The mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, which saw a 22-year-old man charged with hate crimes and murder on Monday, came after years of intensifying anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, acts of violence and intimidation, and discriminatory legislation from far-right individuals and groups, including powerful Republican politicians.
Speakers at this weekend’s American Renaissance conference included a former congressman; a self-described “proud Islamophobe” who once handcuffed herself to Twitter’s headquarters; and a recently retired captain in Boise, Idaho’s Police Department (BPD) whose identification by an antifascist researcher and activist has been corroborated by Hatewatch.
Eight men wearing the colors of the Proud Boys hate group – at least two of whom were armed – initiated a violent confrontation with protesters outside a white nationalist conference near Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.
