Battle Ground City Hall on May 20, 2026.
Erik Neumann / OPB
One draft proclamation set to be presented at an upcoming Battle Ground city council meeting condemns “Antifa-associated violence,” which describes it as “threats to public safety, civil order, and constitutional governance.”
Antifa, short for anti-fascists, is a decentralized group of people who oppose far-right extremism. The proclamation didn’t specify any violent incidents associated with Antifa in Battle Ground, but said they had occurred in “various jurisdictions.”
Another proclamation will express support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as “a reaffirmation of the rule of law, national security, and the principle that laws passed by a democratic society must be enforced.”
These proposed proclamations come after several others promoting pro-LGBTQ stances were rejected.
They demonstrate an apparent shift toward more overtly partisan stances in the current Battle Ground city council, which came into office in early 2026.
Proclamations are annual ceremonial recognitions, rather than policies or ordinances. In Battle Ground, the mayor currently approves or rejects proclamations.
Earlier this month, the mayor approved another proclamation marking May 7 as a national day of prayer, and the council is considering adding a religious invocation to the start of its bimonthly meetings.
During Monday night’s meeting, one dissenting councilor warned that the seven-member body could be wading into murky legal territory as it considers instituting a prayer invocation at the start of city meetings.
“Just for the record, four of you do not want to let the public know our legal implications of adding prayer to this meeting,” said Councilor Troy McCoy after members voted not to publicly share past legal advice from city attorneys after the issue came up last year.
Battle Ground Mayor Eric Overholser and Deputy Mayor Aimee Vaile did not respond to interview requests.
The draft proclamations obtained by OPB through a public records request were first reported by the Battle Ground Reflector.
The Clark County Council also holds religious invocations at the start of its Tuesday public meetings, though in addition to faith-based organizations, they’re open to people who have no religious affiliation who wish to make a statement about peace or justice or who want to request a moment of silence.
Public reaction to the prospect of adding an invocation was mixed on Monday night, but the majority of audience members spoke in support of including a faith-based statement at the beginning of meetings.
Battle Ground resident Skyler Martin said that adding a religious invocation at the start of public meetings would be a return to one of America’s oldest traditions and that elected officials should seek wisdom for their decisions from an authority greater than themselves.
“A moment of prayer is an acknowledgement of that humility,” Martin said. “By renewing prayer before the task of governing this city, you will stand in a long history of great civic leaders.”
A handful of residents questioned whether adding an invocation would reflect the whole Battle Ground community or give preferential treatment to one part of it. In 2024, a minority of councilors, including Overholser, successfully voted to remove a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride month.
Resident Simon Graves said during Monday’s meeting that excluding proclamations from certain groups in Battle Ground encourages others to do the same.
“Your opinions should not determine my level of inclusion, recognition, or rights, just as my beliefs don’t give me the authority to limit yours,” Graves said during public comment.
Battle Ground resident Jessica Cole helped draft past Pride proclamations. This year, she proposed proclamations about Pride month and a transgender day of visibility. Both were declined for 2026, she said, but she wasn’t given a specific reason why.
She then proposed another, more general proclamation to promote unity and belonging. It described the diversity of Battle Ground’s community, including “sexual orientations” and “gender identities,” and stated that unity does not require all people to “love the same.”
The mayor sent it back with those phrases removed.
“I put those in there expecting that they would be taken out,” Cole said.
Her revised unity proclamation is expected to be discussed during a meeting on June 15.
