In a recent video podcast, Paul “Woody” Clendenen, the founder and leader of the Cottonwood Militia, shared a story about suspicious “black guys” and SUV’s that recently parked just outside his home in Cottonwood.
As was recently reported on A News Café, Clendenen founded the militia in reaction to the election of Barack Obama as president.
Clendenen shared his comments during a Red, White and Blueprint podcast about the suspicious men in SUV’s. Red, White and Blueprint is a far-right propaganda media company based in Shasta County.
Clendenen, who is a Red, White and Blueprint cast member, was joined in the podcast by fellow cast member Lani Bangay and Shasta County District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom. Clendenen and Kelstrom are close friends and Clendenen’s hometown of Cottonwood sits within the district Kelstrom represents.
Paul “Woody” Clendenen (top left), Shasta County District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom (top right) and Lani Bangay (bottom) talks during e podcast. Firearms rest on on the table.
Clendenen described how a black SUV and a white SUV parked in different areas in the front of his home in Cottonwood. The SUV’s, according to Clendenen, were parked on the road near the entrance to a long driveway that leads to his home. The men in the SUV’s, said Clendenen, appeared to be watching his house.
“The black SUV had four black gentlemen in it and the white SUV had a white guy and a black guy in it,” said Clendenen.
“I have no problem with any of that,” said Clendenen.
“Except for we don’t have four black guys of the age that I know of in Cottonwood”.
He did not provide any further details about the “black guys” — but clearly, the presence in Cottonwood of multiple well-dressed African Americans riding together in brand new SUV’s made the militia leader suspicious.
Cottonwood minorities
Cottonwood is home to more than 6,200 people. According to the U.S. Census, the small town is nearly 85% white, and African Americans make up only 0.1% of the population. The Latino/a population, at 12.5%, is the largest nonwhite population in Cottonwood. People who claim two or more races make up only 8.5% of Cottonwood’s population.
The Cottonwood area is no stranger to racism. In 2004, an 8-foot cross placed in the yard of an African American family’s home in Anderson was set on fire. Anderson is only a few miles from Cottonwood. Clendenen owns and operates a barber shop in Cottonwood where he has displayed the Confederate flag on a pole outside the building as well as inside the building.
The Confederate flag flying outside of Woody Clendenen’s barbershop in Cottonwood.
Décor inside of Clendenen’s barbershop includes a flag that says “All Lives Matter,” a racist reactionary slogan created in response to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Paul “Woody” Clendenen’s Barbershop in Cottonwood: Source: KQED video screen grab.
Clendenen was among the self-described “patriots” who showed up to intimidate the peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in Redding in the summer of 2020 after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin.
Paul “Woody” Clendenen standing next to a statue of Confederate General Hiram B. Garnbury in Granbury Texas. Clendenen shared the photograph in 2018 with the caption “confederate statues are still safe in Texas” Source: Facebook.
Regarding the incident with the pair of SUV’s, Clendenen said that his neighbor, who he identified as Robert, approached the white SUV and asked why they were parked by Clendenen’s house. Clendenen said his neighbor was told by one of the men that they lived in a subdivision up the hill from Clendenen’s house. Clendenen said his neighbor told him the men could not name any roads in the subdivision.
“So then he switched his story to oh we’re just test-driving this vehicle,” said Clendenen about what the men in the SUV told his neighbor. Clendenen’s said his neighbor told the men that he did not believe their story.
Clendenen said the two SUV’s followed some of his friends when they left his property. Clendenen did not share the names of his friends who were leaving his property. Clendenen said that the SUV’s were later spotted on surveillance camera footage stopped in front of some of his friend’s homes in the Cottonwood area.
Clendenen said that after he witnessed the SUV’s follow his friends that left his house, he took his wife’s car to a gas station to get gas. He then spotted the two SUV’s yet again.
“Both SUV’s pulled into the gas station and drove a circle around me,” said Clendenen.
Clendenen said after the SUV’s came to a stop and sat in the gas station parking lot for a while — with Clendenen in clear sight of the vehicles’ occupants — he did something to encourage the SUV’s to leave.
“I convinced them they should move along,” Clendenen said, without explaining what he did to encourage the men in the SUV’s to leave the gas station.
Clendenen said after the SUV’s left the gas station, the SUV’s parked side-by-side at another gas station down the road.
Federal agents or burglars?
“They were up to no good, whoever they were” Clendenen said. “There’s a million different scenarios…you think they’re there maybe to burglarize some places.”
Clendenen critqued the SUV’s techniques.
“They’re terrible surveillance people, because whether you’re there to burglarize or you’re a FED, why would you stick out?”
“I’m just sayin’ if I was gonna go send a team to the southside of Chicago, I probably wouldn’t send a bunch of skinhead white guys down there to try and blend in,” said Clendenen. “You know what I mean?” Clendenen said it was the same case with Cottonwood, meaning that the “black guys” and the SUV’s didn’t belong because of their race.
“If you’re going to blend in, you probably aren’t going to be driving two blacked-out window SUV’s.”
Clendenen said a Ford pickup would have blended in better in Cottonwood. One of the “black guys” was allegedly wearing a three-piece suit. Shasta County District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom joked that a three-piece suit in Cottonwood is spurs, chaps, and cowboy hat.
Image 6- Paul “Woody” Clendenen (left) and newly elected District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom wear shirts that say “Shas-Taliban Militia”. Doni Chamberlain of A News Café coined the term “Shas-Taliban”.
“It sounds like it was more intimidation than anything,” Chris Kelstrom said.
Kelstrom added that the pair of SUV’s were also spotted in Happy Valley. Happy Valley is a rural unincorporated community 11 miles southwest of Redding and west of Cottonwood.
Kelstrom said the two SUV’s were spotted parked outside of several homes where members of the Cottonwood Militia live.
Supervisor Kelstrom says FBI could be targeting militia
Kelstrom said he talked to some ex-law enforcement friends of his about the suspicious SUV incident. “One of the guys, at first was like well you know law enforcement wouldn’t be doing that” said Kelstrom.
“Then he was kind of woken up to say no, the new law enforcement, the FBI, those type of agencies would do this – they would do intimidation”.
Kelstrom said one ex-law enforcement official he talked to said “this is the games they play,” referring to the FBI, since the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. “They try to instigate a confrontation, you know, try to get it so you guys will do something” to create a confrontation.
Kelstrom said it was likely the men were trying to get Clendenen to pull out a firearm so he could potentially be accused of pulling out a weapon on innocent people. Kelstrom said it sounded like the men in the SUV’s were very careful about being right next to Clendenen’s property but not on it. Clendenen agreed.
“I don’t feel intimidated at all,” said Clendenen. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Clendenen said as Kelstrom chuckled.
“If I was going to get lured into some trouble, it would have already happened”.
Clendenen did not elaborate on what he meant by “this”.
Chris Kelstrom’s Facebook profile pictures show him carrying a massive rifle and posing at various State of Jefferson rallies. In the bottom right picture, he stands with Jon Knight of Red, White and Blueprint.
Clendenen slept in front room to keep a lookout
Clendenen said later that night after seeing the SUV’s, he told his wife he was going sleep out in their home’s front room to keep an eye on his driveway.
Clendenen recalled that he told his wife, “If they come down the driveway, it might get a little hairy, so be ready”.
Clendenen was prepared to dole out what he referred to in a previous media appearance as “Cottonwood justice” if the suspicious vehicles entered his property.
“I’m not just gonna…” said Clendenen as he paused mid-sentence while looking at Bangay. “Yeah, you can’t turn a blind eye to it,” said Bangay.
“I think it’s good for maybe anybody that’s supper-active in what we’re doing to know that they could be…” said Clendenen as he again, paused mid-sentence. “Watch your back,” said Kelstrom.
Advertisement for Red, White and Blueprint merchandise. Source: Facebook/Instagram. Left photo, from left, RWB producer Jon Knight, RWB cast member Woody Clendenen, and other RWB followers/merchandise models.
“I’ve already got it on the record with law enforcement,” said Clendenen
Contrary to Clendenen’s statement that he contacted the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office to report the incident, a records request submitted to the sheriff’s office turned up no results. There is no record of any call made by a Paul Clendenen or “Woody” Clendenen about two suspicious SUV’s near his home in Cottonwood.
In other parts of the podcast, Kelstrom acted like he was excited about all of the national and international new coverage Shasta County is receiving because of its far-right politics – to which he is a big part of. If the two SUV’s parked outside of Clendenen’s home was indeed FBI agents, maybe that’s attention of a different kind that is descending into the county to keep an eye on an unlawful militia or possibly some other kind of illegal activity.
Almost exactly two years ago Clendenden fellow militia members Jesse Lane and Carlos Zapata threatened what would happen to “snitches”.
They also uttered the locally infamous statement about knowing people’s identities, addresses, family members and event their dog’s names.
Those threatening messages, combined with Clendenen’s remarks about black men he encountered in the SUV’s, along with his affinity for the Confederate flag, the racist décor in his barber shop, his role in intimidating peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters, appears to have caught some outsiders’ attention.
Now, the cowboy boot’s on the other foot for a change. This time, the guys in the brand-new SUV’s with tinted windows are the intimidators, and people like Clendenen are the ones losing sleep over what may have been surveillance of them and their militia friends.
The SUV drivers know where Clendenen lives. They might even know Clendenen’s dog’s name.
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