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As of this week, they were still advertising that the service would be held at the school on Sept. 14.

But Doug Strachan, spokesman for the Surrey School District, said the potential renters withdrew their application.

Strachan said the connection to Soldiers of Odin “emerged after the request to use the gym” was made.

He said the district didn’t have to assess whether it was suitable to rent to the anti-immigration group because they hadn’t made the initial request properly and were therefore willing to withdraw it.

“We didn’t have to get to the point of considering the implications of that because it wasn’t correctly requested to begin with,” he said.

Strachan said someone who worked for the school district initially booked the gym, making it an “internal” rental. But he said it was determined that the memorial service was in fact a third-party rental, requiring additional “fees or deposits, potentially security, as well as janitorial fees.”

“And when this was discussed, the rental was pulled,” he said.

Strachan said the district can refuse rentals of property due to “the potential for protest or other demonstrations.”

“That has come into play before. It didn’t really get to that point where we were looking at that policy,” he said. “We would be concerned about any group that would be considered extremist or that there would be the potential for a demonstration or protest.”

A GoFundMe page that raised over $13,000 for Russell’s funeral expenses is now advertising the service at Shannon Hall in Cloverdale.