Study: Half of July 4th protesters from out-of-town

Save Southern Heritage – Florida released the results of a study to Historic City News this week that determined half of those who marched, intending to disrupt the Independence Day Concert in the Plaza, traveled to St Augustine from out-of-town.

The Study was conducted of individuals who participated in the March led by Ron Rawls, a Gainesville resident who has targeted St Augustine history for removal.

The March, organized by Rawls, began on Wednesday afternoon at Plaza de la Constitucion, traveled to Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and returned to the Plaza. Marchers confronted individuals who were enjoying the concert; creating an annoyance to residents and visitors.

“We were curious about who would come out on July 4th to protest St Augustine history and we were not surprised by what we found” said David McCallister, spokesman for Save Southern Heritage Florida who conducted the study. “It was a lot of outsiders – hard core social justice warriors that we see around the State – they swarm into a town and intimidate local officials into tearing down their own history.”

The study reveals that the gang of marchers came from as far away as St Petersburg and as far north as Fernandina Beach. Nineteen individual protesters were identified with 9, possibly 10 being from out of town. “Information is still coming in and the images we had to work with were blurry, so we may update the Study accordingly in the future” concluded McCallister.

Many of the disruptive marchers wore large sunglasses and hats, presumably to remain anonymous. “One woman, looked like she had a wig on to completely cover her face” said McCallister.

“We will see if elected officials in St Augustine cave in or not.” McCallister added. “We found it ironic that the group was chanting we don’t want these racist statues in our town and half of them were from someplace else” McCallister added.

HK Edgerton, Past President of the NAACP (Asheville, NC branch) and Save Southern Heritage Florida member said, “the black man in America is being used as the weapon of choice against our Southern family by those that want to divide us”. Some of the march participants were associated with #takemdownJax which is led by the Occupy Jacksonville movement, according to their web site. This group is calling for removal of the Andrew Jackson statue at the Jacksonville Landing, and eventual renaming of the City, as well as removal of other aspects of the City’s history.

“This contextualization stuff is a disgrace, it is nothing but lies and half-truths about these veterans. It is a Cenotaph to black, brown and white Southerners – just leave it alone,” Edgerton added.

Research sources for the Study included social media sites, voter registration rolls, property appraiser records, and other internet research sites.

SAVE SOUTHERN HERITAGE Inc. is a not for profit corporation that educates & advocates on behalf of Southern Heritage & History. It was started in 2015 in response to the knee-jerk Anti-Southern institutionalized bullying and “Eracism” levied against the people of South Carolina by Governor Nikki Haley, after she broke all previous agreements about how South Carolina’s historical veterans and their symbols should be treated and respected.

The Florida branch was activated in mid-January 2016, in response to three initiatives in the Florida Legislature that are part of a hate campaign led by Anti-American extremists, who refuse to respect the various cultures that make up the fabric of Florida’s society. Since that time, it has grown in membership and has been active in battles over American History and throughout Florida including the “We’ll Remember in November Campaign” that resulted in #heritagehater candidates to lose elections in Florida and others to win. More info: www.sshfl.org