Several Clay County residents will host a community meeting in Celina Thursday to discuss Christian nationalists relocating to the county.
Clay County Resident Carol Abney said a group called the “RidgeRunners” has recently purchased storefront property on the square in Celina. Abney said after doing research, she discovered the group may want to purchase land across the area. Abney said what people know and love about Celina is in danger.
“When you have people who are talking about creating their own flag and getting elected so they can take over the community, and making sure that certain people are not in their community and they’re coming to our community to take over, we have, I mean, we have concerns,” Abney said.
Abney said the goal of the community meeting is to educate the community on who these people are and what their goals are. Abney said the meeting is not political. She said she wants people to form their own opinion.
“We just have to make sure that we give people the tools so that they will be aware that maybe they need to vet people before they sell to them,” Abney said. “Or if somebody decides to sell to them, that they need to be prepared for, there might be backlash from some of the other community members. We just want to make sure that somebody isn’t blindsided by this information.”
According to the group’s website, the group’s headquarters is located in Gainesboro. Abney said another concern she has about the group is their viewpoint on women.
“They talk about how they don’t like college-educated women and that how women would live better lives if they couldn’t vote, and then there were some other things that were very concerning,” Abney said.
Abney said she believes that the group is not only targeting Celina but also other rural communities in the Upper Cumberland.
“We take people at face value,” Abney said. You know, country people take people at face value. If you look at somebody and they smile at you and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing? I care about you,’ You take them at that value, and so we are a little naive sometimes, and we open the door for people, and we are easy targets, and I think they are intentionally exploiting that about us.”
Abney said rude behavior will not be tolerated. The meeting will take place at the Historic Clay County Courthouse and will begin at 7pm.
