A Summit County Council member says that White Nationalist icons were displayed on some of the cars at last weekend’s Demolition Derby, held in conjunction with the County Fair. Council Member Glenn Wright says it’s critical to address the issue before the Derby returns next year—if it returns. The county said in a statement on Thursday that it does not condone the displays.
During County Council’s regular session Wednesday, Wright said that he was present last Saturday to drive the Fair Royalty around the Derby grounds. Then, while he watched the Derby, his wife pointed out a Confederate Battle flag on one of the vehicles.
He said another Council Member heard from a citizen about another symbol on a car. It was an Iron Cross with the number “8” displayed.
“Which apparently, for people who know white nationalist terminology, that’s supposed to be one of their symbols. And it was particularly brought to my attention, that was the evening that El Paso occurred.”
Some recent national reports have said the number “8” or “88” has significance to the far-right since it denotes the letter “H” in the alphabet.
Wright mentioned the imagery during Council Comments on Wednesday.
“There has to be some way we can take care of it before the next fair—whether it’s choosing a new vendor, making guidelines for displays on the vehicles. But I think it is an absolute necessity. And if we can’t do it, I would go so far as to cancel the demolition derby. We can’t be promoting White Nationalism at the county fair.”
He said he’s not quite sure what to do, but said the Fair managers should tell the vendor that the imagery can’t be allowed at Summit County’s Fair.
“There is some concern we’re violating First Amendment rights for people to express their opinion. But in my opinion, y’know we’re paying for the vendor to bring the demolition derby to the fair. So I think we can put some conditions on it in the future.”
The county’s statement said that the symbols are unfortunate and not in keeping with their values.
It added, “Summit County does not condone any type of hate speech, symbols or displays. Also, as a government entity, we do not suppress speech. The fact that hate might be displayed or pronounced by a private citizen at a County event, does not indicate our compliance or support…..We are analyzing our practices and procedures for this event, along with our responsibilities as a government entity, to see what we can do to ensure that participants in our events better reflect the values of our government and our community.”
