It's Time for Anchorage to Deal With "Save Anchorage"
It's time to admit the truth about Save Anchorage now that group members have all but proven themselves to be steeped in conspiracy theories. These theories, which Anchorage residents heard very clearly from group members as they "testified" at Tuesday's Anchorage Assembly meeting, should not be laughed off or ignored.
A woman who identified herself as "Michelle" and as a "proud member" of the Save Anchorage group known very often to be antisemitic, homophobic, and anti-mask — said, "You're gonna have more people rise up because in Save Anchorage group when you cut one of our heads off, 60 more appear."
The Save Anchorage member continued later in her testimony, warning the Anchorage Assembly that if they didn't capitulate to the group's demands, the "Save Anchorage group (would) become stronger, we will become even more in numbers."
This appears to be the language of a cult, but you be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TCq81fPIUH0
Anchorage mayoral candidate Forrest Dunbar said at one point during the often unhinged meeting that the testimony portion had been used to "spread disinformation," and many Anchorage residents who watched and commented on the proceedings largely agreed.
During last night's meeting, Anchorage witnessed a well-coordinated disinformation campaign pulled off by the group. The group has public figures such as Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard in its membership roster encouraging their insanity.
A short month after the Save Anchorage group's creation, David Bronson was backed by the group and is now completely hidden away from prying eyes.
The Save Anchorage Facebook group is well known for spreading misinformation on about many topics, such as business closures, the homeless situation, election fraud, masks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Facebook employees raised these issues directly with the group.
Alaska Public Media wrote of the Save Anchorage Group:
"The 9,000-member Facebook page, which is now private, has also contributed to a spread of misinformation about the pandemic, the city's public health measures, the homelessness situation, and other issues. Members routinely share information that has been debunked — among other things, that masks are ineffective or unhealthy, and that reported data on COVID-19 case numbers and deaths due to COVID-19 are being falsified."
Save Anchorage group members often write posts and comments that appear to condone violence and encourage others to take up arms against tyranny. Members have perpetuated dangerous QAnon conspiracy theories and have referred to Anchorage residents and political candidates as pedophiles while others regularly speak of the "cabal." Recently, according to one person's account, some group members went after a constituent of Jamie Allard on social media, doxing her.
The group regularly promotes misinformation about Anchorage Assembly members they don't like, with Felix Rivera, Christopher Constant, and Forrest Dunbar on the receiving end of the group's disinformation campaign which is largely promoted by the blog, Must Read Alaska, who recently inked a deal with Newsmax.
Newsmax has promoted baseless allegations that voting machine company Smartmatic and its competitor Dominion Voting Systems conspired to rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump.
In January, Save Anchorage group members audibly gasped at the suggestion that Joseph Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
The Save Anchorage group appears to be aligned with two other groups — Reclaim Midtown and Alaskans For Open Meetings.
According to the group's Facebook listing, Reclaim Midtown currently has ownership and responsibility for the Save Anchorage group, which shows Save Anchorage is a group by Reclaim Midtown. Reclaim Midtown is behind the seemingly emotionally charged effort to recall Assembly Chair, Felix Rivera. Must Read Alaska refers to Reclaim Midtown as "activists."
The group, which lists itself as a "Political Organization" on their Facebook page, is led by Russell Biggs, who, in a public social media post made to Parler before the service was taken offline by Amazon — took aim at Mr. Rivera's personal life in what may have been an attempt to draw a line to Mr. Rivera's professional conduct.
Mr. Biggs has been mentioned more than 13 times in political blog news posts/articles related to his widely reported political efforts. According to Alaska Public Media, Mr. Biggs is the "lead sponsor on the petition" to recall Mr. Felix Rivera.
Mr. Biggs hashtagged his post of Mr. Rivera as "#SaveAnchorage," a name synonymous with and frequently used by politically active Save Anchorage Facebook group members who directly inject themselves into local politics, and have promoted and appeared at many political rallies and Anchorage Assembly meetings. The post was also hashtagged "#reclaimmidtown" and #recallriverra," direct references to the Reclaim Midtown political efforts.
Reclaim Midtown commentators appear to be encouraging others to recall assembly members they don't politically agree with. At the same time, blogs seemingly accuse those same assembly members of falsehoods, as was the case when local pastors refuted claims of alleged coercion in a public statement less than two weeks ago.
Another group, Alaskans for Open Meetings, filed a lawsuit against the Municipality of Anchorage last year. The group, which also shares Must Read Alaska blog posts, had shots fired at them by the city of Anchorage when they filed their opposition to Alaskans for Open Meetings' Preliminary Injunction motion on November 25, 2020.
In their opposition, the Municipality quoted directly from Alaskans for Open Meetings when the group themselves wrote, "Lastly, we are working hand-in-hand with Save Anchorage and other similar organizations. We are not duplicating efforts."
Save Anchorage isn't a threat to Anchorage for just one reason — it's for all of the reasons I, Anchorage Press, and countless Anchorage residents have outlined since last fall.
The group shouldn't be taken seriously on political issues where they've been tremendously ineffective. Still, we should all take note and pay attention when they burn masks in the Assembly chambers, refuse to wear masks which directly threatens public health and safety, and when group members threaten violence and hide away from the public as they work themselves up into a tizzy over what political conspiracy theory happens to be percolating on any given day.
It's time to begin spreading the word to our friends and family members — and start informing Anchorage residents — and voters — what the Save Anchorage group believes and what they stand for.
The group that backs David Bronson and enjoys support from Assemblywoman Jamie Allard cannot be trusted. Given the group's history, that should be paramount to us as the group has proven itself to be anything but trustworthy.
How does Anchorage deal with Save Anchorage? Unlike their 'media sources,' we tell the truth, share the truth, and expose the lies. We build coalitions with people of all backgrounds and beliefs, including Republicans, who reject the delusive and dystopic politics of the Save Anchorage group...and we vote as if our lives depend on it...because if you haven't been paying attention, it's becoming more and more apparent that it does.
Note: The Save Anchorage Group is no longer listed as a "Group by Reclaim Midtown" but does list the Reclaim Midtown Facebook Page as an administrator of the group.
"Last month, the Reclaim Midtown page and the influence behind the attempts to recall practically every Anchorage Assembly member left of Jamie Allard — took it a step further, threatening a frivolous lawsuit against The Blue Alaskan. The individual pointed to no particular instance of potential libel in his emails but said he filed an online subpoena in Maricopa County, Arizona — home to GoDaddy.com, which hosts the Blue Alaskan's website — trying to use the threat of court action to force GoDaddy to reveal our hero's identity." - Anchorage Press, March 11, 2021.
The Blue Alaskan did not publicly post the email, threatening legal action. However, the purported author of the email did post it to the Save Anchorage group, where it was commented on by both the Reclaim Midtown page and the purported author of the email.
