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The Daily Beast
Inside the wild Republican civil war under radar
Photo Illustrated by The Daily Beast When Getty Stephen Lloyd appeared in Multnomah County, Oregon, the latest Republican meeting on May 17, he was treated like a man who chaired the group until earlier this month. did not. I met a group of Proud Boys with their arms folded in front of their chests and inflated in front of the doorway, “Lloyd told The Daily Beast. Lloyd was allowed to attend the meeting, where he began to faint. A document detailing his concerns about the party’s recent plunge on the far right. Republican locals based in Portland, Oregon weren’t so lucky. The Republicans in Nevada County canceled the meeting for fear of a proud boy’s rebellion. “Don’t let me enter the building,” Lloyd said. “So I go downstairs.” Hey, why don’t you let Republicans enter the building? “I say. They said she wasn’t a Republican. And I said, “Yes, she is. She is registered as a Republican.” And they said, “Well, she is not the chairman of the constituency, so she enters the building. (The party’s secretary and deputy chairman did not return a request for comment.) From Oregon to Arizona, the local Republicans are being calculated. Some of their members want to look ahead after the turmoil of the Trump era. Some, including militia groups like Proud Boys, have doubled the conspiracy theories and extreme relationships of fraudulent elections. These feuds are increasingly evolving in local party elections, including constituency-level roles. There, a far-right voice urges believers to run, forcing long-time members to fight a rebellion accusing them of being fake Republicans. Shift worried him, as Lloyd saw a similar intra-party conflict unraveled in Nevada this week. “You shouldn’t try to measure enough Republicans to join a secret club,” he told The Daily Beast. After being defeated in Donald Trump’s reelection, his fans blew up Republican officials as traitors who accepted President Joe Biden’s victory. They vowed to replace the party’s enemies by running for a role at the vacant constituency level. They didn’t wait long to get started: just two days after Biden’s inauguration, users of the radical-friendly social media site Gab set up a group to discuss hijacking. If we’re flooded with meetings and volunteer to fill the vacant constituency committee, we could run the Republican Party all the way to RNC, “the group explained. , In all counties and states, more than half of the slots are free. Members of the constituency committee are generally party officers who act as liaisons between the local Republican Party and the regions it represents. Gab groups weren’t first aware that often vacant seats were a major area for those who wanted to overhaul their party. In 2018, a prominent associate of the white supremacist group, Identity Evropa, quietly won a seat in an undisputed constituency in Washington. After his victory, he went to the Identity Evropa podcast to encourage others to follow his lead. “You have a seat at the table,” he said in a podcast. “And that’s the most important thing. To get that seat at the table. Yes, by bringing in people, yes, yes, yes, this doesn’t have to be IE either. His local Republican banished him the following year, but the far-right voice began promoting a version of the strategy during the Biden era, which is not necessarily coordinated by central actors and radical groups. No. In the February 6th episode of his podcast, former Trump chief strategist Stephen Banon hosted Arizona-based lawyer Dan Schultz. Schultz hosted the Trumpist Committee in an interview. A new wave of members said he was fundamentally opposed to mainstream Republicans. “If you break into the party, you can take over the party,” Schultz said in a podcast. Stated. As Media Matters reported at the time, the interview attracted attention in the far-right corner of the Internet, including 4chan, Gab, and Telegram channels specializing in QAnon conspiracy theory. The far-right faction wins, and President Trump disappears further. Last week, a far-right podcaster encouraged more than 70,000 Telegram followers to follow Schultz’s advice. “If you want to drain the swamps, drive Rhino out of the party, set the agenda for America First, and save the Republic, we’ll join, fulfill our citizens’ obligations, and follow this plan,” wrote the podcaster. I will. They claim they were planning to do so, or had already played a party role in Arizona and Florida. “We have 40 new chairs in April and we plan to have more than 50 in June,” wrote one who claims to be a member of the new Sunshine Commission. The local Republican Party, to which the person appears, did not immediately return a request for comment. Schultz has characterized the officers of the new constituency committee as a local Republican invader, but some new entrants are less than hostile to the GOP. Podcaster, who encouraged Telegram fans to run for office, will speak at QAnon’s heavy conference this week with Texas Republican Chairman Allen West. Meanwhile, West recently spoke at the same event as the head of the far-right paramilitary Oath Keepers. Meanwhile, in Holly County, South Carolina, one of QAnon’s earliest influential players played a leading role in the local Republican Party last month. .. (QAnon promoter Tracy “Beanz” Diaz wasn’t asked to comment.) In elections, members accused each other of being a label long before the Trump era, “RINO” or “Republican In Name Only”. did. The party drew a line against the rebellious crowd: Republicans in Clark County, Nevada this week about threats by a series of people tied up by Proud Boys who were interested in running for party leaders. Canceled the meeting. (These far-rights, in turn, are suing the party for keeping them out of the proceedings.) But in Multnomah County, the local Republicans are at stake as two factions vie for the title. It seems. The problem began partially after Lloyd proposed to hold a party meeting with a more ideologically diverse crowd, including those who were not registered with the Republican Party. Opponents within the party argued that this move would allow the Left to attack their event. , It’s the wrong framework of the situation. Because when I was chairing, we had never been threatened by Antifa, “said Lloyd. “We have never been threatened by other organizations.” Nevertheless, the party resolved at a meeting on May 6 to expel Lloyd as chairman. Residential area. (Neighbors previously told The Daily Beast that a security group had killed him and other locals outside the house during the meeting.) According to a message reviewed by The Daily Beast on May 16. Lloyd emailed the party members to complain about the group, a recent deal with the Proud Boys. At least one proud boy was present when he appeared at a party meeting the next day. The Proud Boys told Willamette Week that he was attending the meeting as a member rather than as a security, but while the Proud Boys were attending the meeting (according to Lloyd, they operated the door). , Two women from Lloyd’s Wings at the party were not admitted. One of the women was in the process of submitting documents to run for a party chair. (Three attendees at the meeting said in a week that a party secretary who had previously signed a security contract with Proud Boys banned women from entering.) Anger, Lloyd, and most meeting attendees at the event Leaved and gathered again in the parking lot. In many cases, they found that they had enough members to vote. Lloyd, who was recalled as leader just a few weeks ago, was elected acting chairman of the new conference. “We had a deputy secretary and a deputy chair,” he said. “We had everything we needed to hold a meeting within the Articles of Incorporation, and we did. We held a meeting in the parking lot until it started to rain. Find out more at The Daily Beast. We bring you top news to your inbox every day. Sign up now! DailyBeast Membership: Beast Inside digs deeper into the stories that matter to you. learn more.
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