Progressive Groups Protest Durango GOP Meeting Featuring Anti-Govt Extremist Group Leader

“Over 60 parents and other community members gathered outside the Durango VFW hall last night to voice their opposition to a far-right extremist group leader the La Plata County Republicans invited to speak at their monthly meeting.

Darcy Schoening leads the El Paso County chapter of Moms For Liberty (M4L), a national group that advocates for conservative Christian policies in public schools. They focus largely on removing books, curriculum, and district health care policies they consider inappropriate for students, nearly all of which involves LGBTQ-related issues. The Southern Poverty Law Center recently designated M4L an anti-government extremist group. Schoening is also a conspiracy theorist who believes the COVID pandemic was intentionally manufactured and the 2020 election was stolen.

Five groups helped organize last night’s protest. They were: La Plata Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), Southwest Movement for Black Lives, LGBTQ+ advocates Four Corners Alliance for Diversity, Affiliated Members of the Durango Education Association, and Indivisible Durango.

Rodman also noted that M4L has called for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education and the public education system generally, and that it has close ties with the Proud Boys and other groups and individuals responsible for the Jan. 6th insurrection.”