Wolfclan Armory, a knife and weapons shop that has been based in Creswell, is planning a move to Main Street in Cottage Grove, the Cottage Grove Sentinel reported March 21.
Wolfclan is owned by the Laskey family. Son, Jacob Laskey, was arrested Jan. 20 on charges of second-degree assault, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree criminal trespassing. Jacob Laskey was on federal probation, having served 11 years in prison for his involvement in the 2002 hate crime against a Eugene synagogue.
As Eugene Weekly reported in January, he was photographed with members of the hate group American Front after his release.
Laskey claims to have burned hundreds of copies of EW in response to an article on Antifa. He posted a video of the fire on the Wolfclan Armory YouTube page, as well as a number of other videos including a defense of white nationalist cannabis entrepreneur Bethany Sherman. Laskey later began posting as the “Antiantifa supremacist.” Many of the videos are shared on Wolfclan Armory’s Facebook page. However, Wolfclan owner Jeanette Laskey told the Sentinel that “it wasn’t Wolfclan that posted those things. It was her son, Jacob.”
And as the Sentinel reports, Jeanette Laskey “said she and her husband are not racist. She contended that they had been “threatened” by Antifa and that, while she couldn’t discuss her son’s latest court case, she believed he had stopped taking his medication.”
The proposed opening has engendered protest. Cottage Grove resident Venice Mason told EW she would be protesting and The Optimism page, run by Sarah Rose, posted on March 21 that Backstage Bakery and Cafe in Cottage Grove was providing “free coffee for anyone down there protesting.” She writes, “I got me my coffee and my love rays.” She adds that “there has already been some verbal accosting towards the protest starter Venice Celt Rain ~ who is asking business owners and residents to make it known we don’t accept the hatred here.”
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519