Darcy Shoening, the chair of Moms for Liberty El Paso County, is scheduled to speak at the next meeting of La Plata County Republicans on Sept. 5 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars. MFL is an anti-government, white supremacist, anti-LGBTQ organization that advocates for book bans in school libraries, targets teachers and school officials who do not share their views, and campaigns for the abolition of public education.

They advance conspiracy propaganda and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community, particularly trans-youth. They have close ties with the Proud Boys, and other groups and individuals responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection, including the spouse of one of the founders, Bridget Zeigler.

The chair of the El Paso County chapter has said that teachers and their unions are engaged in a coordinated effort to make children trans and gay to “break down the family unit, conservative values” and “slowly erode constitutional rights.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled MFL an extremist organization. The American Historical Association condemns the group’s advocacy of censorship. Speakers at their events have included people who are openly anti-Muslim and refer to homosexuality as “filth.” An Indiana chapter of MFL quoted Adof Hitler in its publications, although it later apologized.

Neighbors, do not be fooled by this group’s “soft” messaging. It is not a parental rights group or an advocate for our children. Let La Plata GOP and the VFW know that their divisive, cruel and hateful views are not welcome in our community.