What Ever Happened To Beltway Atheists Meetup?

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There is much, MUCH, more to this sad and sordid story but, these are the highlights.

Beltway Atheists Meetup was formed in December of 2006 by Rick Wingrove and Jeff Wismer. The primary goal was to be an inclusive regional social organization for atheists and to facilitate atheist activism. Rick created the name, designed the logo, wrote the mission statement, and put up this website. Jeff became the first Organizer of Beltway Atheists.

In May of 2008 Beltway Atheists, Inc., a non-profit corporation, was formed as a separate entity for fund raising, education and advancement of atheism.

By summer of 2008, membership in Beltway Atheists Meetup had reached almost 450.

In August 2008, under intense pressure, Jeff Wismer resigned as Organizer of BA Meetup. And, because of Rick's primary activities as Virginia State Director and Capitol Hill Representative for American Atheists, he asked Shelley Mountjoy to act as Organizer for the BA Meetup.

By the middle of 2009, Shelley Mountjoy was an officer in over 10 atheist organizations including several in the DC area. Some of these organizations had interests in conflict with the interests of BA.

By fall of 2009, the working relationship between Shelley and Rick had grown quite strained.

In December of 2009, as Organizer of BA, Shelley refused to plan, participate in, or even attend Beltway's 3rd Annual Festivus party. She also refused to allow the use of the Meetup account to sell tickets to the event. Days before the event, a rumor was circulated that the event was cancelled.

Following an especially hateful email from Shelley, I cut off all direct communications. I simply could not stand the prospect of another pointless and combative phone conversation with Shelley. There exist no phone calls or emails from me addressed to Shelley after December of 2009

In April of 2010, there was an exchange of emails, among a select group of current and former BA members, which provoked Shelley to expel several long time members of Beltway Atheists. Apparently she got Christoper Arntzen,who had recently emerged as Shelley's Assistant Organizer, to actually pull the trigger, but it is a distinction without a difference.

Anyway, these were private emails, not posted on the Beltway message board. Rick did not start the thread, but merely responded to an email. Rick noted that Shelley's name was on the recipeint list and removed it. None of the emails initiated by Rick were addressed to Shelley or included Shelley in the recipient list. It appears that Christopher Arntzen who was on the recipient list, forwarded the email thread to Shelley.

Shelley/Christopher jumped into the email debate and treated valid criticism of errors in judgement as personal attacks. When the debate did not go well for Shelley/Christopher, their critics were ejected from BA.

Shelley/Christopher first ejected a woman, Kathryn B., who was the 4th member of Beltway Atheists, for reasons which were transparently personal and vindictive.

For exposing the personal and vindictive nature of Kathryn's expulsion, Rick, the co-founder of BA, was ejected from Beltway Atheists - for reasons which were transparently personal and vindictive.

When Rick was ejected, his partner Ellen B., posted a notice on the Beltway message board saying simply that he had been kicked out of Beltway Atheists. The message was taken down and Ellen was ejected within a couple of hours - for reasons which were transparently personal and vindictive.

In a final email in that string, Rick noted that despite his removal, the meetup he co-founded continued to carry the name he created and owns. Within a day, however, Shelley changed the name of the Meetup to the Capital Beltway Atheists, a move which confused and angered many members, causing some to resign.

Shortly after the purge at Beltway Atheists, Rick formed a new Meetup with an old name - NOVA Atheists. For now it is focused on Northern Virginia. It is intended to be an inclusive social organization for local atheists like Beltway once was. (For more fun with less drama, you can find us here: http://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Atheists/)

On June 9, 2010, the once great Beltway Atheists locked down and went private! After a period of turbulence, the meetup was once again public.

After that, Shelley began circulating allegations, against Rick, of death threats, harassment, and gay bashing. Shelley made those allegations publicly and repeatedly, and apparently enlisted others in the propogation of these allegations, and has attempted to use her position to coerce national organizations to expell myself and my partner Ellen.

Shelley's charges against me are entirely false. I urge anyone concerned about my involvement in such activities to ask her for supporting evidence that I was involved in or had foreknowledge of any of the allegede incidents.

It is Shelley's ramped-up and ongoing campaign of defamation and libel which have forced me to defend myself publicly by puttting up these sites. Upon her public apology, a public retraction and repudiation af all her false allegations against me, a cessation of her campaign of defamation and libel (by herself, Christipher, and Travis), and upon her removal of all mention of myself, Ellen, and my daughters from her website, I will consider this issue over.