SPLC smear dates - New Dustin Inman Society

I have been working on the assumption that SPLC first made their designation of DIS as “an anti-immigrant hate group…” for the year 2018 and made that designation public in Feb. or March of 2019 on the “hate map” and in the Intelligence Report (which I have learned is no longer published as of Sept. 2019).

If they are accurate and I am correct, it looks like SPLC did it twice, but in different places for the same year(2018). First in Feb. 2018 on the online hate map and again in the Intelligence Report a year later in the Spring edition of Intelligence Report.

“…the Intelligence Report published in 2018 do not mention Plaintiffs, and the (DAK/DIS) Complaint refers to “Intelligence Reports” published in 2020 and 2021, but SPLC ceased publishing the Intelligence Report after September 10, 2019, and instead published its annual hate group designations in annual issues of The Year in Hate and Extremism. In SPLC’s responses below, “Relevant Intelligence and Year in Hate Reports” shall refer to the Intelligence Report, Spring 2019 // Issue 166, (SPLC0000272-SPLC0000344); The Year in Hate & Extremism: 2019 (page 5, Verified SPLC Response to Interrogatories).

It is confusing to see that the online history (WayBack Machine/WBM) shows that SPLC had listed DIS on the online “hate map” in Feb. 2018 but that SPLC says it was Spring, 2019 before the 2018 smear was put in the Intelligence Report, which I think was both online and hard copy.

“Anti-immigrant groups in Georgia – none on the SPLC page for Feb 18, 2018. But DIS does appear on the same online hate map on the WBM Feb 24, 2018 page.

The current online version of the SPLC page listing DIS as an “anti-immigrant hate group” has four bullet points on the bottom that were not included in the original Feb. 2018 smear (see below).

* “In March 2018, King retweeted an account that shared a screenshot of the tweet that got it suspended: “Friendly reminder that Muslims murder gay people.” He has continued to retweet accounts including CIS and Roosh, “one of the most public and reviled online misogynists,” in 2018.

* In July 2018, Krikorian cited a DIS blog written by King in July 2018. Krikorian quoted King, explaining Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidates have shied away from speaking about “criminal illegal aliens.” King posted Krikorian’s blog the next day on his Facebook, saying, “Many thanks to my friend Mark Krikorian.” King regularly refers to “criminal illegal aliens” as “crimigrants.”

* Also, in July, King posted a graphic with DIS’s logo “VIVA ZERO TOLERANCE! America First! … Deport illegal alien families together.”

* In October 2018, he encouraged people to contact their representatives about foreign nationals being able to vote at Georgia polls with temporary driver’s licenses.”

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SPLC has DIS on the list of anti-immigrant hate groups for 2017 here.

2016 list here

—>UPDATE: The liberal AJC prints a lengthy correction after demand letter from the Dustin Inman Society. More news on this coming soon.

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Daily Signal News report (‘DEFAMATORY’: Conservative Demands Swing-State Newspaper Retract ‘Hate Group’ Smear’)
on the recent AJC attack here by the great Tyler O’Neil.

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I added educational hyperlinks to the below letter – dak.

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October 18, 2024

VIA U.S. REGULAR MAIL & E-MAIL

Leroy Chapman, Jr., Editor in Chief THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION 223 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE Atlanta, Georgia 30346

Re: Demand for Retraction and Apology

Dear Mr. Chapman, Jr.:

I write on behalf of my client, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS), to demand an immediate retraction and apology for the defamatory statements published in your October 7, 2024, article titled “Democrats in this Georgia district are backing a write-in candidate” by Tia Mitchell.

Through use of internet links, the AJC article wrongfully characterizes the Dustin Inman Society as a “Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group.” This characterization is false, defamatory, and published with actual malice. The Dustin Inman Society pushes for secure borders, is not “anti-immigration” and its proprietors do not hate anyone. Rather, DIS advocates for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and actively opposes unlawful immigration. This distinction is crucial and well-known to staff at your publication.

I paste the offending paragraph from the AJC story:

“A search of activity under her birth name, Karen Sacandy, which Stamper legally changed in 2019, showed that she previously was aligned with a Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group. The group’s website often linked to Sacandy’s activities, like a letter seeking information about the state’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and a copy of a letter to the editor supporting legislation to prevent immigrants claiming asylum from obtaining driver’s licenses.”

HEMMER WESSELS MCMURTRY PLLC
250 Grandview Drive, Suite 500, Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017 ● Phone 859.344.1188 ● Fax 859.578.3869

October 18, 2024 Page 2

We note the AJC informs readers that the Dustin Inman Society “often” linked to Karen Sacandy/Kate Stamper activities — but produces only two occasions.

Your story, for which DIS founder and president D.A. King was not contacted, informs readers that Sacandy/Stamper “was aligned” with the Dustin Inman Society. We note that polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the federal offense of illegal immigration. Since the letter posted on the DIS site was a published missive to the editor at the Cherokee Tribune, we must ask: does this make that newspaper a “Cherokee County-based anti-immigration hate group”?

Your characterization demonstrates a reckless and vindictive disregard for the truth, rising to the level of actual malice as defined in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. Actual malice in defamation law refers to publication of a statement with knowledge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it is false or not. Your repeated mischaracterization of the Dustin Inman Society, despite having been corrected on numerous occasions, clearly meets this standard.

The Dustin Inman Society’s position on immigration is clear and public:

1. It supports sustainable levels of legal immigration through established channels.

2. It opposes unlawful immigration due to various societal concerns, including: – Strain on public resources and services
– Potential and real public safety issues
– Economic impacts on low-wage American workers and America’s poor

– Challenges to the rule of law

3. The Dustin Inman Society defends legal immigrants when media attempt to blur the difference between them and illegal aliens.

Moreover, the Dustin Inman Society’s board includes lawful immigrants who have navigated the proper channels for authorized immigration. This fact alone should dispel any notion that the organization is “anti-immigration.” As he has informed you multiple times over much of the last two decades, D.A. King’s sister is a real, legal immigrant.

While we acknowledge that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Dustin Inman Society as an “anti-immigrant hate group that denigrates all immigrants,” your article presents the “anti-immigration hate group” characterization as the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s independent assessment and statement of fact.

This smear is not only demonstrably false and ignores Mr. King’s many communications to you advising you of the truth, but also demonstrates an exceedingly unprofessional failure to fact-check and verify information before publication.

We demand that the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

October 18, 2024 Page 3

1. Immediately publicly retract the defaming statement in the October 7, 2024, article.

2. Publish a prominent apology, equal in visibility and placement to the original defamatory article.

3. Cease and desist from further defamatory characterizations of the Dustin Inman Society.

Failure to comply with these demands may result in further legal action. We expect your prompt attention to this matter and await your timely response.

Sincerely,

Todd V. McMurtry

cc: James Abely, Esq.