Hate in a Hallmark Town, Part 4: 'We Were Not Afraid to Stand Up to Hate'

Franklin, Tennessee, resident Peggy Kingsbury never expected that her civic involvement would lead to threats from neo-Nazis. Here is what she learned.

Franklin, Tennessee, resident Peggy Kingsbury (Photo: Phil Williams)

This post is part of a continuing series that explains how I began this unexpected journey into the world of hate. One of the people I met early in that journey was Peggy Kingsbury. This is her story. — Phil Williams

Other essays from the “Hate in a Hallmark Town” can be viewed here.

I was sitting in my office in Franklin, Tennessee, in early October 2023, when the phone rang. The caller said he was from something called “Nashville Open Source Intelligence.” I had never heard of it, but he quickly got my attention.

The mysterious caller said his group monitors Telegram—a messaging app popular among the far right—for threats against citizens, and I was now the target of a threat that had just been posted online.

Chillingly, not only was my photo posted, but so was my home address.

“Now looky here,” the post began. “ Peggy’s rich White ass hates ‘your’ poor White ass for some strange reason. She makes a living spewing off f…