.JPG)
.JPG)
Protesters and public commenters at a Tuesday Lewis County commissioners meeting criticized the county’s handling of immigration enforcement and homeless services.
Some carried signs, specifically calling out Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope.
The Republican commissioner ultimately delivered a scathing response.
A group of five local residents attended the Lewis County Commissioners meeting Sept. 16 with signs criticizing Lewis County and Swope. Of the small group, three people gave public comments, including Brandon Tucker, who led his own one-man protest outside of the Lewis County Courthouse in the last week of August.
The three county residents aired frustrations with the county’s “non-sanctuary resolution” and its ongoing scrutiny of funding for homelessness service providers as well as rhetoric from Swope online.
The public comment session began with words from Linda Warren, of Winlock, who carried a sign that said, “Swope says harm thy immigrants, homeless neighbors! Jesus said… ?”
During her time at the podium, Warren singled out Swope for his comments on immigration enforcement and programs for homeless individuals and ultimately asked the commissioners and others to forget party affiliations and act out of love.
“Swope has said things that bring harm to the immigrant and to the homeless,” Warren said, “I think we all know Jesus said ‘love thy neighbor,’ but Jesus said a lot more than that … That is, ‘love your neighbor and love God with all your heart.’ So, you see, it was all about love and, you know, I truly believe it still is. It is not about what party you’re in. It's not about what your beliefs are. It truly is about love.”
As Warren left the podium and walked toward her seat, Swope asked her to explain the sign she held, voicing frustration with the statement.
He went on to condemn the sign, which he called “misleading,” and was critical of others, including signs that read “debate me Swope,” referring to the displays as harmful rhetoric. He went on to connect the comments and calls for debate to the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I have never said anything like that to harm anyone,” Swope said of Warren’s sign. “This is the kind of stuff that just got Charlie Kirk killed. This kind of information, this kind of rhetoric. Because what will happen now, is The Chronicle will now go put this in the paper. People will see it and think that I have factually done something like that. And you just saw a man get murdered because of different of opinion."
Some audience members attempted to respond to Swope's comments; however, board chair Commissioner Scott Brummer shut down the discussion, calling on members of the public to move forward with the rest of the public comment session.
Tucker came to the podium next, sharing his own background as a Lewis County local but ultimately addressing the commissioners and Swope specifically for acting on viewpoints he doesn't agree with. He went on to condemn political tribalism and conflict from both sides of the political spectrum and called on Swope to have a public dialogue or debate.
“We have all suffered trauma from this, which has entrenched us in our positions,” Tucker said. “So I ask you, Sean. How do we return to celebrating our shared values again amid the polarizing environment, fostered by the media, both political parties and our current federal administration? How do we begin to heal this rift in our culture war?”
Dan Meekhof, of Packwood, took to the podium last, condemning the county’s recent actions concerning immigration enforcement and homeless services. He said the county has “compromised its morals for fiscal reasons.”
“By changing our policies because of improper threats made by the federal government, we are encouraging overreach by the federal government,” Meekhof said. “We should be standing up for our beliefs and not allowing ourselves to be blackmailed. I believe the federal government has been violating the due process rights and many other rights of immigrants.”
