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<p>DALLAS &#8212; A calendar item previewing a conservative speaking engagement has prompted an internal investigation by the Back Mountain Chamber amid allegations the speaker represents an anti-Muslim hate group.</p><p>Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT for America, was scheduled to speak at a Back Mountain church on April 18. The event was placed on the chamber&#8217;s calendar of events, but it was not a chamber-sponsored event.</p><p>Now, chamber officials say, they are looking into how the listing was placed on the calendar &#8212; adding that chamber Executive Director William Leandri also was listed as ACT for America&#8217;s local chapter president.</p><p>In an interview with the Times Leader, Leandri disputed claims that ACT for America is a hate group, but acknowledged that he has cut ties with the local chapter.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t need this type of risk,&#8221; Leandri said. &#8220;ACT for America is a good organization, very conservative, and not a hate group as characterized by the Southern Poverty Law Center.&#8221;</p><p>ACT for America describes itself as &#8220;the nation&#8217;s largest grassroots national security organization,&#8221; with more than 1 million members.</p><p>But the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has a long history of tracking hate and extremist organizations, disagrees, calling it &#8220;the largest anti-Muslim group in America.&#8221;</p><p>The Anti-Defamation League, another organization that tracks extremist groups and hate crimes, states on its website that &#8220;ACT propagates the hateful conspiracy theory that Muslims are infiltrating U.S. institutions in order to impose Sharia law.&#8221;</p><p>Gabriel, 54, is a Lebanese-American Christian and author who describes herself in her Twitter bio as a survivor of terrorism.</p><p>Her biography page on the ACT for America site says Gabriel is &#8220;one of the leading terrorism experts in the world providing information and analysis on the rise of global Islamic terrorism.&#8221;</p><p>She was scheduled to speak at the Cross Creek Community Church on Carverton Road on April 18, with her topic &#8220;Rise in Defense of Freedom.&#8221; It has been canceled.</p><p><strong>Chamber investigation</strong></p><p>Following media reports, The Back Mountain Chamber on Tuesday said it will investigate how and why Gabriel&#8217;s speech was placed on its calendar of events, releasing the following statement:</p><p>&#8220;As you may already be aware, there was an article in the Citizens&#8217; Voice newspaper today (Tuesday) about an ACT for America event that had been posted on the BMC calendar of events.</p><p>&#8220;The speaker for this event was the national founder of the organization, who appears to be the subject of controversy.</p><p>&#8220;According to the article, BMC Executive Director, Bill Leandri, was also the head of the local Act for America chapter at the time this event was posted on the BMC calendar.</p><p>&#8220;Mr. Leandri did not consult with the Executive Committee before deciding to include this event on the BMC calendar.</p><p>&#8220;The Executive Committee has formed an ad hoc committee to immediately investigate this matter, after which the Executive Committee will report to the Board with its findings and recommendations.</p><p>&#8220;Any Board member wishing to serve on the investigative committee should email President Cynthia Post-Mitchell at cwpostm@gmail.com no later than noon on Wednesday, March 6.</p><p>&#8220;A special telephonic meeting of the Board to discuss this matter and take possible action will be scheduled for the week of March 11 on a day and time to be determined.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Leandri&#8217;s response</strong></p><p>Aside from acknowledging that he had stepped down from the local ACT for America chapter, Leandri declined to comment in depth on the matter, saying only that &#8220;At the Chamber, we post all type of community events.&#8221;</p><p>Thomas Hern, National Grassroots Director at ACT for America based in Washington, D.C., said the organization is &#8220;absolutely not&#8221; a hate group.</p><p>&#8220;This insinuation could not be further from the truth,&#8221; Hern said. &#8220;As stated on our website, ACT for America has never, and will never, tolerate any bias, discrimination, or violence against anyone, based on their religion, gender, race, or political persuasion. Anyone who traffics in prejudice, or advocates violence in any way towards any individual or any group is not welcome in our organization.&#8221;</p><p>Asked why the Southern Poverty Law Center would list ACT for America as a hate group, Hern said, &#8220;The Southern Poverty Law Center, while once a noble organization that fought the KKK, has become an organization that manufactures hate to raise money.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They are now resorting to labeling mainstream conservative organizations a &#8216;hate group&#8217; in an attempt to silence viewpoints they disagree with, Hern added.</p><p>Attempts to reach the Southern Poverty Law Center for comment were unsuccessful on Tuesday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Gabriel </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Brigitte-Gabriel-Act-for-America.jpg</photo0><caption0>Gabriel </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_BILL-LEANDRI.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Leandri </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_BILL-LEANDRI.jpg</photo1><caption1>Leandri </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Brigitte Gabriel</strong></p><p>Brigitte Gabriel is one of the leading terrorism experts in the world providing information and analysis on the rise of global Islamic terrorism. She lectures nationally and internationally about terrorism and current affairs. Her expertise is sought after by world and business leaders.</p><p>She has addressed the United Nations, Australian Prime Minister, members of The British Parliament/House of Commons, members of the United States Congress, The Pentagon, The Joint Forces Staff College, The US Special Operations Command, The US Asymmetric Warfare group, the FBI, and many others.</p><p>In addition, Gabriel is a regular guest analyst on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, and various radio stations daily across America.</p><p>Ms. Gabriel is Founder and Chairman of ACT for America, the largest national security grassroots organization in the U.S. with one million members dedicated to preserving national security and promoting Western values. She is a NYT best-selling author of three books the latest is &#8220;RISE&#8221; In Defense of Judeo-Christian Values and Freedom.</p><p>Ms. Gabriel was knighted in Europe in 2016 by the Knights of Malta, for her international work on fighting terrorism and standing up for Western Judeo-Christian Values. She joins a long list of knights including former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Nelson Mandela, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, and others.</p><p>Ms. Gabriel is named one of the top 50 most prominent speakers in America. She speaks Arabic, French, English, and Hebrew.</p><p><strong>Source: Act for America website.</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Hate group’ event listing draws scrutiny from Back Mountain Chamber