William Bishop: Is Putin fueling Oakdale-based hate group?

While the name “Identity Evropa” sounds like an arcane call to return to a European identity of older times, “Evropa” is simply the Russian spelling of Europe. Which leads me to wonder just how much support “Identity Evropa” receives from Russia? I wonder whether Nathan Damigo’s followers know they are volunteering their efforts to further Vladimir Putin’s agenda in the U.S., and I wonder if they actually care? I also wonder whether The Bee feels any responsibility for lending the organization more legitimacy than it deserves by devoting print space far in excess of that needed to say what needs to be said? Or will The Bee simply fall back on their hollow claim that they are simply reporting a legitimate news story?

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "William Bishop: Is Putin fueling Oakdale-based hate group?."