GRIID end of the year in Review: Part II – Monitoring the Far Right in West Michigan

In Part I of the GRIID Year in Review, I wrote about the media watchdog work I do and how the local news reported on critical issues in Grand Rapids for 2024. Today, I want to look at my reporting on the Far Right in West Michigan.

I monitor the Far Right in West Michigan because not only do they spread misinformation and promote hate, they also engage in actual harm. The kind of harm the far right practices disproportionately impacts trans people, immigrants, BIPOC communities and people who are subjected to poverty. Monitoring the Far Right in West Michigan can help us to identify the organizations engaged in harm, which can lead to exposure and resistance.

In February of 2024, I wrote a Part I and Part II story about how Kent County candidates were embracing some of the same ideological commitments as the group Ottawa Impact. 

In a March 12 post, I looked at how the Acton Institute trashed Aaron Bushnell for his decision to self-immolate as a protest against US complicity in the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians, the GR Chamber’s claim about immigrants and a Doug DeVos podcast interview with former GRPS Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal.

In late. March, I wrote another 2 part story about how politicians used anti-immigrant hysteria after an undocumented immigrant killed his girlfriend in Kent County. The hysteria was brought about because a far right anti-immigrant group claimed that Kent County was a sanctuary county.

The Acton Institute was once again the subject of another GRIID article in April, after one of the Acton writers made anti-Black comments and then equated anti-Zionism with anti-semitism. In late April, I also wrote a piece about the far right group in the Forest Hills area known as Forest Hills for JUST Education.

In May, I wrote about the far right pro-cop group, Voice for the Badge, and Acton Institute podcasters calling for students that are protesting against the Israeli genocide should be expelled. Then in late May, I wrote about the GR Chamber of Commerce, the Acton Institute and the Betsy DeVos created group, the Great Lakes Education Project.

On June 18th, GRIID posted an article about a Press Conference held by the far right, anti-trans coalition that was touring with their message of hate. The group Our Bodies, Our Sports held a Press Conference in front of the Ford Museum and included Betsy DeVos as one of the speakers.

After a tremendous amount of social media content about Project 2025, I wrote a piece  in July that made it clear that many of the national groups that had signed off on the project have been funded by the DeVos family.

In August, the Acton Institute was once again the target of a GRIID article, especially since they made the claim that no one, even the unhoused, have a right to housing.

In September, Voice for the Badge reposted a meme from the group NumbersUSA. According to SourceWatch, NumbersUSA is an anti-immigrant organization that was tied to the larger anti-immigrant network that was created by now deceased Michigan physician John Tanton.

In October, I discovered that there were several conservative churches that were participating in Faith & Blue weekend. Some local churches actively participated in a national campaign that was created in response to the massive public protests again the George Floyd murder in 2020.

Lastly, in November, I wrote about how the Acton Institute’s revisionist claims about the First Thanksgiving, along with how the GR Chamber of Commerce was lobbying Michigan legislators to adopt bills that would benefit their members and other people in the Capitalist Class.

Some of the Far Right stories that I wrote in 2024, could easily be categorized as being part of the Grand Rapids Power Structure, but there is a great deal of overlap between the far right and the GR Power Structure. Part III in this series will focus on the Grand Rapids Power Structure.