.

At the bottom of this post I’ve provided links to some articles from November 2018 to present which reported on Patriot Front posters and literature having been distributed in various communities.

A March 5, 2019 article published by Politico provides some insight into white supremacists’ strategies on how they spread their groups’ hateful ideology and propaganda. Here is an excerpt:

“American white supremacists are facing a dilemma: They want to share their hateful ideology, but they don’t want to face the consequences. They want to find an audience for their racism and anti-Semitism, but they don’t want to get caught. Under increased scrutiny from law enforcement and the media, how do they disseminate their racist ideas and recruit new members, but also limit the risk of doxing, firing and ostracism that comes with public exposure?

“Within the past few months, they seem to have landed on an answer that keeps their groups in the spotlight while shielding the individual identities of their members: far more propaganda efforts and fewer pre-announced public events.

“There’s a very good chance you’ve seen a white supremacist flyer or banner in the past year. Data collected by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism shows a staggering 182 percent increase of propaganda incidents in 2018, with 1,187 cases reported, compared with 421 in 2017. This is the highest number of reported propaganda efforts on record.

“And the messages are everywhere: Hanging from freeway overpasses, stuck to utility poles, plastered to shop windows or left on the windshields of parked cars. They’re even found tucked into books inside neighborhood book swap boxes, libraries and book stores.

“In 2018, white supremacist groups — most notably alt-right mainstays Identity Evropa and Patriot Front — continued to post propaganda on college and university campuses. These efforts, which were not insignificant, were overshadowed by the dramatic increase of their off-campus propaganda.”

Here is a link to the Politico article referenced above:
https://www.politico.com/…/white-supremacists-have-a-new-st…

Below are links to some (not all) articles between November 2018 to present which reported on Patriot Front posters and literature having been distributed in communities:

http://truenorthreports.com/police-uncertain-where-patriot-…

https://m.metrotimes.com/…/white-nationalist-propaganda-cro…

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/…/lo…/article234227282.html

https://vtdigger.org/…/communities-wrestle-with-rise-in-wh…/

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/…/lo…/article233541102.html

https://www.cooperpointjournal.com/…/white-nationalists-ta…/

http://www.cm-life.com/…/2…/11/patriot-front-cards-fall-2018