Proud Boy says beliefs irrelevant to service, won’t drop out of Kansas school board race
Update 7:11 pm. Tuesday
When reached Tuesday evening for comment, Wells told The Eagle that his political beliefs are irrelevant to his candidacy for the local school board in Reno County.
“Like I said, I would love to address any questions or concerns about me to the voters and parents in the district I’m running in. Other than that it’s not a matter of what anyone writing an article has to say about whether or not I’m a PB or something. Because you are going to write whatever you want anyhow,” he wrote in a text message. “And continue to make sure the good honest hard-working, loyal, brothers who have been made out to be racists or whatever you want to call us from day to day are not given a chance to be who we choose to be.”
Wells said that thus far the media’s portrayal of him has been inaccurate, adding:
“Yet nobody in the media business want to acknowledge the fact that for well over a year now groups of people have terrorized communities to the point where people are scared to leave their own property. Those same people have become reliant on violence as intimidation towards whomever doesn’t agree with their agenda,” he wrote. “No one wants to be accountable for their own actions anymore but by God if a white Christian man decides to stand up for what’s right, well, then you portray him to be a white supremacist.”
Wells said many of the issues currently dividing the community along racial lines won’t affect his ability to be a school board member, saying he will likely buck the administration on issues that do not align with his platform.
“Those who insist upon putting a color in front of lives matter, now those are the racists. I’m not dropping out of the school board race and I’m not going to ask everyone to agree with me and my beliefs but I will always do what’s right for our children and their futures,” he wrote. “I will not go along with what the superintendent or any of the administration feels I have to do. It’s a school board meeting not superintendent/school board meeting. I will not be bullied or intimidated into voting on what they say it’s what’s best for the kids and parents not administration.”
He concluded by saying that the Proud Boys themselves has been maligned by a biased press. It is not illegal to be a Proud Boy, though the group has had members prosecuted for their participation in the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol earlier this year.
“Anyone who actually knows a Proud Boy would be the first to tell you that we’re all good guys and stand up for ourselves, our brothers and family and the rest of the country,” he said. ”[Your reporter and I] never spoke about Proud Boys I informed her that I’m not a white supremacist. Nowhere on the form that I filled out then paid the fee for candidacy did it ask if I am a Proud Boy. It’s irrelevant in the race.”
Original story
A Haven school board candidate who espoused racist ideology to a group of teenage anti-fascists earlier this week told The Wichita Eagle today that he has no plans to drop out of the race.
Josh Wells, a Reno County, Kansas resident and owner of Wells Home Repair, was the subject of a recent Kansas Reflector article that detailed his ties to far-right groups.
Wells is a self-described leader of a Proud Boys group and promotes the idea of an all-white nation, according to The Kansas Reflector’s article. In private messages with teenage anti-fascists, called the Midwest Youth Liberation Front, Wells shared a white nationalist manifesto and said he was a member of the Midwest Nationalist Party.
The teenagers shared their messages with Wells on a Twitter thread, messages that Wells alleges are Photoshopped. When asked by an Eagle reporter if Wells was going to sue the Midwest Youth Liberation Front as he threatened to do, he said no.
A member of the Midwest Youth Liberation Front and someone who self-identified as playing a big role in doxxing Wells, told The Eagle that Wells was a leader of the Midwest Nationalist Party and that it was one of the first things they spoke about after connecting in early May during a White Lives Matter event on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has been used by white supremacists.
The member declined to identify themselves, saying they didn’t want any credit and they were concerned for their safety.
When an Eagle reporter called Wells and identified themselves, Wells at first replied, “No thanks,” but went on to elaborate that he is still in the school board race and that he wouldn’t be dropping out. When asked if he received any backlash because of the Kansas Reflector article, Wells hung up.
When the reporter called back, Wells spent nine minutes denouncing the article, saying the story was full of lies, spurred on by a “nasty” activist.
“I’m not a racist,” Wells said. “I’m not a white supremacist.”
Wells went on to text an Eagle reporter that Proud Boys are all good guys who stand up for themselves, each other, their family and the rest of the country.
“Nowhere on the form that I filled out, then paid the fee for candidacy, did it ask if I am a Proud Boy,” Wells said. “It’s irrelevant to race.”
When asked if he supported the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQ community or any other activist group, Wells said no. He said he’s a solid Christian who believes in two genders.
“I don’t get into activism or protests. I think it’s silly,” Wells said. “I do what is right and best for everyone. Color doesn’t matter. That’s why I’m running for school board.”
Wells said he welcomed any parents or students who wanted to speak with him about his candidacy.
“I’ll address any concerns from parents and students,” Wells said. “I don’t have anything to hide. I’m the easiest going guy, until I feel attacked.”
This story will be updated as it develops.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Proud Boy says beliefs irrelevant to service, won’t drop out of Kansas school board race."
