Small town APPROVES whites-only church which envisions a future of 'blond hair and blue eyes' despite fears it would become the 'hate capital of Minnesota'
The city council in a small Minnesota farming community has voted to grant a permit that allows a controversial 'whites-only' Nordic heritage church that has been identified as a white supremacist hate group to gather at an abandoned church.
The move has sparked a backlash from some residents in Murdock, Minnesota, and prompted critics to launch an online petition seeking to stop the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), which so far has drawn more than 123,000 signatures.
'I think they thought they could fly under the radar in a small town like this, but we’d like to keep the pressure on them,' Murdock resident Peter Kennedy told NBC News. 'Racism is not welcome here.'
The AFA practices a pre-Christian, European spirituality that revolves around Norse gods. According to a statement on the group's website, it's pro-white. The Southern Poverty Law Center has added the AFA to its list of hate groups.
Murdock, Minnesota's City Council has voted 3-1 to grant a use permit allowing the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) to gather at this former Lutheran church
Photos show the construction process of AFA's new church. The group practices a pre-Christian, European spirituality that revolves around Norse gods
The 3-1 vote on December 9 came after the council in the Swift County community of 265 was advised by the city attorney that rejecting the Asatru Folk Assembly's request for a conditional use permit could violate its religious rights and lead to an expensive legal battle.
'We were highly advised by our attorney to pass this permit for legal reasons to protect the First Amendment rights,' Murdock Mayor Craig Kavanagh said.
The AFA wants to turn the former Lutheran church into a Midwest regional gathering hall.
Council members, meeting online because of the coronavirus pandemic, kept video cameras turned off and refused to identify who voted for or against the permit. It was passed on a voice vote without a roll call, the Star Tribune reported. One member of the five-person council, Stephanie Hoff, could be heard voting no.
City Attorney Don Wilcox told council members that they faced possible legal action if they voted against the AFA based on its beliefs.
'There are certain constitutional protections that apply to religions,' Wilcox said. 'I haven't seen any evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption that they are a religion, whether you agree with it or not.
Karen Falk holds a sign that reads 'Life if too short for hate' during a city council meeting for public discussion on the proposal to grant a permit to the Asatru Folk Assembly in October
After the AFA purchased the church earlier this year for $45,000, area residents formed a group called the Murdock Area Alliance Against Hate
'There's not a compelling interest in keeping that building from being used for meetings,' he added. 'Just because you don't like it doesn't mean they can't do it.'
Murdock is majority white but has a growing Hispanic population, largely made up of day laborers from Mexico and Central America. Latinos are now said to make up 20 per cent of the town's population.
After the AFA purchased the church earlier this year for $45,000, area residents formed a group called the Murdock Area Alliance Against Hate and have held several protests.
AFA board member Allen Turnage has said the church would not admit a black person 'because they're not of northern European descent,' but insisted that AFA is not a hate group.
Lawyer and member of the Asatru Folk Assembly Allen Turnage said: 'a hundred thousand years from now, I want there to be blond hair and blue eyes'
Town residents have mounted an opposition to the church and expressed concerns over racism
Turnage said the AFA has about 500 members nationwide, and 20 or so in and around Minnesota.
During a City Council meeting in October, Turnage was quoted as saying: 'A hundred thousand years from now, I want there to be blond hair and blue eyes.'
Town residents have mounted an opposition to the church, expressing concerns that allowing AFA to take up residence in Murdock would send a message that racism was acceptable in their community.
'We don't want to be known as the hate capital of Minnesota,' Kennedy, a long-time resident of the town, said at the time.
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