Super Happy Fun America
Non-profit organization | |
Legal status | 501(c)(4) |
---|---|
Location | |
Website | superhappyfunamerica |
Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) is a Massachusetts-based right-wing political organization. SHFA and its leaders are known for their ties to white nationalism and the far-right,[1][2][3][4][5] and the organization has been described by The Daily Beast as a front for the far-right organization Resist Marxism.[6] The group first became known for organizing the 2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade, a parade which attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counterprotesters. In addition to rallying in support of "straight pride", the group has opposed COVID-19 prevention measures, vaccine mandates, and Black Lives Matter.[7][8]
History
Super Happy Fun America is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2019 by John Hugo, Mark Sahady, and Samson Racioppi.[9][1] The president of the organization is John Hugo, a former congressional candidate who in 2018 unsuccessfully ran for election to represent Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District.[3][7] According to Hugo, the organization's name was chosen to force journalists to repeat the absurd phrase in their reporting.[10]
Views
SHFA was created around the idea that
Far-right and white nationalist ties
Super Happy Fun America has links to white nationalist individuals and organizations.
Many members of SHFA came from the now-defunct Resist Marxism, a far-right organization founded by Kyle Chapman.[7] Some members of Resist Marxism were previously known for organizing the controversial 2017 Boston Free Speech Rally.[2][6][17] Two of SHFA's founders, Mark Sahady and Samson Racioppi, were organizers for Resist Marxism; the third founder, John Hugo, was endorsed by Resist Marxism during his 2018 Congressional campaign.[1] Following bad publicity stemming from the revelation of internal conversations showing the group using racist and antisemitic slurs and rhetoric, and fantasizing about attacking leftist activists, Resist Marxism disbanded.[2][7] SHFA has been described by The Daily Beast as a "front" for Resist Marxism.[6]
Activities
2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade
Super Happy Fun America organized the August 31, 2019 Straight Pride Parade in Boston, Massachusetts, an event they described as "a response to the 'identity politics' of the left."[18] The event attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counterprotesters, who vastly outnumbered participants of the parade.[19][20][21] Thirty-four counterprotesters were arrested at the event. Boston city councilor Michelle Wu suggested that police tactics and choice of equipment raised tensions between police and counterprotesters.[22]
On February 22, 2020, SHFA held a rally outside of the Boston Police headquarters. Organizers said the rally was intended to thank police for arresting counterprotesters at the August 2019 parade, and to show support for a recent deployment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection immigration officers to Boston. The rally was again outnumbered by counterprotesters, who said they wished to expose SHFA's ties with white nationalism. The rally ended two hours before schedule, and no arrests were made.[23]
Protests in Washington, D.C. and the 2021 United States Capitol attack
In late 2020, following the
SHFA once again chartered six buses to bring around 300 people to the United States Capitol for the
Other activities
SHFA named themselves as one of the hosts of the "Liberty Rally", an
On November 7, 2021, SHFA organized a rally at the Boston Common to show their opposition to "vaccine passports, unconstitutional mandates, and massive layoffs". They were met with a larger counterprotest, and the events were met with heavy presence of police in riot gear.[8] A person driving a van rented by SHFA drove through police barricades during the event. No one was hit, and police subsequently apprehended the driver. Due to safety concerns, police ended the event early.[25]
See also
References
- ^ WBUR. Archived from the originalon February 12, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Barnes, Luke (May 18, 2018). "Exclusive: Leaks show how Boston 'free speech' group acts as a front for far-right organizing". ThinkProgress. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Drury, Colin (June 9, 2019). "Organisers of 'Straight Pride' revealed to have far-right links". The Independent. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Temple-Raston, Dina; Mak, Tim (July 27, 2021). "The Justice Department Is Struggling To Bring Capitol Riot Cases To Trial: Here's Why". NPR. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Sommer, Will (June 5, 2019). "Boston's Straight Pride Parade Is Even Worse Than You Think". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Greenberg, Zoe; Crimaldi, Laura (February 20, 2021). "Smiling on the outside: Super Happy Fun America always claimed to be kidding. But their history suggests otherwise". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c Hilliard, John (November 7, 2021). "Right-wing protesters, counter-demonstrators clash repeatedly on Boston Common". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ Bishop, Sam (September 2, 2019). "A damning account of what really happened at Boston's Straight Pride". PinkNews. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "'Straight Pride Parade' granted permit, city denies request to raise flag". WCVB-TV. June 26, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Iati, Marisa (June 6, 2019). "It's LGBT pride month, but three guys in Boston want a permit for a 'Straight Pride' parade". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- The Associated Press. August 31, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Super Happy Fun America". Super Happy Fun America. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Gardizy, Anissa (May 4, 2020). "Hundreds gather at State House to protest measures to slow spread of coronavirus". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Engber, Corinne (June 11, 2019). "The Covert Anti-Semitism of Straight Pride". JewishBoston. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Broderick, Ryan (September 1, 2019). "The Straight Pride Parade Is The Newest Far-Right Meme And Cities Aren't Ready For It". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Garrison, Joey (August 29, 2019). "Straight Pride Parade a 'perversion': Boston plans draws outrage". USA Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Hilliard, John; Wu, Sarah; MacQuarrie, Brian; Ortiz, Aimee (August 31, 2019). "Counterprotesters rally at City Hall as Straight Pride Parade kicks off in Copley". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Garrison, Joey (August 31, 2019). "Boston's Straight Pride Parade draws hundreds of marchers and even more counter protesters". USA Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (September 4, 2019). "Michelle Wu questions police tactics at 'Straight Pride Parade'". Boston.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- WBUR. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ organizer Mark Sahady, Natick politician Sue Ianni arrested for US Capitol siege
- CBS Boston. Archived from the originalon November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Lum, Shelby (February 21, 2021). The history of Super Happy Fun America in Boston (Video). The Boston Globe.