In the tiny town of Murdoch, Minnesota, with a population of 280, the city council, led by Mayor Craig Cavanaugh, voted to authorize a whites-only church in the city.
The Asatru Folk Assembly, classified as a “hate group” by the South Center for the Legal Defense of the Poor, claims it “revives the pre-Christian faith of the Nordic peoples” and will not accept people who are not descendants of Northern Europeans into its church. The group acquired and restored the building of the former Lutheran church, which was used as housing, and the city council, by three votes to one, gave permission for the new purpose of the building.
“Just because we voted for a permit doesn’t mean we’re racist,” the mayor said. “But if we refused to issue a permit, it would lead to a long standoff in the courts, which our city cannot afford.” “We consulted with our lawyer, and he advised us to give permission so that we would not be accused of violating the civil rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution,” the mayor added.
Victoria Guillemard, head of the anti-Hate Alliance NGO, said Murdoch residents intend to support their Spanish-speaking fellow citizens, who make up 20% of the urban population. “We are going to inform Asatru Folk Assembly how undesirable they are in our city,” Guillemard said.
Newspaper headline:
Religious racism