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On May 25th, I sent a letter asking Secretary of State Bill Gardner to CANCEL his scheduled appearance at radical right-wing group Rochester 912's upcoming meeting. This group has a history of defending white supremacists and taking up arms against the United States Government.

Read my letter below and ADD YOUR NAME to urge our Secretary of State stand with the people of New Hampshire and not to legitimize this hate group.

- Colin

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Dear Secretary Gardner,

I am writing to respectfully ask that you cancel your planned July 9 appearance at the "Rochester 912" group – a radical right-wing group whose various leaders have been convicted of conspiracy against the United States government and have been quoted defending white supremacists and a neo-nazi murderer after last year’s domestic terrorism in Charlottesville Virginia.

Your appearance before this extreme political group overtly politicizes the office of Secretary of State in a deeply inappropriate way. Using your elected role representing all New Hampshire citizens to elevate a radical group that has repeatedly supported armed resistance to the United States government is dangerous, and it is wrong.

These are abhorrent, un-American views. Our first amendment gives a group like this legal protection to meet, hold, and speak their extreme views. Even their remarks at a recent meeting defending white supremacists and domestic terrorists must not be infringed.  But that does not mean it is acceptable for the office of the Secretary of State to add legitimacy to their activities by visiting their meeting as if it were a Rotary Club, town political party, or local high school.

Please reconsider your appearance and please stop allowing the office of Secretary of State to be used to advance an extreme political agenda.

This is the group you plan to legitimize with your visit:

• “CONSPIRACY…AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”: Rochester 912 founder, Jerry DeLemus, is currently serving an 87-month prison sentence for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and interstate travel in aid of extortion. At a 2017 meeting of the Rochester 9/12 group, members used the meeting of the group to discuss his case with government officials. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/31/man-sentenced-years-for-bundy-ranch-standoff-role/cZzhh6alwZbfIbdDr0r7WO/story.html; http://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-sununu-gets-good-review-after-speaking-to-rochester-912-project/12022615

• DEFENDING WHITE SUPREMECISTS AND MURDER: Of the Charlottesville protests, Rochester 912 leader, Jack Kimball, said, “The white supremacy groups were the ones who filed for the permit, and it was all going along well until the arrival of Antifa.” He defended James Fields, a self-professed neo-nazi who has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of Heather Heye, saying he “was going very slowly until people from Black Lives Matter took a bat to the back of his car. Then, he stepped on the gas.” http://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-sununu-edwards-sanborn-weigh-in-on-trump-remarks-on-charlottesville-violence/12022714

• ORGANIZING ARMED RESISTANCE TO US GOVERNMENT. Previous Rochester 9/12 meetings have been used to organize support of “the largest armed uprising against the federal government in a generation” at the Clive Bundy ranch in Nevada. http://www.governmentoversite.com/local/rochester-912/; https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-battle-over-bunkerville/

Please reconsider and cancel your appearance.

Sincerely,

Colin Van Ostern