Denham blasts white supremacists, but what he doesn’t say draws fire

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, released a statement Wednesday denouncing groups that promote bigotry, appearing to direct his comments at a white nationalist leader from his own district.

While the congressman did not mention his name, Denham’s post on Facebook Wednesday morning was accompanied by a Modesto Bee article on Nathan Damigo of Oakdale. Damigo was a central figure in Saturday’s far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va., that erupted in violence, leaving three people dead. Damigo is founder of a white supremacist group called Identity Evropa.

“There is no place in our society, much less our own community, for groups that promote hate, bigotry and infighting,” Denham wrote. “We have an entire generation of Americans that fought against the Nazi regime. To embrace this ideology now is just ignorant.”

The congressman’s 10th District includes all of Stanislaus County, where close to 30,000 military veterans are said to live. Among them are veterans who fought in World War II to topple Hitler.

The Bee reported that Damigo was briefly taken into custody in Virginia after refusing to leave a park amid the chaos. The Oakdale man claimed in a video that the bloody clashes with counterdemonstrators were a “huge victory” for his cause.

Damigo, 31, is a student at California State University, Stanislaus. University President Ellen Junn released a statement Wednesday on the Stanislaus State website.

Denham’s statement, coming four days after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, received a mixed reaction.

“Your words are encouraging and we need more action to squash these racists,” wrote Russ Hill, a Merced County 4-H manager.

Paula Vonder Haar wrote that for once she agreed with Denham, a valley Republican who was roundly criticized for his vote in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Other people charged that Denham was silent on Charlottesville for too long.

“Thank you for making a statement five days later,” Laura Scarborough of Manteca wrote on Facebook.

Juan Benitez tweeted: “As my representative, I would like to know your thoughts on comments made by Trump about Charlottesville.”

Jay Parker asked, “Are you behind Trump on his views on white supremacy?”

Travis Hughes urged Denham to also call out groups on the “far left” such as Antifa, an anti-fascist movement reportedly involved in Saturday’s counter-protests, and Black Lives Matter. Hughes claimed those groups are terrorists organizations.

Denham did not respond with a comment on the timing of his statement, and has not made any comments about the president.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Denham blasts white supremacists, but what he doesn’t say draws fire."