Danville group’s plan for effigy burning ‘up in the air’

DANVILLE -- The chairman of the Danville TEA Party Patriots said yesterday that he was unsure about whether the group will continue with its planned effigy burning of Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a bonfire rally Saturday in Blairs.

Hours after news of the bonfire hit the Internet on Friday, at least one national news outlet had the story on its Web site, as did dozens of bloggers.

"We've been getting a lot of flak about . . . burning those two in effigy, and a lot of people in the public are unhappy about it," said the group's chairman, Nigel Coleman. "The story has gotten so large, it's kind of strange."

Coleman sent a news release to local media Friday about the event, which opened with: "In a move sure to spark controversy, the Danville TEA Party will close their 'Fired Up for Freedom' rally by burning Rep. Tom Perriello and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in effigy in response to the passage of landmark health-care legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives."

But Coleman said yesterday that some members of his group were un easy with the idea of counterprotesters. Coleman compared the event to similar acts of protest in the nation's history, such as opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765.

The bonfire is still planned, Coleman said, but the effigy burning remains in question. TEA Party member Patricia Evans wrote in an e-mail to the group Saturday night that "nothing will be burned at our upcoming bonfire except an occasional hot dog."

Coleman said he "still would like to do it, but it's still up in the air at this point. We've already started stacking firewood and building the effigy."

In a news release Friday from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the bonfire.

"These shocking and despicable acts are becoming all too common at extreme right-wing Republican rallies," said Van Hollen, D-Md.

"While there should be a robust debate about reforming America's broken health-insurance system," he added, "violent expressions are beyond the boundaries of a respectful debate."

Coleman defended the burning, which he said was not violent in nature.

"We were using it as a symbol of how things are similar to that [Colonial] period in history," he said. "Things have gotten out of hand. . . . The more real we get, the more unreal it gets.

"We knew that it would garner attention; we didn't know how much. . . . People are upset, people are angry. This isn't just some $100 million bridge to nowhere. This is a fundamental change in the constitution; a fundamental change in America."

Catherine Amos is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee.