SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane City Council Member Lili Navarrete released a Wednesday response to a series of “White Lives Matter” stickers placed downtown by a white supremacist group.
“I have become aware of a local hate group that has been spreading racist sentiments around Spokane. These hate-themed flyers will not be tolerated. This hate rhetoric and propaganda is a personal attack on myself, my family, and our community,” Navarrete said.
The flyers on Monday and featured slogans written by domestic terrorist and neo-nazi David Lane, who was active in Idaho for several years and died in prison in 2007.
Navarrette emphasized that racism is a systemic problem in Spokane.
“It serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go in the fight against discrimination, and to stay silent only perpetuates the problem. I am aware that some people may not view these posters as an issue but to deny it is part of the problem,” Navarrette said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 29 hate groups across Washington State in 2022.
The council member highlighted upcoming cultural events being hosted at City Hall and encouraged Spokanites to show their support.