BUCKHANNON — Upshur Indivisible, the organization behind Buckhannon’s “Hate Has No Home Here” campaign, claims to be an unbiased, non-partisan organization that is “genuinely trying to drive out hate” in our community. In a Mountaineer Journal exclusive exposé, we can confirm that narrative is a complete lie developed by Upshur Indivisible’s organizers to deceive Upshur County residents.
1. Upshur Indivisible is a local chapter of Indivisible, a national organization.
Upshur Indivisible is a local chapter of a national organization called Indivisible. Indivisible is an organization that was launched in 2016 as a reaction to the election of President Donald Trump, voicing strong opposition to his policies and presidential legitimacy.
On February 2, 2017, MSNBC liberal commentator Rachel Maddow dedicated an entire segment on her show, praising Indivisible groups for their formation and dedication to opposing President Trump’s agenda.
Indivisible on MSNBC
2. Indivisible is an organization linked and potentially funded by George Soros.
On February 10, 2017, Politico reported that MoveOn.org and the ACLU formed an affiliation with Indivisble, both of which are organizations funded by Soros:
In addition, MoveOn.org and the Working Families Party joined with Indivisible for its first nationwide call on Jan. 22. Nearly 60,000 people phoned in that day, according to Levin and MoveOn organizing director Victoria Kaplan. Indivisible estimates that its second national call, on the impact of Trump’s immigration order with assistance from the ACLU and Padilla’s group, drew 35,000 people.
According a post made on Indivisble’s Facebook account, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) arranged a conference call with their group on January 30th. IRAP is a project of the Urban Justice Center, which is another recipient of a Soros Open Society grant.
Indivisible’s founders and board-of-directors largely consist of members employed by organizations funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, or are direct employees of Soros.
Indivisible Leaders:
- Ezra Levin, serves as the President of Indivisible. Levin is a former staffer for Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas and works as the Associate Director of Federal Policy. He is also married to Leah Greenberg, who serves as the organization’s Vice President.
- Leah Greenberg, serves as the Vice President of the Indivisible. Greenberg served as an employee for Humanity United, which is funded by Soros’ Open Society Institute.
- Melissa Bradley, is a Board Member of Indivisible. Bradley served in the Soros Justice Fellowships department within Open Society Foundations, which Soros founded.
- Jeremy Haile, is a Co-Author of Indivisible. Haile served as a federal advocacy legal counsel for the Sentencing Project. The Sentencing Project is financed by Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
- Angel Padilla is the Secretary for Indivisible. Padilla is employed by the National Immigration Law Center, which is funded by Soros through his Open Society Foundations.
- Matt Traidi is the Treasurer for Indivisible. Traidi is the research team director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a major donor to and endorser of Democrat politicians.
3. Indivisible is a coalition partner with Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action.
In February, Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action partnered with Indivisible for “online trainings” on how to go about protesting President Trump’s agenda.
Organizing for Action (OFA) is a project that was birthed from Obama’s 2012 campaign, Organizing for America. It became a nonprofit, with the purpose of “advocate[ing] for [Obama] the president’s policies.”
On February 9, 2017, Obama’s Organizing for Action published a Facebook post that included a link to Indivisible’s guide on protesting Donald Trump.
The post read, “Sign the petition to hear more about this ongoing campaign, including events in your area and ways to connect with other organizers. Stay tuned for online trainings and invitations to calls with coalition partners like Indivisible Guide.”
4. Upshur Indivisible is operating entirely by the Obama affiliated Political Playbook.
In an article published at the New York Post, Paul Sperry reported the publicly stated tactics of Indivisible groups:
“The manual, published with OFA partner ‘Indivisible,’ advises protesters to go into halls quietly so as not to raise alarms, and ‘grab seats at the front of the room but do not all sit together.’ Rather, spread out in pairs to make it seem like the whole room opposes the Republican host’s positions. ‘This will help reinforce the impression of broad consensus.’ It also urges them to ask ‘hostile’ questions — while keeping ‘a firm hold on the mic’ — and loudly boo the GOP politician if he isn’t ‘giving you real answers.‘
‘Express your concern [to the event’s hosts]. They are giving a platform to pro-Trump authoritarianism, racism, and corruption,’ it says.
…’Even the safest [Republican] will be deeply alarmed by signs of organized opposition,’ the document states, ‘because these actions create the impression that they’re not connected to their district and not listening to their constituents.'”
(Image © Record Delta)
Locally, we saw Upshur Indivisible members try to pull this stunt on Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in March, 2017. When Sen. Capito failed to answer their request to attend, they portrayed her as being disconnected from her constituents, placed a “MISSING” poster of Capito on an empty chair and began to make attempts at shaming her.
Amanda Hayes with the Record Delta reported, “In the absence of U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who did not attend the town hall meeting organized by area residents, the questions were directed to an empty chair while the event was videotaped to be sent to the senator’s office.”
We now know that the meeting was not organized by ordinary area residents, but by Upshur Indivisible members. It was a trap, set by community liberals.
“Daya Wright served as moderator for the town hall and read from a prepared statement at the beginning of the forum,” Hayes also reported.
Even the moderator of the March event, who is supposed to be unbiased and nonpartisan, is an Upshur Indivisible affiliate. It is now apparent, the March meeting was an organized anti-Capito event, created with the intention of humiliating Capito in front of her Upshur County constituents.
It is important to note: this organization is participating in aggressive and organized behavior, while also professing to claim “Hate Has No Home Here.”
5. Upshur Indivisible is now identifying as non-partisan to the public to deceive people into believing they are not an anti-Trump organization.
In March, Upshur Indivisible founder Edwina Howard-Jack enthusiastically expressed on Upshur County Democrats WV Facebook group that she started the organization to “resist” President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I have started an Indivisible Group in Buckhannon,” Howard-Jack continued. “This group is for anyone who believes in these principles:
1). Resist Trump’s agenda. We believe Trump’s agenda is racist, authoritarian, and corrupt, and it must be stopped.
2). Focus on local, defensive congressional advocacy. We demand that our own local Members of Congress serve as our voice in Washington, DC.
3). Embrace progressive values. We model inclusion, respect, and fairness in all of our actions.
Let me know if you want to be added. The group was approved and made public. I am now recruiting. We will schedule a meeting soon.”
Now, Upshur Indivisible is claiming to be unbiased, potentially so they can deceive moderate republicans in leadership positions, manipulating them into supporting their liberal agenda. They also may be professing to be “unbiased” so they can continue to distribute propaganda in the Upshur County school system.
6. Indoctrinating Upshur County School Children
In September, Upshur Indivisible distributed propaganda to selected Upshur County schools, asking students to create a written piece or artwork interpreting the phrase, “HATE HAS NO HOME HERE.”
At last Friday’s Hate Has No Home Here event, students were awarded and recognized for their work.
“Hate Has No Home Here” signs are also presently being displayed in the windows of two teachers at Union Elementary, and are clearly visible from the playground. The signs promote Indivisble’s campaign to elementary school students, grades K-5.
CONCLUSION: Upshur Indivisible is an anti-Trump movement in Buckhannon, attempting to authoritatively implement a liberal agenda.
Indivisible uses tactics of intimidation, manipulation and vocalization to establish their liberal agenda. Their goal is to coax lawmakers into supporting their platform, and promote the overall values of progressivism by nearly any means necessary.