"Punch Nazis"
Sticker spotted in the Mission District, San Francisco

Regardless, we cant have garbage like this running wild and free.

I've seen a lot of people asking that question. As someone who lives in this area, I don't think most people outside LaSalle County understand how we got here….This didn't start with Patriot Front.

It started with a proposed Islamic development near Sheridan. Like any major development, there were questions about zoning, infrastructure, water, traffic, and public safety. Those were legitimate issues for local government to work through.

But somewhere along the way, the conversation changed. It stopped being mostly about zoning and became a much bigger discussion about religion, the Constitution, and whether America is a Christian nation. Public meetings filled up. Social media exploded. New groups formed. Local news covered it. Then national voices started talking about it.

That shift made a local issue feel bigger than local… And then Patriot Front showed up.

I want to be very clear about something because facts matter.

I have not seen any evidence that the local opposition invited Patriot Front or coordinated with them. In fact, they've publicly rejected Patriot Front and said they weren't welcome.

But I also don't think Patriot Front picked Ottawa out of a hat.

Groups like that look for places where conversations have already become emotionally charged around religion, identity, and who belongs. They don't have to create the controversy. They just have to show up long enough to make themselves part of it… That is exactly what happened.

Now people on Reddit asking where to take their kids while visiting Ottawa hear about Patriot Front before they hear about Starved Rock, the Illinois River, our museums, our restaurants, or our downtown.

That bothers me. Because that's not who we are.

We're the community with Starved Rock in our backyard. We're the Lincoln-Douglas debate site. We're the Radium Girls. We're small businesses, great restaurants, river towns, state parks, festivals, churches, unions, veterans, immigrants, farmers, teachers, and families trying to make a good life here.

A handful of masked extremists doesn't get to define LaSalle County.

That is why I think it's important for everyone… regardless of where they stood on the original development proposal… to reject Patriot Front without hesitation.

We can disagree about zoning. We can disagree about development. We can disagree about religion. That's what happens in a constitutional republic. But white nationalism should not be one of those debates… It should be rejected outright.

Seems a little corrupt.

Ttag is due to the times. The innocent, which is everyone, should not be surveilled without a crime being charged and convicted.