Is ‘Hangtown Santa’ a Proud Boy? California county argues over political appointee
Scores of El Dorado County residents are alleging that a man just appointed to a county advisory panel is affiliated with or supports the Proud Boys, while others including the supervisor who nominated him contend that the perceived ties to the far-right group are just a misunderstanding.
Chris Cockrell, who was was appointed Tuesday to the county’s Veterans Affairs Commission, attended a Dec. 5 Toys for Tots event in Placerville while dressed up as Santa Claus.
Near the end of the holiday event, about two dozen men arrived to the drive-thru toy drive on foot, most of them clad in black hooded sweatshirts that read “Hangtown Proud Boy” on the back. The Proud Boys have widely been labeled a hate group, and the Canadian government recently declared them a terrorist group.
The men in black hoodies posed for photos while displaying a hand gesture that has been identified by the Anti-Defamation League as an “expression of white supremacy.” Placerville’s then-Mayor Michael Saragosa denounced the demonstration.
Video posted to social media show that as they posed for their first photo in front of the toy drive site near the Bell Tower, Cockrell in his Santa costume lingered near the back of the crowd mostly out of frame.
Cockrell moved to the front and center as the group posed for a second photo. He displayed two other hand gestures before landing on the white supremacy-associated symbol for the picture.
In the weeks following the incident, El Dorado County Supervisor George Turnboo nominated Cockrell to a four-year position on the Veterans Affairs Commission, which advises the supervisors on veterans policies and issues.
The Board of Supervisors was then flooded with close to 200 pages of emailed comment opposing the nomination, most in response to what some called the “Hangtown Santa Claus” incident. Hangtown is Placerville’s city nickname.
Supervisor Sue Novasel — who represents South Lake Tahoe, Meyers and Pollock Pines — made a motion in a Jan. 5 meeting to not approve Cockrell, seconded by Supervisor Wendy Thomas, whose district includes Placerville and Diamond Springs. The remaining majority including Turnboo instead passed a motion to continue the item to Tuesday.
Ahead of the meeting, Turnboo — who represents Cameron Park and other south county communities — released a statement saying Cockrell made the hand gesture “in the spur of the moment without any ill will” after the Proud Boys “prodded him” to do so.
The supervisors then voted 4-1 to appoint Cockrell, with Thomas the lone “no” vote.
Cockrell weighs in as community argues
Before the vote, Tuesday’s meeting began with close to an hour of public comment focused mostly on Cockrell, split about evenly between locals who allege that the Santa incident reflects involvement in or support of hateful and violent ideologies, and others who agreed with Turnboo about it being an innocent mistake.
Cockrell called about midway through and denied doing anything that should disqualify him from the position.
“There’s not one substantiated allegation by any of these in writing that are slandering me that can be proven true,” he said. “I think each of you (supervisors) have certainly reviewed these things. I think you need to step aside from the political attacks ... I welcome everybody to be in my circle.”
Cockrell also called into the Jan. 5 meeting and gave some explanation for the events at the toy drive.
“I deny any of the accusations that have been communicated,” he said. “My participation was all about Christmas in our community.”
A current member of the Veterans Affairs Commission, John Poimiroo, called in Tuesday and said Cockrell has “no connection to (the Proud Boys) at all.”
But some who wrote to the Board of Supervisors said Cockrell himself should publicly denounce the Proud Boys and white supremacy, specifically deny any affiliation or support for them and apologize for the Santa incident.
Cockrell didn’t do so in his remarks during the two meetings. He did say Tuesday that he welcomes the opportunity to sit down with Thomas and Novasel to “further share who I am.”
He also referenced Turnboo’s statement and said it was “100% factual.”
“Mr. Cockrell made himself available to anyone who wanted a photo with Santa and was in dozens of photos with families and various groups,” Turnboo wrote, in part. “He did not discriminate against any person or group who wanted a photo.
“Video from the toy drive shows that when Mr. Cockrell was asked to stand in front of the Proud Boys group for a photo, he made a peace sign for the photo, but the group prodded him to make other hand gestures, which he did in the spur of the moment without any ill will or preconceived intention.”
The Sacramento Bee reviewed video clips from the incident, and the man dressed up as Santa did not make a peace sign but instead a “devil horn” hand gesture, then what appeared to be a shaka (or “hang loose”) gesture at a vehicle passing by.
The Proud Boys group behind him then got his attention and he turned around; when he turned back toward the camera, Cockrell displayed the white supremacy-associated hand gesture like the rest of them.
Did Cockrell use social media platform Parler?
Controversy followed, before and after Cockrell’s nomination to the position.
Several who commented Tuesday, supporting or opposing Cockrell’s appointment to the commission, identified themselves as veterans.
One opponent is Joseph Connolly, a Diamond Springs resident and retired senior chief petty officer for the Coast Guard, who sent a detailed email to the supervisors objecting to Cockrell’s nomination.
Connolly in his email attached more than 20 pages of screenshots allegedly from Cockrell’s page on Parler — a social media platform that caters to far-right users and, a few days after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building, had its web hosting services suspended by Amazon Web Services.
Cockrell and an account called “Proud Boys Hangtown - Placerville El Dorado County” were following each other, according to these screenshots, and both pages were created in November 2020.
The Bee could not confirm Connolly’s allegations about Cockrell’s Parler account. Parler has remained offline since the Amazon deactivation.
The screenshots from Connolly show some of Cockrell’s apparent re-posts, including numerous false claims about the 2020 election; one claiming that the Food and Drug Administration delayed emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines to hurt former President Donald Trump’s re-election chances; and a number of others that appear to be related to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
“These views are wholly incompatible with the commission’s duties, which include the public promotion of veterans affairs and recruitment to our Armed Forces,” Connolly wrote.
Veterans Affairs Commission members weigh in
Poimiroo, of the Veterans Affairs Commission, said during Tuesday’s public comment period that he and a colleague undertook “an investigation of what happened with Proud Boys” and determined it to be a misunderstanding, as Turnboo had written.
“He was there in Placerville simply to portray Santa Claus,” Poimiroo said. “He has read conservative sites, he has looked to see who they are, but he has no association with them. And to be maligned and mischaracterized as being a supporter of Proud Boys is absolutely false. He has no connection to them at all.”
Poimiroo called Cockrell “very conservative” but not hateful.
Some who defended Cockrell said efforts to dissuade the county from appointing him were an instance of “cancel culture” run amok. At least two who called into the meeting referred to the situation as a “character assassination.”
Cockrell’s term runs through January 2025.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Is ‘Hangtown Santa’ a Proud Boy? California county argues over political appointee."
