Church ID’d as hate group gets permit

MURDOCK, MINN. » The city council in a small Minnesota farming community has voted to grant a permit that allows a controversial Nordic heritage church that has been identified as a white supremacist group to gather at an abandoned church.

The vote Wednesday night came after the council in the Swift County community of Murdock was advised by the city attorney that rejecting the Asatru Folk Assembly’s request could violate its religious rights. The AFA wants to turn the former Lutheran church into a Midwest regional gathering hall. It was passed on a voice vote without a roll call.