Residents of the 25th California district were warned last year. As bad as Tony Strickland was, he looked like an angel next to Steve Knight (R-Wingnuttistan). But they elected him anyway, and this is what they've got representing them now.
With that said, some of his constituents are no walk in the park, either. They hail from the farthest right of the right, and seem to enjoy provoking confrontations.
A protester, who called himself “Mike,” approached Knight, shook his hand and said, “You told me you didn’t vote amnesty and you did. I looked it up on the Internet. You lied to me.” He then patted Knight on the arm.
As the protester walked away, Knight approached him and said, “If you touch me again, I’ll drop your ass.”
He urged the protester not to touch him.
Knight, a former Los Angeles police officer, contends he never voted for “amnesty,” saying there were several versions of the bill and that he voted against President Obama.
SantaClarita.com has more details on the group of protesters:
If you’ve seen videos of their protests around the state, you begin to recognize the same faces pretty quickly – something of a xenophobic carnival act, through several members do appear to live in Knight’s 25th district. SoS exists on the far right flank of the immigration debate, with roots in the White Nationalist movement. Here’s a 2005 quote from their founder, Joe Turner:
"I can make the argument that just because one believes in white separatism that that does not make them a racist... I can make the argument that someone who proclaims to be a white nationalist isn't necessarily a white supremacist. I don't think that standing up for your 'kind' or 'your race' makes you a bad person."
As Knight alludes, this isn’t his first run-in with the group. In recent years, they’ve protested his State Senate office and peppered him with questions at public forums about his supposed soft stance on immigration. Just last month, they crashed the open housefor his district HQ in Palmdale.
Welcome to California, but I'd recommend staying out of the 25th district if you're brown.
