 Varl TikTok reveals disturbing turn of events at an Appalachian art retreat in Harlan, Kentucky. I had got invited to come to the event through my art mentor, which is someone that I trust wholeheartedly. I know she wouldn't ever put me in any kind of questionable situation or, you know, there wasn't any level of thought that went into where she was taking me or what I would be engaging in. The Waymakers Collective curated a week filled with artistic performances, workshops, shared meals, film screenings, and interactive art sessions. Everything is going well. We're networking. You know, some people meet each year because they're just so used to coming and they're part of the collective. So they're looking forward to reuniting with old friends and, you know, it was just a really loving spirit in the air. It was almost heavenly. The incident occurred on Saturday, August 19th, when an unannounced group of individuals comprising both men and women arrived on trucks and ATVs. I'm just seeing one person, two person, three coming off the hill from the direction of the chapel, just falling, just completely in distress. I mean, and these are people that, you know, just the day before we're looking around and they're just like smiling from ear to ear. A beat. Now just totally distraught. So some palm colored supremacists showed up and said that we were desecrating their space and demanded that we leave. We had a lot of members that hold identities and we didn't want to escalate the situation and the police said they couldn't guarantee our safety for the night. So we all, about 50 to 75 of us packed all our things and went back to our respective locations. Some of us drove, like I said, three to four hours to get there, but yeah. Did you hear about the wireless plan with no credit check? No contracts but tons of great features. It's forward pay with Appalachian Wireless. Steals start as low as $19.99 per month for unlimited talking text and no long-term commitment. Use your own device or ask about deals on the latest and greatest devices, some as much as $250 off. Forward pay on the region's best network. Because we are you. We are Appalachian Wireless. The Appalachian Wireless.com for terms and conditions. The spot Tintin's physical harm was avoided. The unexpected group lingered for over an hour conveying a clear message that they were being watched. I do want to clarify. I think that from the TikTok, I think it gave a lot of people the illusion that it was solely a racial issue when that's probably played a factor in that us versus them aspect of it because we were a mixed group. But it was more so from what I'm gathering and from the Waymakers Collective explanation of what happened. It was more so feeling like a religious space was disrespected or not handled how it should have been. In an official statement, the Waymakers Collective explained that they had set up a healing space in the chapel for attendees to rest and reflect, emphasizing that it was designed to be inclusive and welcoming without promoting any particular religious tradition. You know, it's probably been about a week and some change since this happened and I'm just getting back to myself and I think that that has a lot to do with just how quickly everything, everything unfolded before I even had a chance to process what happened. I mean, I won't say that I won't ever do anything like that again because I am of the belief that as a human I should be able to exist and take a space anywhere. The incident highlights the ongoing struggle for acceptance and the need to create safe spaces for artistic expression. Reporting from Mountain Top News, I'm Ethan Miller.