UPDATE2 Sept 2: This event will now be "nonpolitical" after local legislative candidates objected. More to come in a separate post. [end update]
UPDATE Sept. 1: Travis Dunn, Chair of the Wabasha County Republican, confirmed that this is a BPOU event. [end update]
Is the Wabasha County Republican BPOU back to its old ways?
The image at the top of this page is being circulated on Facebook by conservative activists in southeastern Minnesota. We saw the image above on the Facebook of FiveOh Seven, one of the names under which former Lisa Hanson for Senate campaign manager Keith Haskell posts on the platform.
Is it genuinely a Wabasha County Republican BPOU event? We've contacted the county chair by email to check on the authenticity of the image and we'll add his reply if we receive a reply. Update: Yes.
It's not the first time the Republican BPOU has hosted Trevor Loudon--or gotten attention for its activity.
Back in April 2021, Matt Stolle reported for the Rochester Bulletin, Wabasha County GOP featured far-right conspiracy theorist at event:
A dinner hosted by the Wabasha County Republican Party last month featured keynote speaker Trevor Loudon, a far-right conspiracy theorist who told the GOP faithful that more than a hundred members of Congress should be investigated for espionage, that the killing of George Floyd and the unrest that followed "was planned since 2016," and suggested that voting machines were rigged in last year's presidential election.
Loudon spoke at a GOP "Wabasha County BPOU: Minnesota On the Rise" banquet held March 27 at the Zumbro Community Church. It was attended by an estimated 400 people, according to a YouTube comment beneath a video of Loudon's speech. . . .
In his remarks to the 400 gathered at the GOP event, Loudon said that:
- More than 100 members of Congress should be investigated for espionage. "We need to investigate about 100 of your Democratic colleagues for working for foreign governments and the communist and Islamic movements."
- Offered a conspiracy theory that the killing of Floyd and the subsequent civil unrest was planned since 2016. "This was planned since 2016, folks. This was all organized by a group headquartered in Minnesota called the 'Freedom Road Socialist Organization.'"
- Pushed a conspiracy theory that the pandemic was a planned effort by the Chinese government so President Trump would lose the 2020 election. "The People's War (Chinese government) is biological weaponry. The COVID was deliberately spread to this country. It was timed for an election year to destroy your economy, destroy Trump and an even worse purpose."
- Suggested that voting machines were rigged despite an absence of evidence. "Second, no more voting machines. None. Now, there are probably voting machines out there that are perfectly reliable. There probably are. The fact is, most of our base doesn't trust them because we've been lied to and scammed."
- Advocated that conservative states and counties band together to defy legislation passed by a democratically elected government. He said he was not advocating secession, but his proposal would have the same effect. "I don't mean to leave the union. I want to go back to that people, so you can join together and you tell a federal government we will not implement any unconstitutional directives in our states."
While the GOP chairwoman declined to comment, the Wabasha County Republicans hailed the evening on its Facebook page as an "amazing night with so many of our conservative friends from across southeast Minnesota!"
"Trevor Loudon ... did an amazing job talking about the future of America and our Republican Party," it said.
The Wabasha County Republican BPOU has a reputation for going there, Stolle noted:
This isn't the first time the Wabasha GOP has cozied up to extremist views and has been used as a vehicle for incendiary statements.
Last year, the party was condemned by Jewish organizations after an image comparing mask mandates to Nazi Germany's persecution of Jewish people was posted on Wabasha County GOP's Facebook Page.
A Wabasha County GOP official initially claimed that its Facebook page had been hacked. But later, Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said the picture was posted by a county GOP board member, who resigned at the party's request.
Loudon has likened Obama to Hitler and Stalin, saying that Obama loves his county "in the same way that Adolph Hitler loved Germany and Stalin loved Russia. You know, he wants to transform it into a new vision," Loudon said in a 2015 interview, according to Right Wing Watch. . . .
Yeah, that Republican county BPOU.
The video of the event embedded in the Post Bulletin coverage is no longer available, with the note "This video has been removed for violating YouTube's Terms of Service."
Stolle's article was published across the Forum News Service newspaper network and picked up by some online sites. National Zero focused on one of Loudon's claims in Speaker at Minnesota GOP event says Floyd murder was planned; Politzoom posted a similar headline: MN County GOP Event Headlined By Birther Who Claimed George Floyd’s Murder Was A Hoax.
Loudon wasn't cheap. According to the 2021 year-end campaign finance report filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, Loudon was paid $1000.00 for the speaking gig.
We're not sure what Loudon's price tag is in 2022, and it looks like a least some share of the proceeds will be shared. Those Republican candidates who decide to attend this stellar event will reap the benefits of the $10 donation at the door. Under Minnesota campaign finance regulations, party units are able to make contributions to candidate committees.
We'll keep an eye out to see if the event is genuine. And if it goes forward, which candidates show up in Zumbro Falls for the Republicans United Rally. Steve Drazkowski, now running for the Minnesota Senate, skipped the first one, Stolle reported.
Logo: An invitation being circulated on Facebook by conservative activists in southeastern Minnesota.
Related posts:
- Wabasha County GOP Facebook post only latest offensive trope from Minnesota Republicans
- Commies, Muslims & terrorists, oh my: Loudon joins bush league in Little Falls & St. Cloud MN
- Help Trevor Loudon, Central MN Tea Party Patriots speaker, fill in bios of dirty hippies
- Foreign Conspiracy Theorist Urges Legislators to Pass Illegal Ban on Immigration to South Dakota [Dakota Free Press]
- Anti-Muslim Hate Sessions Add McCarthyite Strand to Republican Voter Suppression [Dakota Free Press]
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