CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - In March 2010, Charlotte Landers said she didn't know she was renting her Chesterfield facility to white supremacists for an event promoting their beliefs.
"They seemed to be nice people," said Landers.
Landers said she volunteered her services at the Mid Cities Civic Association in Chesterfield for 18 years.
Landers recalls renting the center to white supremacists in 2010 and 2011 for St. Patrick's Day parties. She says only in the second year did she realize the group’s mission.
"The second time around I decided to go down there and check it out and when I did I saw the swastikas and Heil Hitler stuff," she said.
According to the Anti-Defamation League the group that rented the facility is called the Confederate Hammerskins. According to their website, they have a mission to promote “white power” and neo nazi ideals.
It is widely believed that accused killer Wade Michael Page was not only a member of the group but performed in a band at the Richmond St. Patrick's Day gatherings. Neighbors of the center can recall the events but don’t wish to reveal their identities.
"They were quiet they didn't disturb the neighborhood, they kept their door shut," said one woman who lives nearby.
Neighbors said about a hundred people attend the yearly events and that judging by what they saw, they knew what was going on inside the concrete windowless building of Willis Rd.
"They were pretty much shaved heads, their clothes, the fact that you saw swastikas and that sort of things," said the same woman.
Landers said after she discovered the group’s true identity in 2011, she decided she would no longer rent the venue to them and shortly after retired from the association. She recalls that in 2011 the facility was left in poor condition by the group but she returned their deposit regardless.
"I was so nervous about them being in there that I decided to come clean the next day without saying anything," said Landers.
Landers also claimed that the facility was also rented to the supremacist group for St. Patrick’s Day in 2012 but from a different leader in the civic association.
Neighbors said this year there was some kind of altercation in the building that caused some damage and left the building in need of repairs.
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