In May of this year, concerns were brought to my attention about a tattoo on the inner arm of someone who had attended several Krampus Bremerton community meetups. Those reporting it correctly identified it as a symbol commonly called the “Black Sun,” which has known associations with Nazi and white supremacist imagery.

I wasn’t present when the concerns were first raised; I was at a family celebration. No one present at that meetup spoke with him about the tattoo at the time. Afterward, a volunteer who helped me lead the festival contacted him on my behalf. He said his tattoo represented Nordic heritage rather than extremist ideology, and he offered to discuss its meaning with anyone who had concerns. I have not seen the tattoo in person, but I acknowledge and accept the photographs as real evidence that it exists.

I decided the matter needed further consideration rather than an immediate decision based only on the initial reports, and I temporarily closed discussion within the group while I reviewed it.

What followed was a significant escalation of conflict. Several people demanded that he be immediately excluded from all future activities. When that didn’t happen right away, disagreements escalated into behavior I considered bullying and harassment toward other participants. I removed two individuals from the group because of that conduct, and as it continued, I eventually blocked others on social media for the same reason.

I want to be absolutely clear: no one was removed or blocked for reporting a concerning tattoo. Those actions were the result of later behavior toward other members of the community.

Over the following months, I sought perspectives from historians, tattoo artists, and people familiar with historical and military symbolism. The Black Sun has documented extremist associations, and I don’t dispute that. The people I consulted did not reach a definitive conclusion about what the tattoo meant to him or what he believes. In his interactions with me and the volunteers who helped me, he had not shown behavior that led me to believe he was advocating extremist ideology. That didn’t mean I dismissed the concerns. I was trying to evaluate the situation based on the information I had. In hindsight, that process took far too long, and that is on me.

The individual with the tattoo was not a member of the Krampus Bremerton Pass. He had attended community events as a visitor, attended only one more event after May, and never applied for membership.

During this period, I updated the Krampus Bremerton code of conduct to set clear behavioral expectations for anyone seeking membership or participating in our events. The individual with the tattoo later applied to take part in the December 5 event as an independent performer and was briefly listed on the event website as a visiting performer. He was then removed from the website, his application was rejected, and he has been removed from the group and banned from participating in any future events.

How the situation escalated

As the months passed, disagreements over the original incident spread beyond Krampus Bremerton. The situation escalated further through a former market coordinator for the festival. I had stopped working with her about six months before this incident, before this festival season began, for reasons related to her performance. People involved in the original conflict within the group passed information about the dispute to her, and she began circulating it, along with gossip, publicly and to vendors.

Portions of private conversations about the situation were published online, along with accusations that I support or sympathize with Nazi ideology. Those accusations do not reflect my beliefs or the values I built this festival on.

The controversy intensified as sponsors and vendors received these messages, including excerpts of those conversations. After that, I began receiving threatening and hostile messages, including statements that I should be physically assaulted, along with concerns for the safety of my family and my livelihood. Volunteers who helped me lead this festival were caught up in it as well.

What began as a concern about one person’s tattoo had become a public controversy involving threats, accusations, and real fear for the safety of people connected to the festival.

Why I canceled Krampus Bremerton

The consequences for the festival were immediate. Sponsors withdrew their support, vendors canceled and requested refunds, and committed funding was lost. At the same time, the threats created a need for additional security and safety personnel.

The festival was already a significant financial undertaking, funded largely out of my own pocket. With funding disappearing and security costs rising, continuing became financially unsustainable. More importantly, I could no longer be confident I could provide the safe and welcoming environment that vendors, performers, volunteers, sponsors, and attendees deserve.

I did not cancel because of one tattoo, or because someone raised concerns about it. I canceled because the escalating controversy, threats, financial losses, and safety concerns made it impossible to move forward responsibly.

It was an extraordinarily painful decision. I’ve taken out a sizeable personal loan to cover refunds to sponsors and vendors. Beyond the financial cost, being publicly characterized as a Nazi sympathizer has affected my sense of personal safety, my reputation, and my ability to take part in the community I spent years working to support.

Where I stand

I emphatically reject Nazism, white supremacy, antisemitism, and extremist ideology of any kind. I have never sympathized with these abhorrent ideologies, and I never will. Symbols associated with hateful movements deserve serious consideration, and people have legitimate reasons to raise concerns about them. Raising those concerns is not harassment. Accusations against people should also be evaluated fairly, with context and a chance to respond.

Krampus Bremerton is mine, and I am accountable for all of it. I did not respond to these concerns quickly enough. I wanted to hear directly from the individual with the tattoo, give him a chance to explain, and understand for myself what the symbol meant. That delay was still my responsibility, and I understand that it cost the trust of people who supported this festival. I wish I had owned this more quickly. If I could do this over again, I would have removed him much sooner. I’m sorry that I didn’t.

I also believe that disagreement with how a situation was handled should never escalate into threats against anyone’s safety or their family. No one, on any side of this, should be threatened.

I created Krampus Bremerton to bring people together through folklore, art, performance, and community celebration. It was built on countless hours from volunteers who gave their time and leadership freely, along with my own investment and partnerships with local businesses and artists. Its cancellation is a loss for the vendors, performers, volunteers, local businesses, and families who looked forward to it every year.

I’m deeply saddened that this is how the festival ends. I didn’t cancel because I support hate. I canceled because the situation reached a point where I could no longer guarantee the safety or financial stability of the event.

—Eric Morley, Krampus Bremerton