Immigration Advocates Protest Outside Funded White Nationalists
October 8, 2026, 10:27 p.m.

KNOXVILLE - AKIN and a broad coalition of grassroots organizations demand Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox and state reps Monty Fritts and Jody Barrett cut ties with Heritage Hubs, an outside-funded white nationalist organization seeking a Knoxville headquarters to recruit UT students. The coalition will protest the white nationalist project on October 9, 2026 at 5 p.m. at Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Compass reports that Heritage Hubs is fundraising with local and state officials to open a headquarters in a historic Knoxville building and is seeking public tax incentives.

“We’re all wondering who’s bankrolling this project to groom young Vols,” said AKIN steering committee member Nat M. “White nationalists need outside cash because Knoxville rejects their ideas.”

Heritage Hubs is tied to the secretly-funded Tennessee Heritage Association, which has called for white-only schools and “remigration,” the forced removal of non-whites from the United States. The group was co-founded by the current president of the Knox County Young Republicans and is promoting panels with Fox, Fritts, and Barrett. .

“Knoxville doesn’t want a headquarters for hate,” said Alfredo Garcia, Outreach Committee Co-Chair of AKIN. “The local and state officials who help them are betraying Tennessee’s values.”
“Andy Fox is targeting Muslims, immigrants, and the nonprofits serving our neighbors,” said Kayla E. of District 9. “Now he’s lending his name to an outsider project that threatens the same people he’s supposed to serve. Immigrants make Knoxville stronger.”

AKIN is a network of people in the Knoxville area who work to encourage dialogue about issues related to immigrants and refugees; to build better understanding among immigrants, refugees and members of local receiving communities; to support and learn from immigrant and refugee communities as they engage in civic and political life; to promote more just and reasonable policies toward immigration and asylum; and to foster a welcoming atmosphere in which all people are treated with dignity and respect and recognized for their positive contributions to the community.

Learn more at weareakin.wordpress.com.