Centralia shop with alleged white supremacist ties posts bail for one of three Chehalis 'Friendship Fence' vandalism suspects

Mar. 4—The three suspects accused of defacing the "Friendship Fence" in Chehalis last week are out of custody on bail, according to Lewis County Superior Court records.

All three co-defendants posted bail immediately after their preliminary hearings in Lewis County Superior Court on Feb. 26.

While two of the suspects, Frank John Bagley II, 40, of Burien, and Matthew A. Clement, 33, of Centralia, each acquired bail bonds to cover the $20,000 bail amounts, court documents indicate a resident of 223 S. Tower Avenue in Centralia posted $20,000 cash to bail out the third suspect, Gabriel R. Smith-Nilsen, 25, of Driggs, Idaho.

The Tower Avenue address is a storefront owned by Tanner Thayer, who was the subject of community-wide conversations last year after Centralia Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston spoke out in opposition to Thayer's ties to the Asatru Folk Assembly, or AFA.

The group is recognized by the Anti-Defamation League, Southern Poverty Law Center and other watchdog groups as a white supremacist hate group, according to previous Chronicle reporting.

Thayer authored "Asatru Folk Hymns," which is sold by AFA.

He did not respond to The Chronicle's multiple attempts to contact him at the time.

In March 2023, Smith Johnston posted on Facebook that she went to the storefront, Kultur LLC, and had an in-depth conversation with Thayer where she pressed him on the issue, twice asking Thayer "if he believes whites are superior to other races," she wrote.

The first time, Smith Johnston wrote, he answered the races are "different." The second time, he "did not refute the idea that whites are superior." She asked him whether he knew AFA was an identified racial hate group, the post states, and she then "learned that Tanner supports Asatru and understands the associations."

Kultur LLC was issued a business license under Thayer's name in September 2022, according to the state Department of Licensing. According to Lewis County Parcels, Thayer purchased the storefront on Tower Avenue in December 2021 and also owns 10 acres by River Run Ranch Road in Randle.

The Chronicle has been unable to find publicly available information online about Smith-Nilsen's background.

Bagley, who goes by the alias "Chad WA," is a known neo-Nazi organizer for the White Lives Matter campaign and a former member of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group, according to online watchdog group WA Nazi Watch.

Bagley is also allegedly connected to the theft of 75 Pride flags in Burien in 2022.

Clement, also known as "Jack WA," is a known member of the Patriot Front who was allegedly connected to the October 2021 destruction of the "'Respect & Love Olympia" mural in Olympia, according to Unicorn Riot. Two members of the Patriot Front ultimately faced misdemeanor charges for the vandalism.

Officers found a stencil "covered in multicolored paint and had the words 'Patriotfront' as the cutout for the sign," as well as a blue bag containing "several pieces of White Lives Matter and patriotfront.us literature and propaganda stickers" inside the vehicle the suspects were in when Centralia police arrested them early Sunday morning.

The arrest took place after a neighbor, Norman Lynn, saw them defacing the Friendship Fence in Chehalis, called 911 and followed them as they fled in a dark-colored Subaru station wagon.

The suspects each face one count of second-degree malicious mischief and one count of hate crime. Each charge is a class C felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

Clement and Smith-Nilsen each pleaded not guilty on Feb. 29. Both have trial setting hearings scheduled on March 7.

Bagley's arraignment hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on March 7.