Posters Claiming US Was 'Not Stolen, Conquered' Found At Chapman University On First Day Of School
ORANGE (CBSLA) — On the first day of the fall semester, students at Chapman University in Orange found posters scattered throughout the campus proclaiming the United States had not been stolen, but was conquered.
The posters, from a white supremacist group known as the Patriot Front, were found plastered on top of posters promoting the La Frontera event series on Aug. 26, according to the university's student newspaper, The Panther Online.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Southern California says Patriot Front is an organization that split from the Vanguard America group following the violent rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, two years ago. Heather Heyer was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, and the suspect, James Fields, has since been sentenced to life in prison with an additional 419 years.
The presence of the posters on Chapman University's campus was condemned Tuesday by CAIR-LA. The university's dean of students, Jerry Price, says the incident is under investigation, according to CAIR-LA.
"White supremacy, xenophobia and intolerance have no place in America, especially not in institutions of higher learning," said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR-LA, in a statement.
Ayloush added that the "continuing trend of normalizing hate has emboldened bigots in their speech as well as their actions," citing a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas last month, the massacre of 50 people in New Zealand and a shooting at a synagogue in Poway earlier this year.
"We will continue to stand against hatred and intolerance. Hate will not prevail," Aylous said.