Sarasota Herald-Tribune Publishes Bonkers Op-Ed From Wife of Proud Boy Member Defending Group as ‘Caring Parents’

Sarah RumpfJul 10th, 2022, 11:01 pm
 
Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Newspaper opinion pages are often criticized for having a political bias, but one Florida paper showed the pitfalls of a poorly-executed attempt to tell both sides of the story. An op-ed published on Sunday by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune defended local school board candidates’ alleged association with the Proud Boys by claiming the group’s members were simply “caring parents” who were being unfairly attacked for their conservative political views. Oh, and the paper failed to disclose the author was married to a Proud Boy herself.

To be clear, the Proud Boys have a documented history of criminal activities and violent altercations that dates back several years. Along with the Oath Keepers, multiple members of the group have been charged with serious felonies related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and an FBI informant testified to the House Select Committee that Proud Boys had plans that included occupying various federal buildings and assassinating Vice President Mike Pence during the attack. Members of Proud Boys have caused turmoil in various Republican circles across Florida, including contentious squabbles over leadership of local party organizations and even physical brawls.

This disgraceful history was apparently not a problem for Melissa Radovich, who penned an op-ed for the Herald-Tribune titled, “Attacking Proud Boys does a disservice to caring school parents.”

Radovich’s op-ed was a response to a Herald-Tribune guest column published in late June by Lisa Gialdini Schurr that called on Sarasota school board candidates to “show some courage” and “call out the Proud Boys.” In the column, Schurr accuses several candidates of being associated with the Proud Boys, organizing front groups for them to hide their affiliations, and calls on local Republican candidates to reject “the toxic rhetoric espoused by the Proud Boys and other hate groups.”

Mediaite was not able to independently verify Schurr’s allegations regarding specific events involving Sarasota County Republican party officials and candidates, but the issue that was attracting attention on social media was not about individual accusations, but rather Radovich’s defense of the Proud Boys, attempting to portray them as nothing more than parents concerned about the school system.

“When I think about the Proud Boys,” Radovich wrote, “I think of fathers, business owners and veterans. These fathers have spoken at many School Board meetings. They are concerned about the direction that their local schools are heading in, and I commend them for coming to School Board meetings.”

She accused Schurr of attacking the local Proud Boys because they are “opposed to abortion;” “stand for America and freedom, and against communist organizations;” “believe that discussions of homosexuality are best left to parents, and that this is an issue of parental rights;” and “stand against medical mandates, such as the illegal mask mandate in Sarasota County.”

Radovich also defended James and Kathy Hoel, who were identified in Schurr’s column as a Proud Boy and his wife, both involved in several recent local political events, as “dear friends of mine,” who were “not only business owners,” but “wonderful parents who attend School Board meetings and do what they can for kids in our community.”

The op-ed drew outrage online, both for Radovich’s attempted whitewashing of the Proud Boys’ troubling record, and Radovich’s omission of her own husband’s membership in the group, a fact that was expressly cited in Schurr’s column and not refuted by Radovich. The Herald-Tribune editorial board was called out for agreeing to publish the op-ed in the first place, and for failing to disclose Radovich’s personal connection, identifying her only as “a mother who lives in the Sarasota County Schools district and…an executive at an area manufacturing education company.”

“An obvious journalism fail” and “just plain gross” was Soledad O’Brien’s reaction to the op-ed, and she was far from alone in this view.

This article has been updated with additional information.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.