from Idavox
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – The town council tonight made it clear that the White supremacist group that attempted to inject themselves into their Labor Day parade yesterday but ended up taking up the rear three blocks away were not invited and soundly condemned.
It was the 63rd anniversary for the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade, the state’s oldest and largest Labor Day parade, and it came after a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic and a security concern in 2019. At one point, the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA), a tiny group that has been seen at both Unite the Right rallies in Charlottesville in 2017 and in Washington, DC the following year, attempted to crash the parade and make themselves a part of it before residents and police intervened. “The group was not a part of the parade and was not a registrant of the parade,” Mayor Matthew Anesh said in an earlier statement. “The South Plainfield Police Department intervened and treated this protesting group as just that, protestors. In no way shape or form did I, the Governing Body, the Public Celebrations Committee or any other group or organization in South Plainfield condone or welcome this group to the Parade.” Police surrounded the group and kept them contained and away from the parade as a number of onlookers berated them.
The NJEHA has been seen at other events recently most notably a Pride event in Bordentown, NJ last month. The two most notable members of the group have been is founder, Daniel D’Ambly of Dayton, NJ and Ron Sheehy who used to live in Linden but now resides in Ocean Township, NJ. On Monday, only D’Ambly is seen not wearing a mask out of the five NJEHA members in the video. Ironically, they were prominent in anti-mask rallies in the state.
Much of NJEHA’s presence has come in the form of their decals with racist messages posted not just in New Jersey but across the country and in small, unannounced rallies such as Monday’s outing. They promote their activities on their website and Telegram account.
In May, Sheehy was involved in a fatal accident in which a 61-year-old bicyclist was stuck and killed by his SUV as Sheehy attempted to turn onto the Garden State Parkway in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. Sheehy was not seen to be at fault and no charges were filed.
The town council meeting was attended by members of Black Lives Matter and the NAACP who along with South Plainfield residents spoke out against the NJEHA in their public statements. Kason Little of Black Lives Matter Elizabeth, NJ encouraged councilmembers to take into consideration of how groups like the NJEHA targeted the Black community noting how the White supremacist slogan known as the 14 Words – “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” – which is featured on the NJEHA website only focused on white children negating those that are not in a future society. Jimmy Dabrowski a schoolteacher in Woodbridge, read a statement on behalf of the Perth Amboy NAACP and thanked the council for forcefully condemning the group. “The Perth Amboy Area Branch NAACP unequivocally denounces the New Jersey European Heritage Association,” the statement read. “We call on all South Plainfield elected and appointed officials to join us in condemning this defined white supremacist hate group.”
It is not known if any NJEHA members are residents of South Plainfield.