CNN —
A small family-run business that employed one of the purported leaders of a White supremacist, pro-Nazi homeschooling network announced he is no longer an employee as a result of “this disturbing and secretive behavior.”
The Lawrence Insurance Agency, with an office in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, released a statement condemning the messages and so-called lessons that have come to light from the social media-based homeschooling network.
“The viewpoints & ideology recently expressed by Logan Lawrence and his wife in no way represent the values of Lawrence Insurance Agency,” the statement said. “We emphatically denounce what they have said and done & we wholeheartedly empathize with all who have been hurt, upset, and disturbed by their conduct.”
Based on an investigation by online anti-fascist research group Anonymous Comrades Collective and resulting media reports, local officials believe the group is run out of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The online research group named Logan and Katja Lawrence as the leaders of the homeschooling network, otherwise known as “Mr. Saxon” and “Mrs. Saxon.”
The Lawrence Insurance Agency said that “as a result of this disturbing & secretive behavior, Logan is no longer employed by this agency in any capacity, whatsoever,” according to the statement.
CNN has attempted to reach Logan and Katja Lawrence multiple times but has not gotten a response.
The Ohio Department of Education is investigating the network after reports of parents sharing messages of White supremacy as educational resources, according to a state education official with knowledge of the review, CNN previously reported.
But sharing such curriculum does not violate state law, and there is likely little the state can do to change the curriculum.
The homeschooling group has more than 3,000 subscribers and shares content and lesson plans through a social media messaging platform. They share “primarily resources for curriculum recommendations for elementary aged children,” the group’s very first message reads.
“We have fought hard for our right to homeschool the children,” one post from December reads. “Without homeschooling the children, our children are left defenseless to the schools and the Gay Afro Zionist scum that run them.”
Logan’s brother, Jordan Lawrence, told CNN the larger family had no idea about the “lessons” being posted until recently and are “absolutely gutted, [it’s] not something we ever anticipated being a part of our life.”
“We’re good people. This isn’t who we are. We’re just trying to hold up,” said Jordan Lawrence, who is also the agency manager for the insurance company.
The ordeal has come with “a lot of tears and so much worry for the kids,” according to a source close to the Lawrence family who asked not to be identified amid concerns for their safety and threats they say they’ve received.
The source told CNN “the fact that everything online was secret” is telling, implying others in the family would not have let it continue otherwise.
The Lawrence Insurance Agency ended its statement by writing it’s been “a proud member of the Upper Sandusky & Marion communities for nearly 50 years and we hope & will actively strive to regain your trust! We pray, with all of you, for healing where it is needed, now more than ever.”
The source close to the Lawrence family told CNN there has been significant “collateral damage in this little town,” and that “it’s been a hard thing for the community.”
Jordan Lawrence said he has not spoken to his brother in recent days, but that their larger family has “had an outpouring of support from members of the community that know us,” which has brought some comfort.
Eric Landversicht, superintendent of the Upper Sandusky Exempted Village School District, previously told CNN it is their policy “to maintain an education environment that is free from all forms of unlawful harassment, and the Board vigorously enforces its prohibition against discriminatory harassment based on Protected Classes.”
In a January 30 letter sent to the Upper Sandusky School Community, Landversicht said he had learned of the “egregious” allegations a week prior.
“The District vehemently condemns any such resources,” he wrote. But he also wrote that homeschooling parents are the ones who are ultimately “responsible for choosing the curriculum and course of study; the parents’ chosen curriculum is not sponsored or endorsed by the District.”