GOSHEN, Ind. — A local activist and Antifa leader started a social media smear campaign against a veteran owned apparel store, falsely claiming the veteran sells hats with swastikas on them.
Tonna Robinson posted the following story on social medial, tagging the local store in the post. “Op1vet traveled to Sturgis, SD (sic) to peddle hate with other nazi (sic) vendors.” She wrote in the post along with a link to news story from the event that included pictures of swastika hats. Op1vet is not mentioned in the story itself.
“This is libel and slander.” Ed Christner, Op1vets owner, said. “I would never, and have never, sold Nazi hats.”
Christner did travel to the motorcycle event in Sturgis, South Dakota, to sell his apparel, like dozens of other vendors. It’s believed more than 700,000 people attended the biker event this year.
This is at least the second time the communist Antifa activist has attacked the store and its owner. The first smear campaign started around Memorial Day of this year, when the business launched its first brick and mortar store in Goshen.
Op1vet sells items that support the military and police, like the “thin blue line” and “don’t tread on me” flag.
In the first attack, Robinson was also upset that the store sells parody items of the communist Black Lives Matter organization. Below are the social media posts from earlier this year showing the beginning of her mission to take down the veteran owned business.
Many of the posts reference the “three percenter” left wing conspiracy theory, that claims the III symbol is synonymous with racist militant groups. While some new “militia” groups have adopted the symbol, it is common among veterans and veteran groups. The meaning behind “3 percent” references the number of Americans who were willing to fight the British in the Revolutionary War, however that number is not agreed upon by most historians.
Robinson has made a name for herself attacking businesses for supporting any military or police cause. You can read about her efforts to remove a police support flag at Fiddlers Hearth in South Bend here.
She also attacked a gift-shop in Wawasee owned by a minority immigrant for selling a shirt supporting the GOP. You can see her social media post about that below. Plus the response from her victim.
Robinson attakced the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police for posting a picture of Santa Claus, claiming the picture was racist. You can read about that here.
Robinson has also pushed to remove conservatives from elected political positions. You can read about one such incident in Goshen here.
You can read her wonderful thoughts about protesting outside of a South Bend Common Councilmember’s home below.
Christner, the owner of Op1vet, is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Desert Storm. He opened his Op1vet storefront on June 1st. He has had an online store since 2018.
“I won’t be intimidated. This is my hometown. If someone doesn’t like what’s in here, they don’t need to come.” He said.
“Our mission is changing the life of one veteran at a time.” Christner added.
Christner says proceeds from his sales go to helping veterans across the country. You can visit his store at 117 S. Main Street in Goshen. You can also shop online at Op1vet.com.
Below are several more examples of Robinson attacking conservatives and their livelihoods, much like an actual fascist.
