EAGLE, Idaho — The owner of the Old State Saloon says he didn't hear the racist remarks made during a podcast broadcast at his event in Boise.
Mark Fitzpatrick, owner of the Old State Saloon and organizer of the "Hetero Awesome Festival" held at Cecil D. Andrus Park in Boise, said he didn't hear racist remarks made by Dave Reilly during a live podcast broadcast at the event.
Reilly, co-host and producer of "The Backlash", which describes itself as "the premier American Nationalist talk show," made comments about the lack of Black people in the area during his broadcast.
"There's still very good bars around, great food, there's the Basque district, again, it's clean, there aren't any Black people here," Reilly said during the podcast.
Fitzpatrick, who was seen on video during Reilly's comment, told me he didn't hear the remarks because he wasn't wearing the podcast headphones.
"You'll never hear that from me, I won't say that. Nor do I think it was wise or a kind thing for him to say," Fitzpatrick said.
He added that Reilly "has to be responsible for what he says, so if people are throwing out allegations of racism to actually ascribe them to me is completely ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."
When I reached out to Reilly for comment, he wasn't available for an interview but sent a statement saying: "Diversity is a weakness, not a strength. The LGBTQIA+ movement is Satanic. Straight white people are welcome and wanted in Idaho. Christ is King."
Fitzpatrick explained that he allowed the podcast to broadcast from his event after they requested permission.
"They said, hey, can we set up and do a live broadcast? They wanted to interview with the speakers coming to our event. I said Sure, no problem, go ahead and set up, do what you wanna do," Fitzpatrick said.
The Old State Saloon owner insisted he isn't racist, citing his Christian faith.
"As long as they recognize that they're a sinner and they know that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins... doesn't matter what color you are. If that's the case, it doesn't matter what your sin is; if that's the case, we will all be one together at the throne of God," Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick says they've learned from this year's festival and plan on making changes before bringing the event back next year.
Protest group Idaho 5051 said in a comment shared with Idaho News 6:
"Mark knew exactly whose show he was on. If you cozy up to open bigotry because you think it'll fill your bar or boost your festival, then you're not a bystander - you're a business partner in hate."
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