Sonya Holt

White lives matter and they are better than black lives, according to Sonya Holt. She is a woman from Elizabethton, Tennessee, United States.

On July 4, 2020, members of the Black Lives Matter group New Panther Initiative and other supporters gathered at Covered Bridge Park in Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA. They were confronted by a group of counter-protesters including Holt.

One of the protesters was Sierra Gilmer, 16, a board member of the social justice advocate group New Generation Freedom Fighters. She took a video of Holt hurling racist remarks against her.

“White lives matter!” Holt told Gilmer. “White lives matter, you black, twisted, crazy person!”

Holt was surrounded by other members of a far-right group. Some of them carried Confederate flags.

Holding a flip phone, Holt wore black sunglasses and a T-shirt bearing the name of the Tennessee Volunteers (Vols), the male varsity intercollegiate athletics programs representing the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. During the rally, she told WCYB, “We need to stand united.”

“We are America,” Holt continued. “We’re not black. We’re not yellow. We’re not white. We are America.”

Moreover, Holt was caught on tape saying homophobic remarks to another protester named Seth Loven. She told him, “You’re a gay homosexual piece of crap who’s going to burn in hell.”

Standing beside Holt was a man who decided to contribute more racist remarks as if her words were not enough. The man, whose name has yet to be revealed, is a former employee of Big Dan’s BBQ in Elizabethton.

“We should have kept you ****** slaves,” the man said. “That’s what we should’ve done.”

Big Dan’s BBQ owner Dan Britt condemned this. The restaurant owner said he would never agree with or condone such behavior.