鈥榊ou鈥檙e an IDIOT:鈥� M4L chair and school board candidate promotes political extremism and hate online
The chair of a North Carolina Moms for Liberty (M4L) chapter promotes antigovernment extremism on her social media.
Natosha Tew, 45, is a resident of Wilmington, North Carolina, and is the chair of the New Hanover County Moms for Liberty chapter. A former emergency management coordinator for Wilmington, Tew said in a social media post that she has since dedicated her time in part to relaxation and attending school board meetings.
The former employee of the city of Wilmington and the Wilmington Fire Department, however, has also spent her time sharing antigovernment memes and messages on social media. These include III% symbols on her Facebook, as well as III% hashtags on her posts. One such III% image shows a 鈥淚II鈥� above a 1776, surrounded by 13 stars that are themselves surrounded with the phrase, 鈥淲hen tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.鈥�
Three Percenterism聽is a sub-ideology or common belief that falls within the larger antigovernment militia movement. Though not a centralized movement, the ideology has motivated antigovernment extremists for decades. Three Percenters (also known as III%ers or Threepers) claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution, a claim that has never been proven.
Three Percenters often draw parallels between the U.S. government today and the British government in the 1700s, arguing that the current U.S. government is tyrannical and actively working to infringe on Americans鈥� constitutional rights and liberties. They use this idea to fashion themselves as the vanguard, or tip of the spear, in an imagined fight against tyranny. In actuality, they often follow spurious antigovernment conspiracy theories that toy with the idea of armed insurrection.
Tew, who recently announced her campaign for the local school board, openly supports political extremist movements. Combined with her beliefs in election-fraud conspiracy theories, Tew articulates a worldview heavily indebted to the unfounded paranoia and hate that saturates the hard right. She has celebrated online the dissolution of her local school board鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion program, as well as policies limiting trans students from participating in school activities as trans students.
Tew鈥檚 presence at school board meetings has been . Deputies have had to remove Tew from at least two meetings for violating board rules of propriety. And she has come under fire for her misleading spreading misinformation claims about the legality of masks and vaccines made at school board meetings while still serving in emergency management. This includes spreading messages through Facebook that falsely claims that a mask will 鈥淪hut Down Immune System鈥� and 鈥淚ncreases Virus Risk.鈥�
In addition to spreading Three Percenter memes and symbols, Tew also seems to be a vaccine conspiracy theorist, arguing against available evidence that they are a fraud. She also has a low opinion of fellow voters who have decided to be responsible and get vaccinated. In the middle of a fall 2022 peak in COVID-19 infections, Tew wrote on Facebook: 鈥淚f you are still wearing a mask and lining up to get your 鈥榖ooster,鈥� you鈥檙e an IDIOT. Seriously. Feel free to unfriend me immediately. I鈥檓 done with virtual-signally [sic] assholes and idiots. #sorrynotsorry.鈥�
The Cape Fear Proud Boys聽chapter, also in New Hanover County, is a hate group that has been openly supportive of Moms for Liberty and Tew鈥檚 chapter, in particular. The Cape Fear Proud Boys praised the local Moms for Liberty chapter in 鈥渢urning our school board red鈥� and dissolving the school district鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion office. They also responded on Telegram to a speech by LeVar Burton of the celebrated educational children鈥檚 television series 鈥淩eading Rainbow,鈥� who condemned book bannings and expressed satisfaction that Moms for Liberty was not present at his event. The local Proud Boys responded their full-throated support of Tew and her fellow M4L members, saying, 鈥淒on鈥檛 think for one second 鈥� we still won鈥檛 stomp you if you ever put hands on one of them in front of us.鈥�
Moms for Liberty聽is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes 人兽性交+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and leads the nation in advocating books bans in schools. They also use their multiple social media platforms to target teachers and school officials, advocate for the abolition of the Department of Education, advance a conspiracy propaganda, and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the 人兽性交+ community.
Photo illustration by 人兽性交
人兽性交 Research Analyst Maya Carey contributed to this reporting, along with BlueprintNC. BlueprintNC works with its partners towards inclusive and anti-racist democracy rooted in civic engagement through movement building and mobilization.
