TO: The People of the Open Door Churches and the Community of Salem-Keizer
FROM: The Pastors of the Open Door Churches
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
On Saturday, October 17, members of the White Supremacist organization The Proud Boys gathered at Bush’s Pasture Park in Salem, with the express intent of intimidating and harassing the families and other area residents who were there to do nothing more than enjoy a beautiful fall day. Heavily armed and heavily drinking, the Proud Boys stood out from the others at the park that day, walking the pathways and even training their gun sights on some of the park patrons they deemed to be in conflict with their purpose of proclaiming White Supremacy. It was an ugly, brutal display of force.
These kinds of actions must stop. These persons were not counter-protestors or responding to some imminent threat to life or property. They were simply trying to make a statement of power, using all manner of deadly weapons to enforce that message.
We proclaim our belief that all persons are created in the Image of God and categorically reject the notion that any “race” is superior to another. We call upon the Christian leaders and churches of Salem-Keizer to speak out against such forms of violence, abuse, and intimidation. Such things are in direct opposition to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which proclaims:
- “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:18, NIV)
- “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45, NIV)
We furthermore call upon the elected and appointed authorities to intervene in the event any such situations arise, since the Proud Boys and others have already publicly stated their intent to return and continue such tactics. We expect that more proactive measures will be taken to protect the people of our city in the event that such behavior is repeated, which seems highly likely in the near future. If there are laws that allow for such behavior, those laws must be changed. And, in the meantime, we would remind the authorities that violence is not always physical in nature: Though a specific statutory law may not have been broken, the lack of intervention by the authorities in this case allowed the violence that is intimidation to occur. To stand by and refuse to act “until a law is broken” is simply inviting more of the same and places innocent persons in danger.
Finally, we invite all of our sisters and brothers in Christ to join us, as well as other communities of faith and no faith at all who are people of good will. We must unequivocally reject such behavior and clearly proclaim it is not welcome, here or anywhere.
Grace and peace,
Rev. John Fleming, Rev. Alyssa Baker, Rev. Kalina Malua Katoa, and Pastora Zaida Huereca
I so appreciate you all for doing this!!!
Several laws were broken tho. It is not legal to point a gun at a person who is in no way presenting a threat to you; that is the crime of menacing at the bare minimum. It is illegal to carry a loaded firearm within city limits.
It is not legal to publicly consume alcohol i a placw where it has not been designated for such purposes. It is reckless endangerment and all sorts of other things to be getting drunk while handling loaded firearms in close proximity to others
You are the best kind of humans.
Thank you for condemning this show of hatred and intimidation!
I believe two laws were broken that day in plain view of the Salem Police Department and one law may have been broken. Drinking in the park is a violation of the Salem Revised Code. I also believe this provision of our code was broken that day:
SRC 95.041. – Menacing.
(a) A person commits the crime of menacing if by word or conduct the person intentionally attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury.
I also believe that some of the guns carried by Proud Boys may have been loaded, which, if the carrier did not have a concealed weapons permit, would constitute another violation.
I thank you for your statement. We cannot allow this to happen again. I hope you will send a copy to Chief Moore and ask for his response. Also to Mayor Bennett.
We should work to change the laws about openly carrying lethal weapons.
We should write the police and say laws were broken regarding drinking and harassment. We should inquire whether the police checked to see that their weapons were unloaded. We should inquire about why the police chose not to intervene. Did they feel it would keep the situation calmer? Were they waiting to see someone actually get hurt?
Thank you for this! It is important that our churches and our pastors stand for justice.
How sad it is that the law can be used for evil. We all need to know how that can be and work to change that mistake. Lets promise to put a group together to better understand our laws, so the law is protection of the innocent.
Thank you for these words. They are so appreciated.
Well said! Thank you for standing up and speaking truth to intimidation…and to authorities who allow it. You all are amazing! Couldn’t be prouder to be a United Methodist of the Open Door Churches. ❤❤❤❤
Thank you for speaking out against their actions that perpetuate hatred, intimidation, and division.
Good work, friends!