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<p>DALLAS &#8212; The war of words between two national organizations with conflicting philosophies continued Thursday in the aftermath of a controversy that the Back Mountain Chamber is now investigating.</p><p>Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the SPLC has listed ACT for America as an anti-Muslim hate group for years.</p><p>&#8220;We do so because of statements by the group and its leaders that demonize the Muslim population,&#8221; said Beirich. &#8220;For example, Brigitte Gabrielle has said Muslims can not be loyal citizens of the U.S. That demonizes an entire population.&#8221;</p><p>ACT for America founder/chairman Brigitte Gabriel was set to speak April 18 at Cross Creek Community Church near Dallas but that has since been canceled. In addition, ACT for America has been notified it can no longer meet at the Back Mountain Regional Fire &amp; EMS in Dallas.</p><p>Gabriel&#8217;s appearance was listed on the Back Mountain Chamber&#8217;s calendar of events event though the visit was not sponsored by the chamber. Chamber executive director Bill Leandri had been the contact for the local chapter of ACT, but he has since resigned.</p><p>The chamber has now formed a committee to investigate the matter.</p><p>SPLC compiled a profile on ACT for America that includes:</p><p>&#8226; Pushes wild anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, denigrates American Muslims and deliberately conflates mainstream and radical Islam.</p><p>&#8226; Gabriel has said that practicing Muslims &#8220;cannot be loyal citizens of the United States.&#8221; In a 2011 appearance on CNN, Gabriel said, &#8220;America has been infiltrated on all levels by radicals who wish to harm America. They have infiltrated us at the CIA, at the FBI, at the Pentagon, at the State Department. They&#8217;re being radicalized in radical mosques, in our cities and communities within the United States.&#8221;</p><p>&#8226; ACT also ran an online database allegedly for law enforcement called the Thin Blue Line. This project lists the names and addresses of prominent Muslim American leaders and Muslim Student Association (MSA) chapters alongside individuals who have been arrested on terrorism charges, referring to the MSAs as &#8220;radical organizations&#8221; and the individuals as &#8220;persons of interest.&#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 as a survivor of terrorism.</p><p>She was scheduled to speak locally on the topic: &#8220;Rise in Defense of Freedom.&#8221;</p><p><strong>&#8216;Should be outraged&#8217;</strong></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><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PAResponse-1.pdf" target="_blank">Hern sent a letter dated March 6</a> to the Back Mountain Chamber that said, &#8220;with over 1,000,000 members, we stand for the protection of the United States of America and the Western values upon which our nation was built.&#8221;</p><p>Hern&#8217;s letter said, &#8220;Hosting Brigitte Gabriel in the Wilkes-Barre area would serve as a resource for the local community to come together in support of our nation&#8217;s freedom &#8212; not to denigrate anyone based on their religion or political affiliation.&#8221;</p><p>Former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican from Hazleton, offered support for ACT for America and for Leandri.</p><p>Barletta said: &#8220;It is a shame that the Southern Poverty Law Center is smearing a good man and organization simply because they disagree with them politically.&#8221;</p><p>Hern said the attacks against Leandri are the latest examples of the hateful behavior by the SPLC.</p><p>&#8220;The hateful and vicious attack on this honest American citizen, simply because he was scheduled to host an ACT for America speaking event at a local church, is reprehensible, and the people of Pennsylvania should be outraged,&#8221; Hern said. &#8220;Freedom of speech is one of our fundamental rights. The Founding Fathers knew the importance of being able to speak freely and debate issues in order to learn and grow as a nation.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hern </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Thomas-Hern-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hern </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Heidi-Beirich-JPEG-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Beirich </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Heidi-Beirich-JPEG-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Beirich </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Brigitte-Gabriel-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gabriel </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Brigitte-Gabriel-cmyk-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Gabriel </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

War of words continues over cancelled Back Mountain event