Gabrielle Hanson, a far-right candidate for mayor of Franklin, Tenn., today used the statements of neo-Nazis in an attempt to distance herself from supportive neo-Nazis.
A press release posted on Hanson’s X account on Wednesday afternoon juxtaposed a statement from Hanson indicating that she “did not hire” neo-Nazis who showed up to support her two days ago at a candidate event with a set of screengrabs from the Telegram channel of the Tennessee Active Club, led by neo-Nazi Sean Kauffmann.
What Hanson’s statement did not include was an unequivocal denunciation of neo-Nazis.
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The messages from the Tennessee Active Club’s Telegram channel that Hanson repurposed for her press release generally support her account of events, while baselessly asserting that her opponent, incumbent Ken Moore “has been connected to Antifa.” The group also claimed on its Telegram channel that “our group is not backing any political entity but is protecting the public from Antifa” and that “we do this for free at our own expense.”
Contradicting the Tennessee Active Club’s statement today that it doesn’t back any “political entity,” Kauffmann told WTVF News Channel 5 reporter Phil Williams during the event that “we’re just here to show [Hanson] some support.”
Footage broadcast by News Channel 5 shows Kauffmann walking alongside Hanson as she walked up to the candidate forum at Franklin City Hall on Monday. Hanson also said in her press release that she is “not, nor have I ever been associated with any white supremacy or Nazi-affiliated group.”
The Tennessee Active Club’s statement on their presence at the candidate forum also included the accelerationist slogan “no political solution.” Accelerationism is a wing of the white power movement that embraces societal collapse as an opportunity to build a white ethno-state as opposed to building a political movement or fielding candidates for election. In the context of the Franklin mayoral race, it comes across as a troll.
Hanson’s statement acknowledges that she is the listing broker for a property owned by Brad Lewis, one of the neo-Nazis who showed up at the candidate forum on Monday. Lewis’ business, a gas station and restaurant on the outskirts of Nashville, regularly hosts fight-club trainings for the Tennessee Active Club and other white supremacist groups. Hanson said in her statement that her interactions with Lewis “have been nothing but professional and courteous from both sides.”
Hanson’s statement did not address a Telegram message by Lewis hours after the candidate forum attacking Williams and other journalists, while warning that ‘the ‘Day of the Rope’ is real… and it’s approaching quicker than they can prepare for.”
Hanson could not be immediately reached for this story.
Lewis also used his Telegram channel to post a photo purportedly showing Tennessee Lookout Editor-in-Chief Holly McCall’s house in response to a tweet that she put out commenting on the presence of the Tennessee Active Club members at the candidate forum.
An anonymous Telegram user commented in the Tennessee Active Club Chat after Lewis’ message was reshared by the group: “Who is this person? Where can I find them so I can beat the s--- out of them?”
Milissa Reierson, a spokesperson for the city of Franklin, told Raw Story: “The Franklin police take any threats seriously. We continued to monitor the events from the candidate forum, and any possible threats against attendees or media.”
After the candidate forum on Monday, another Telegram channel associated with the group publicly challenged left-wing opponents to fight, and two of the men reportedly went to a downtown restaurant and harassed a bartender.
“They self-proclaimed as neo-Nazis from what I understand and were throwing Hitler salutes, and it got really ugly and we asked them to leave,” Sharon Davis, the restaurant’s director of operations, told the Williamson Herald. “One of the guys was more agreeable to leave and got the other one to leave. Because we were able to handle it ourselves and they didn’t try to come back or anything, my team did not call the police department, but I did call up there the next day.”
At least one local elected official has condemned the neo-Nazi activity in Franklin and Hanson’s relative silence on it.
“Threats of intimidation have absolutely no place in our politics — not in Franklin, not in Tennessee, and not in America,” Rep. Sam Whitson, a Republican state lawmaker from Franklin, told a Williamson Herald reporter. “No candidate, including Mrs. Hanson, should ever resort to summoning the support of neo-Nazis or any cadre of violent anti-American extremists in order to settle a political contest of any sort. Further, any local political group who would excuse or sanction this kind of conduct including those that continue to endorse Mrs. Hanson’s candidacy, share in her culpability.”
The election for mayor and board of aldermen in Franklin is scheduled for Oct. 24, but early voting began today.
