In the aftermath of  an incident wherein two local Jews and their friend, a male 79-year-old cancer survivor, allegedly were attacked, severely beaten and dragged out of the West Asheville Library by participants in an anti-Israel event on June 29, Asheville FOP President Rondell Lance said of the perpetrators, “They’re hypocrites!”

Specifically, in a July 13 telephone interview wherein the Daily Planet sought his review and analsis of the case, Lance said, “They (the anarchists) try to act like they’re concerned about one group, but on the other hand they’re beating up on this old man who’s dying from cancer. The hypocrisy of it... It’s just that they love to protest and it makes themselves feel important — I guess...

“They don’t really understand what they’re talking about. They just love to protest. They feel like they’re doing something good. It makes their conscience feel good” and, he added, it gives them a (false) sense of purpose in their otherwise meaningless lives.

(As for the Asheville-area FOP lodge, over which Lance is the president, a North Carolina FOP website states: “Currently, Asheville’s Harold C Enloe Lodge 1 has over 250 members. These members are made up of law enforcement officers and civilians from the Asheville Police Department, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, HCSHP, N.C. Probation and Parole, and many others.”)

Continuing with the interview, Lance, a Buncombe County native, said, “I just advise the public to let them (the anarchists) have their ‘little meetings.’ You can’t change their minds. If you go, expect some trouble. These groups will not make any difference — in Israel, in Gaza or in America. They have to be held responsible by the courts. Let them have their ‘little tea party.’”

So how does Lance interpret that some local news media have called the library incident an “alleged attack,” while others just called it an attack? the Daily Planet asked. 

“I don’t know about the ‘alleged’ — not when you have ‘police investigating’ and ‘suspects sought’… Of course, by law, everyone’s innocent until you’re proven guilty. But when you’ve got people injured and witnesses — that (the used of “alleged attack”) is just the word game they play.” 

The local FOP president added, “The local news media always play it down when dealing with that (far-left anarchist) group. They (the mostly left-leaning Asheville news media) like to say, even when they (the protesters during the George Floyd riots in 2020 in downtown Asheville) are breaking windows (at businesses), ‘It was mostly peaceful....’

 “I don’t read the Citizen Times — I don’t really trust their reporters because they lean far left and they take what you say and try to reword it to fit their narrative.. As for (Asheville television station) WLOS (News 13), most of the time, their reporters at least try to report accurately what I said.”

He added, “The nature of the environment in Asheville has been, and still is, if you go against the agenda of some of these far left groups (such as the anarchists), they’ll come after you. They’ll threaten you. We’ve seen where they’ve burnt police cars, destroyed businesses, blocked traffic, beaten people and damaged and destroyed other people’s property...

Speaking of the local anarchists, who he claims are brainwashed with one-sided leftist propaganda, Lance asserted, “They can’t present the truth and, if you confront them with the truth, they will resort to violence and name-calling… I would say they’re (ages) 16, 17 and 18... on up to about 27. It seems like people, when they get a little older, they can start looking at both sides. 

“A lot of it is immaturity by people who don’t understand what life’s about. I’ve been to a lot of meetings (with anarchists) – and a lot of times, they don’t want to hear you talk.

“I’ve had threats (from local anarchists) like, “Your day is coming!”

At one meeting, Lance recalled, “I said, ‘You’ve got to look at the facts’ — and one of them (the anarchists) said, “We don’t use that term’” — in a reference to “facts.”

To that end, he said, “They (the anarchists) have a right to say what they want to say and to protest peacefully, but they take it beyond that — and until the district attorney’s office holds them responsible, they’ll continue on, continue on, get stronger — and get bolder.” (Buncombe County’s DA is Todd Williams, who Lance did not name.)

“I know the APD will do a good job of leveling charges” in the library attack case, “so it comes down to what the DA’s office does — to decide what they want to charge them (the anarchists) with and, if they’re found guilty, what will the penalty be. A lot of times, they (the DA’s office) lessen the charges ... because they fear these groups coming after them.”

Firing another jab at the anarchists, Lance asserted, “They’re not willing to listen to reason. Or to hear both sides. If you speak out against their side, they resort to fighting, to damaging property, to blocking the streets. So the only thing that can change that is... if the courts will hold them responsible for their actions.”

Compounding the problem, he said, is that “there are so many people out there who know exactly who they (the anarchists being sought by police in the library attack) are, but they’re not going to do anything...

“These are people who part of the organization based out of Firestorm Bookstore (located near by the library), which is an anarchist store.”

How does Lance view the anarchist group’s stance in favoring the Palestinians and condemning the Israelis? the Daily Planet asked.

“How do they (the anarchists) ‘know’ what’s going on in Palestine and Jerusalem? All they know is what they heard on the (far left) news. They don’t know what they’re talking about....”

So what does he think about the difficulties the APD is having identifying “persons of interests” because all attendees of the library meeting were required to wear masks? the Daily Planet askd.

“The ‘mask thing?’” Lance asked, and paused. Asheville Councilwoman “Kim Roney represents a lot of that group. She wears a mask during an entire City Council meeting. But when she was outside the meeting, talking with people, she wasn’t wearing her mask.

“So the mask is a symbol of who their movement is. And it makes it harder for police to ID them... They (the anarchists) have no fear of the police. They burnt the two police cars” behind the West Asheville police station recently, Lance contended.

So would Lance feel safe attending a meeting in a conference room at the West Asheville Library? the Daily Planet queried.

“It should be safe — when you have regular library hours. If you see a group meeting” in the conference room, “you might want to ask the librarian” who the group is and what they are discussing before entering.

In a reference to the anarchist group, asserting in a statement (appearing elsewhere on this page) that the two Jews at their meeting are “Zionists” and “white supremacists,” Lance said, “They (the anarchists) throw out names to the extreme to try to justify their actions. Even if they (the two Jews present) were ‘Zionists,’ they’re over here — in Asheville — not over in Jerusalem.”

Further, Lance asserted, “All of the Jewish meetings in Asheville that I’ve attended and that I’m aware of have been, or are, peaceful... I do know that some of the (Asheville) synagogues — they hire law enforcement to be there during their services. I think there is a fear in the Jewish community here (in Asheville). They’re cautious going about — and aware that the potential is out there in the community to verbally assault or attack someone” simply because he or she is Jewish.

In concluding the Daily Planet interview, Lance said of the anarchists, “If you expect change over there, you’ve got to be a part of the change. Yet, you’re beating these people up,” while claiming to seek peace and justice.