The family of a white nationalist who joined in the violent supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday has publicly announced they are disowning him…
The family of a white nationalist who joined in the violent supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday has publicly announced they are disowning him and his “hateful beliefs.”
Pete Tefft of Fargo, ND was one of many neo-Nazi marchers to have his identity revealed, along with his photo, on the “Yes, You’ re Racist” Twitter account after the deadly demonstration, prompting his family to speak out.
“I, along with all of his siblings and his entire family, wish to loudly repudiate my son’s vile, hateful and racist rhetoric and actions, ” Tefft’s father, Pearce Tefft, wrote in an online letter regarding his youngest son’s behavior.
In the letter, published Monday on Inforum.com, the elder Tefft calls his son “an avowed white nationalist” as he blasted his hateful views.
“We do not know specifically where he learned these beliefs. He did not learn them at home, ” Pearce Tefft wrote, adding “I have shared my home and hearth with friends and acquaintances of every race, gender and creed. I have taught all of my children that all men and women are created equal. That we must love each other all the same.”
The father continued: “Evidently Peter has chosen to unlearn these lessons, much to my and his family’s heartbreak and distress. We have been silent up until now, but now we see that this was a mistake. It was the silence of good people that allowed the Nazis to flourish the first time around, and it is the silence of good people that is allowing them to flourish now.”
Pearce Tefft proclaimed that “Peter Tefft, my son, is not welcome at our family gatherings any longer. I pray my prodigal son will renounce his hateful beliefs and return home. Then and only then will I lay out the feast.”
The dad noted that his son’s “hateful opinions” are bringing “hateful rhetoric” to the Tefft family.
“Why must we be guilty by association? Again, none of his beliefs were learned at home. We do not, never have, and never will, accept his twisted worldview.”
“He once joked, ‘The thing about us fascists is, it’s not that we don’ t believe in freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want. We’ ll just throw you in an oven,’ ” the letter continued.
The father close the letter with: “Peter, you will have to shovel our bodies into the oven, too. Please son, renounce the hate, accept and love all.”
On Saturday, white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. rammed anti-racist protesters at the white power rally with a car, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring 19 others.
