ENID, OKLAHOMA — As previously reported the voters of Ward 1 in Enid, Oklahoma had elected former Identity Evropa [an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization, later rebranded] organizer Judd Blevins to represent them on the city commission in February 2023. The same month that Blevins won his 2023 election, other participants in the night time torch rally on the University of Virginia campus faced criminal charges under Charlottesville’s burning object statute, originally created to combat cross burnings by the Klan.
In response a non-partisan coalition of concerned citizens formed the Enid Social Justice Committee (ESCJ). Dozens of prominent community members, including Garfield County Democratic Party Chair Nancy Presnall, Orthodox Catholic Church Father James Neal, ESCJ Chair Kristi Rice Balden, Kay Sanders, former City Commissioner Tammy Wilson, and retired teacher Connie Vickers, all played an active role in resisting fascism in Enid, Oklahoma, speaking out at City Hall for over a year.
In early November 2023 the City failed to adopt Mayor David Mason’s resolution to censure Blevins. After Blevins failed to take accountability for his actions nor distance himself nor denounce his connections to white supremacist groups, community members hit the streets of Ward 1, gathering signatures for a recall petition which was certified on November 28, 2023.
Blevins received support from local pastor and failed Republican congressional candidate Wade Burleson, putting him in the company of prominent white nationalists, including Jared Taylor of American Renaissance. Blevins received his largest campaign donation from Joshua Berkau, a Texas based small business owner connected to the Patriot Front. Jason Kessler, organizer of the Unite the Right rally, also came to Blevins’ defense.
Enid, Oklahoma is a majority Republican city, and it was a fellow Republican Cheryl Patterson who stepped up to challenge Blevins in the April 2 election. A group calling themselves Friends for a Better Enid, including Garfield County NAACP President Lanita Norwood and former mayors Walter Baker, Norman Grey, George Pankonin, and Bill Shewey, released a full-page ad in the Enid News Eagle endorsing Patterson.
On election day community members stood outside in 40 degree weather to hold signs supporting Patterson, and drove through Ward 1 with a bullhorn to remind voters to get to the polls. The ESCJ held an election results party at Jezebel’s Emporium and Tea Room, and cheered upon learning that Patterson beat Blevins, triumphantly chanting “Judd, we just replaced you!”
In a March 26 election forum, Blevins stated that if he lost his recall election, it would be unlikely that he would run for office again. Patterson won with 59.6% of the vote and was sworn into office on April 16.
View the previous article from 2023 on this at https://peoplestribune.org/2023/08/oklahoma-community-protests-the-election-of-white-nationalist/
D.L. Lang was Vallejo Poet Laureate (2017-2019)
