While anti-Muslim rabble-rouser Ron Branstner and his followers claim that the used car dealer and former California Minuteman only shares "facts" in his presentations, last Thursday night in Aberdeen, SD, he shared one heckova whopper about the fire that heavily damaged Melrose's Church of St. Mary's back in March.
Here's section of the video where Branstner makes the statement near the end of the presentation:
Transcript:
Oh yeah, he [older man from St. Cloud at the event] wanted me to point this out. We have one of the oldest churches in the country--I think it's four hundred somethingvyears old--in Melrose, Minnesota--and they started shipping all the refugees out from St. Cloud, Minnesota, they started busing them 40 miles out to Melrose and back and Melrose is an older town. Beautiful church.
So one day, they found the refugees out there throwing rocks at the grotto because [inaudible] in Islam, they have to topple every cross. So they were throwing rocks at the Virgin Mary.
While they stopped it, an hour later, five million dollars worth of arson happened. We don't know who did it but...[he shrugs]...
Fact check
First, Branstner claims that St. Mary's is "one of the oldest churches in the country." In fact, the structure was built in 1898. While the church was very beautiful and the arson is indefensible, that date comes far after 17th century structures in Puerto Rico, New Mexico and the East Coast. The oldest church building in Minnesota is St. Peter's Church in Mendota, built in 1853.
Second, Branstner's anecdote about refugees throwing rocks at the statue of the Virgin Mary prior to the fire is unfounded, according to Melrose Police Chief Craig Maus. In a phone call, Maus noted that the department had not received any calls about vandalism to the church prior to the fire.
Moreover, he added that he had been on duty at the scene of the fire, and contrary to another rumor, no refugees had been in the parking lot across the street laughing at the blaze.
Since the investigation of the arson itself is still open, Maus declined to comment about it. This is standard law enforcement practice.
An article published in the St. Cloud Times on March 12, 2016, Fire damages historic Church of St. Mary in Melrose, also undercuts Branstner's rumor-mongering and fingerpointing. Mitch LeClair reported:
[Church maintenance worker Allan] Wiechmann said he checked the boiler room and other parts of the church before leaving at about 3 p.m. At 4:58 p.m., he got a call notifying him of the fire.
That doesn't sound like anyone was seen vandalizing the grotto or statue of the Virgin Mary before the fire was set.
Branstner segues from the arson rumor to sharing the notion that Muslims are destroying crosses at the St. Cloud Hospital, a Catholic institution. For an examination of that assertion, we recommend the St. Cloud Times' Fact check: Crucifix use at hospital.
Earlier in the question and answer section of the presentation on the Youtube, Branstner claims "the media" never sticks around for entire presentations. We're certainly happy that Ken Santema of the libertarian SoDakLiberty.com blog stuck around and filmed the entire event. To view all four videos, check out Video of the Americans First, Task Force, refugee meeting held on September 22.
Photo: Onlookers at the fire that severely damaged Melrose's 118-year-old church in March. Mitch LeClair via St. Cloud Times.
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