MESA, Ariz. — A group of America First supporters, college Republicans and Christian nationalist pastors were handing out hamburgers and hot dogs to voters in Phoenix on Tuesday if they voted for former President Donald Trump. It was limited.
The duel took place about 100 meters from the polling station and was likely illegal.
The effort was organized by the far-right group College Republicans United in conjunction with the Arizona Patriot Party. It started shortly after voting opened at the Mesa Convention Center. Groypers, as white supremacist Nick Fuentes’ followers call themselves, helped hand out hot dogs, hamburgers and cold drinks. The person in charge of the grill was an Arizona Patriot Party pastor and Christian nationalist. Extremist ideology of the Black Coat Regiment.
“We’re giving away hot dogs and hamburgers to people who are doing the right thing by voting for Trump,” McClellan told WIRED.
Isaiah, a self-described Groyper who declined to give his last name, acknowledged that the organization provides food only to Trump supporters, but said the food is “specifically for Trump supporters, but not for others.” If people want to come, we welcome them,” he added. Please change your mind. ”
It is against federal law to provide food to certain groups at polling places.
“Not only is it illegal to donate to only one candidate’s voters, but it also cannot be restricted to just voters. To avoid running afoul of federal law prohibiting vote buying, donating to children or voting We need to make voting available to everyone in the community, including those who are ineligible,” Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told WIRED. quoting the same rule that Elon Musk was accused of violating $1 million in ballots;
The Arizona Secretary of State’s office, which sets rules for conduct at polling places, did not respond to a request for comment.
The College Republicans United group was founded in 2018 by Rick Thomas, who is also a member of the Arizona Patriot Party. Thomas told WIRED that he founded the group out of frustration with the Republican student organization that existed at Arizona State University.
“We ended up disbanding and forming our own organization that was very pro-Trump,” Thomas said. “We’re America First. We’re MAGA.”
Isaiah told WIRED that while not all members of College Republicans United are members of Fuentes’ group, there is significant overlap.
Although Thomas portrayed this group as a relatively mainstream student group, online evidence suggests otherwise. The book recommendation page on the College Republicans United website lists two highly anti-Semitic works. Protocols of the Elders of Zion and henry ford’s international jews: The world’s biggest problem.
Another CRU member, Kevin Dekuiper, recently said: He was hired as an aide to former far-right sheriff Joe Arpaio.
“There’s a reason why the College Republican Coalition has been condemned by so many Republican organizations,” said Nick Martin, an investigative journalist who closely tracks extremist groups in Arizona and runs an online publication. information provider. “The organization encourages its members to read discredited and debunked books filled with racist pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Their guest speakers include They include partisans, neo-Nazis, Pizzagate peddlers, fringe political candidates, and, in rare cases, real Republicans.
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